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最近刚开学,大家是不是都忙起来了?还有时间看剧吗?这一期看美剧学英语专栏,想分享给大家一部最近我看完的美剧:《摩登情爱》第2季。
这一季和第一季一样,依然是八个笑泪交织的小故事,讲述了八种姿态各异的爱情。
或许是年岁渐长,年轻人的小情小爱已经不再能打动我了,有好几集甚至都没有耐心看完,反而深深着迷于中年人间年深日久的感情,尤其是第一集,太好哭了。
无法想象失去亲密爱人的痛苦。两个一起成长、一起度过生命里各个阶段、共同建筑了彼此人生的人,早已融为了不可分割的一体。
想起来在《我们为何结婚,又为何不忠》一书里看到的一句话:
The Taita of Kenya say that love comes in two forms, an irresistible longing, a ‘kind of sickness’, and a deep enduring affection for another.
肯尼亚的泰塔族人说过,爱情有两种面貌:一种是无法克制的渴望,是“一种病”,另一种是对他人深沉而持久的依恋。
如果被死亡硬生生地切断了这种依恋,该有多痛苦。
太喜欢这一集了,如果你只有时间看一集,那一定、一定选择看第一集。
我特意去把8个小故事的原文复制粘贴下来,整理到在了一起,喜欢阅读短篇小说的同学可以”大饱眼福“啦。
(关注公众号:跟Lexie学外刊 回复:摩登情爱 即可开始阅读)
这部剧里有很多值得学习的表达,我从中挑选了8个地道习语,5个高频短语,和大家一起学习。
我把每一个表达所在的片段都剪辑了下来,大家先看视频,再学习讲解。
地道习语
01 be on tenterhooks
The whole street is on tenterhooks.
be on tenterhooks 是一个词组,表示「提心吊胆,焦虑不安,如坐针毡的」(worried or nervous about something that is going to happen)。
We were on tenterhooks all morning waiting for the phone to ring.
我们整个上午都如坐针毡,一直在等着电话铃响。
查了查tenterhook是什么,原来是下图这种小勾子:
可想而知,be on a tenterhooks 得有多难受,多焦虑啊。
我还联想到另外一个很形象的词:be on pins and needles pin 指「大头针」,needle 指「缝衣针」,be on pins and needles 和中文里「如坐针毡」异曲同工,形容人坐立不安的样子,尤其是指因等待重要事情。
比如等待高考成绩的时候,我们都是on pins and needles.I've been on pins and needles all week waiting for the exam results.
《致命女人》和《绝望主妇》里也出现过这个词:
I‘ve been on pins and needles. Did you talk to Rob last night?
We're on pins and needles.
《经济学人》一篇关于迪士尼的文章也用到了这一表达:Every weekond, we sit on pins and needles watching to see if our films will flop.
这段视频里还出现了一个高频表达:flout the rules。
He's not gonna show up, Mum, and he's not just gonna flout the rules for someone like me.
flout [flaʊt] 是个高频词,指「公然无视,违抗」(to deliberately disobey a law, rule etc, without trying to hide what you are doing),后面常常跟法律、规定。flout the rules 便表示「违反规则」。违法除了violate the law,也可以说flout the law。
02 dip a toe in sth
dip a toe in / into sth dip 是「蘸,浸」的意思,把脚趾放在水里蘸一下,表示「涉足试试,小心尝试」(to start doing sth very carefully to see if it will be successful or not),是不是很形象呢?
《华尔街日报》一篇关于如何玩比特币的文章也用到了这个词:
我们热炒热卖,联系热点话题「直播带货」造个句:
越来越多的品牌开始尝试直播带货。
An increasing number of brands dip their toes in the E-commerce livestreaming.
近义词还有set foot in / on sth:set 是「放」的意思,把脚放入...,表示「进入,访问,参观某地」(to enter or visit a place)。
《经济学人》一篇关于门当户对的弊端的文章,就用set foot in a school 表示「踏入学校」,原文是这样写的:Affluent parents intensively nurture their children for success; the offspring of less fortunate homes fall far behind before they ever set foot in a school.富裕的父母精心培育孩子,助其成功,而那些没那么幸运的家庭的子女还没踏入校门就已远远落后。
《老友记》里也出现过这个词组:
I bet he has never set foot in a museum.
再扩展3个关于toe的地道表达:
① tread / step on sb's toes
tread 和step作动词,都有「踩」的意思,tread / step on sb's toes 字面义便是「踩某人的脚」的意思,喻指「得罪某人」,尤其是指因为涉足别人负责的范围而得罪某人。
英文解释是 to offend someone, especially by becoming involved in something that they are responsible for。比如:
I must be careful not to tread on their toes. My job is to challenge, but not threaten them. 我必须小心谨慎,不能得罪他们。我的工作是挑战他们,而不是威胁他们。
我在看剧的时候经常遇见这个词组:
Just be careful not tread on their toes, especially you.
Well, I don't wanna step on my producer's toes.
✏️用近义词记生词:offend sb → tread/step on sb's toes
② keep sb on one's toes 让某人一直垫着脚,喻指「使某人保持警觉」(if sb plays by their own rules or makes other people play by their rules, they set the conditions for doing business or having a relationship)。比如:
His fiery campaign rhetoric has kept opposition parties on their toes for months.他激烈的竞选言辞使反对党派一连几个月都保持警觉。
What're you playing at? Keeping her on her toes?
Aunt March Kept me on my toes today.
③ go toe-to-toe 脚趾对脚趾,喻指「针锋相对」。
外刊里也常出现这个词。Fortune杂志一篇关于瑞幸咖啡的文章就用到了这个词:
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