The english we speak(BBC教學)第308期:Cat got your tongue 一言不發

Feifei's unusually quiet today — maybe it's got something to do with the cat that Rob has brought into the office? But what has the cat's tongue got to do with it — or is there just some confusion about another English expression?

菲菲今天異常安靜，這是不是和羅布帶進辦公室的那隻貓有關？但是貓的舌頭和那有什麼關係，還是混淆了另一個英語表達方式？

Rob: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak. I'm Rob, and joining me is Feifei.

羅布：大家好，歡迎收聽地道英語節目。我是羅布，今天和我一起主持節目的是菲菲。

Feifei: Hello. (sneezes)

菲菲：大家好。（打噴嚏）

Rob: Bless you!

羅布：上帝保佑你！

Feifei: (sneezes)

菲菲：（打噴嚏）

Rob: Are you ok? Have you got a cold?

羅布：你還好嗎？你感冒了嗎？

Feifei: No, not a cold. Something's making me sneeze. Errr... Rob, is that a cat on your lap?!

菲菲：沒有，不是感冒。是有什麼東西讓我打噴嚏了。額……羅布，你膝蓋上那是隻貓嗎？

Rob: Yes. Meet Tiddles. I decided to bring him to the office because he gets lonely at home on his own... don't you Tiddley-widdly? It's a good idea, don't you think? Feifei? You've gone all quiet — you've usually got something to say. Feifei?

羅布：對。這是小不點兒。因爲它自己在家太孤單了，我決定把它帶到辦公室來……是不是啊，小不點兒？這是個好主意，菲菲，你說是吧？你一直都很安靜，平時你是會說些什麼的。

Feifei: (sneezes)

菲菲：（打噴嚏）

Rob: Can you speak? Cat got your tongue?

羅布：你能說話嗎？你沒話要說嗎？

Feifei: No! Your cat has not got my tongue — or anything else — I'm allergic to cats.

菲菲：沒有！你的貓沒有吃了我的舌頭，也沒有叼走其他東西，我只是對貓過敏。

Rob: Oh dear Feifei — but saying 'cat got your tongue?' means 'you're very quiet' or 'you've got nothing to say'.

羅布：哦，菲菲，cat got your tongue這個短語的意思是“你非常安靜”或是“你沒什麼可說的”。

Feifei: Really?! Well let's hear some examples of this phrase...

菲菲：真的嗎？！我們來聽幾個例句。

Examples

例句

What's the matter? Cat got your tongue? I did say we'd use up all our money on the car!

怎麼了？你沒什麼可說的嗎？我剛剛說我們用所有的錢買了這輛車！

A: Has the cat got your tongue? You usually go on about how amazing your boyfriend is.

A：你怎麼不說話？你平常會一直說你的男朋友有多棒。

B: We split up.

B：我們分手了。

Feifei: So 'cat got your tongue?' is an informal question you might say to someone who isn't saying much. [sneezes]

菲菲：所以說這個表達方式是一種非正式的詢問，你可以對那些話不多的人說這句話。（打噴嚏）

Rob: Oh I get it now. You weren't saying much because you were too busy sneezing!

羅布：哦，現在我知道了。你剛剛沒說太多話是因爲你一直在忙着打噴嚏！

Feifei: No Rob. I was angry because you know I am allergic to cats — don't you remember me saying that I can't be in the same room as one? Rob? Rob! What's wrong? Cat got your tongue now?

菲菲：不是，羅布。我非常生氣，因爲你知道我對貓過敏，你不記得我說過我不能和貓待在一間房間裏嗎？羅布？羅布！你怎麼了？你現在怎麼不說話了？

Rob: It appears Tiddles needed the toile... but it's too late now. I'm all wet!

羅布：看起來小不點兒需要去廁所……好吧，現在爲時已晚了。我身上全溼了！

Feifei: Oh Rob. You stink! I'm off. Bye.

菲菲：哦，羅布。你好臭啊！我要走了。再見。

譯文屬僅供學習交流使用，未經許可請勿轉載

重點講解：
1. be allergic to （對…）過敏的；
例句：But my skin is allergic to many kinds of cosmetics.
但是我的皮膚對很多化妝品都過敏。
2. use up 耗盡；耗掉；
例句：We were breathing really fast, and using the air up quickly.
當時我們呼吸非常急促，很快就要把空氣用完了。
3. split up (使)分手；(使)離婚；
例句：John has just split up with his girl friend.
約翰剛剛跟女朋友吹了。
4. be busy doing sth. 全神貫注的；心無旁騖的；埋頭於…的；
例句：Companies are so busy analysing the financial implications that they overlook the effect on workers.
公司忙於分析此事對財務可能產生的影響，而忽視了其對工人的影響。