VOA流行美語 Unit 330:得心應手&人多難辦事

Larry和李華一起吃中飯。今天我們要學兩個常用語：in one's element和too many cooks in the kitchen。

LL: Li Hua, Isn't this weather gorgeous?

LH: 是啊，兩個月前還是冰天雪地的，怎麼好象一眨眼就進入夏天了似的。

LL: This year the weather has been really strange. First, it snowed a lot. And now it's really warm. Maybe it's global warming.

LH: 不管是什麼原因，只要陽光明媚，我就有一副好心情。坐在這裏，感覺整個人都是暖洋洋的。

LL: Do you remember the other day when we were talking about Jeff?

LH: 記得啊，上次我見到Jeff，他好象正在忙着找女朋友，還說什麼這是他今年要實現的目標。

LL: I saw him at a dance party the other night, and he looked like he was totally in his element. He was talking to one girl after another.

LH: 這麼說，他已經開始把計劃落實在行動上了？不過Larry, what do you mean when you say he was "in his element"?

LL: "In one's element," basically means that someone is in a very suitable environment and doing something that comes very naturally. Like I could say that you are in your element when you're teaching Chinese.

LH: 哦，我明白了，in one's element, 就是說做什麼事情很自如，得心應手。那我也可以說，You are in your element when you're playing video games.

LL: You got it. Jeff looked totally cool and in his element the other night.

LH: 這麼說，Jeff在舞會上非常自如，而且十分擅長跟女孩子搭訕。哎，我怎麼記得他以前好象特別靦腆。你跟他打招呼了嗎？

LL: Of course. He told me that he's become much more social and outgoing during the past year and he's always going out to bars and parties.

LH: 這麼說，Jeff 找女朋友的目標用不了多久就能實現了。

LL: Hey, I almost forgot. I have great news. My brother George is finally getting married and we are invited.

LH: George終於要結婚了！真是太好了。婚禮在哪裏舉行？

LL: I think it's going to be in Orlando. That's where my brother's girlfriend's family is from.

LH: 是佛羅里達的奧蘭多嗎？我正好沒去過迪斯尼。這下好了，可以藉着去參加婚禮的機會，到迪斯尼去好好玩玩。婚禮具體在哪家賓館，辦定了嗎？

LL: I'm not sure. My brother and his girlfriend want to have the wedding on a beach. But the bride's family wants to have it at a resort. Seems to me like there are too many cooks in the kitchen.

LH: 你是說George和他未婚妻想在沙灘上舉行婚禮，可新娘的家裏人卻希望能在渡假村裏辦。可這跟什麼廚房、廚子有什麼關係呢？

LL: No, you're misunderstanding the phrase "too many cooks in the kitchen." It's a metaphor, meaning that the help or involvement of too many people can do more harm that good.

LH: 哦，我明白了，too many cooks in the kitchen，廚房裏大廚太多反而會誤事。你是說，在選擇婚禮地點的問題上，出主意的人太多，結果反而很難決定。

LL: Exactly. There are too many people involved in deciding the location of the wedding and so it's like having too many cook in the kitchen.

LH: 那去年我們班裏幾個同學商量春假一起出去玩，可是有人要往北走，有人要往南走，誰都說服不了誰，在這種情況下，我就可以說There were too many cooks in the kitchen. 對嗎？

LL: You got it. Having too many cooks in the kitchen sometimes can do more harm than good because sometimes too many people working on the same thing can ruin it.

LH: 你們公司去年那個項目做砸了不就是因爲指手劃腳的人太多嗎？

LL: Absolutely. The project failed because there were too many cooks in the kitchen.

LH: 在George婚禮的事情，真希望“廚房裏那些大廚們”都出去，讓George和他女朋友兩個人自己決定。

今天李華學了兩個常用語。一個是in one's element, 意思是做某件事情得心應手、非常自如。另一個是too many cooks in the kitchen，廚房裏大廚太多，意思是做主的人太多反而會耽誤事。