The english we speak(BBC教学)第183期:Blah blah blah 无休止地絮叨
(Mildred talking on the phone)
(米尔德丽德正在打电话)Finn: Yeah, yes... yes, Mildred, yeah I know.
芬恩:是啊,是啊,是的,米尔德丽德,我知道。(Mildred on the phone)
(米尔德丽德在打电话)
Finn: Yeah, I know... I know, I know.
芬恩:是的,我知道……我知道,我知道。(Mildred on the phone)
(米尔德丽德在打电话)Finn: Yeah, right. Thanks, Mildred. Bye!
芬恩:是,好的。谢谢你,米尔德丽德。再见!Feifei: Hi Finn, what did Mildred want?
菲菲:你好,芬恩,米尔德丽德想要什么?Finn: I don't know, Feifei.
芬恩:我也不知道,菲菲。Feifei: But you kept saying you knew.
菲菲:可是你一直在说你知道。Finn: I know. Mildred had this ongoing dispute with her neighbour and she went on and on and on about it. It's always "my nasty neighbour blah blah blah blah blah..."
芬恩:我知道。米尔德丽德一直和邻居有争吵,所以她不断地说那件事。她一直在说“我那讨厌的邻居等等等等……”Feifei: Yes, I have to agree it's always the same thing.
菲菲:嗯,我必须同意那都是同一件事。Finn: And in English we use the phrase "blah blah blah" when we want to represent a boring conversation.
芬恩:在英语中我们用blah blah blah这个短语来形容一场无聊的对话。Feifei: Where does it come from?
菲菲:这个短语来自哪里?Finn: Well, according to an article I read the other day, in ancient Greece, the term "bar bar bar" was used to indicate "meaningless noises".
芬恩:嗯,我那天看到了一篇文章,据那篇文章所说这个短语起源于古希腊,他们用bar bar bar这个短语来表示“无意义的噪音”。Feifei: Oh yes! It has the same root as the word "barbarian".
菲菲:哦,是啊!那和“野蛮”这个词是同一个词根。Finn: That's right. And that explanation came from Geoff Nunberg, a linguist at the University of California.
芬恩:没错。这是加利福尼亚大学的语言学家做出的解释。Feifei: "Bar bar bar" might have evolved to what we have today...
菲菲:我们今天所说的短语很可能由Bar bar bar演变而来。Finn: blah blah. And Americans might say: "yada yada yada", but it conveys the same idea of a repetitive, boring conversation.
芬恩:Blah blah blah表示废话,美国人可能会说yada yada yada,但是其实表达的是同一个意思,都是指无聊的对话。Feifei: Yada yada yada…
菲菲:Yada yada yada……Finn: Yes. And from "blah blah blah" we have the related verb "to blabber", which is used informally to mean to talk a lot in an annoying way, and it can be used for people who tend to reveal secrets because they talk too much.
芬恩:对。从blah blah blah这个短语我们形成了一个相关的动词喋喋不休,这是种非正式用语,意思是以令人感到厌烦的方式说了很多话,也可以用来形容因为说太多话而泄露秘密的人。Feifei: Shall we listen to some examples?
菲菲:我们来听一些例句好吗?Finn: Yes. "Blah blah blah" is today's expression in The English We Speak.
芬恩:好啊。Blah blah blah就是今天地道英语节目要学的短语。A: Can I borrow your car tonight?
A:今晚我可以借用一下你的车吗?B: No. I need to go to the supermarket and then I’ve got to pick up a package… and, well, the car is not working properly, and, you know, today is a busy day for me…
B:不行。我要去超市,然后我还要去拿包裹……嗯,这辆车现在有些小问题,而且你也知道,我今天非常忙……A: Johnny, I am sick and tired of you "need to do" this and you've "got to do" that and … blah blah blah. Don't give me any more excuses. You don't want to lend me your car, do you?
A:约翰尼,我对你说“要做这个”、“要做那个”还有其他的废话已经感到厌烦了。别再给我找借口了。你就是不想借我你的车,是不是?Don't tell Amanda you're leaving school early to go to the cinema. She's always blabbing about other people's lives.
别告诉阿曼达你提前离开学校去看电影了。她经常泄露别人的秘密。Feifei: Oh. I certainly don't go around blabbing.
菲菲:哦,我一定不到底去乱说。Finn: That's good to know.
芬恩:很高兴知道这些。(The phone rings)
(电话响了)Finn: Hello... Let me pass the phone to someone who is keen to talk to you. Just a moment, please. Feifei, it's for you.
芬恩:你好……我把电话给想和你聊天的人吧。请稍等一会儿。菲菲,找你的。Feifei: Thanks, Finn. Hello.
菲菲:谢谢你,芬恩。你好。(Mildred is on the phone)
(米尔德丽德在打电话)Feifei: Oh, hello, Mildred!
菲菲:哦,你好,米尔德丽德!(Mildred on the phone)
(米尔德丽德在打电话)Feifei: Yes, yes, that was Finn, my best friend!
菲菲:是啊,是啊,刚刚那是芬恩,我最好的朋友!Finn: This is the beginning of a long conversation... Blah blah blah... Bye.
芬恩:这是一个长对话的开始……然后就是一堆废话……再见。Feifei: Bye.
菲菲:再见。(Mildred on the phone)
(米尔德丽德在打电话)Feifei: Oh, sorry, Mildred, that was not to you, but to... No, no, never mind...
菲菲:哦,抱歉,米尔德丽德,刚刚那不是跟你说的,而是和……不,不是,别在意……(Mildred on the phone)
(米尔德丽德在打电话)Feifei: I know, I know... yes, I know...
菲菲:我知道,我知道……是啊,我知道……
重点讲解:
1. on and on
不停地;继续不断地;
eg. Lobell drove on and on through the dense and blowing snow.
洛贝尔冒着纷飞的大雪不停地往前开。
eg. He worked on and on all night.
他连续不断地干了个通宵。
2. be sick and tired of
厌倦的;厌烦的;厌恶的;
eg. I am sick and tired of hearing all these people moaning...
我厌倦了听这些人大发牢骚。
eg. I was sick and tired of the unending secrecy.
我对这种讳莫如深的神秘气氛感到十分厌烦。
3. blab about
泄露(秘密);
eg. Her mistake was to blab about their affair.
她错在说出了他们的婚外情。
eg. If your friend tells you something in confidence, don't blab about it to everyone else.
如果你的朋友秘密地告诉你某件事情,不要将它泄露给任何人。
4. never mind
没关系;不要紧;没什么;
eg. Well, never mind, John, it's not a matter of life and death.
好了,约翰,别太在意了。这又不是什么生死攸关的大事。
eg. Never mind, I won't tell on you.
别担心,我不会告发你。