The english we speak(BBC教學)第324期:Brass neck 厚顏無恥
If you have a neck made of brass how does it make you behave? Feifei discovers an expression about being confident that shouldn't be taken literally!
如果你的脖子是用黃銅做的,那你要怎麼行動?菲菲發現了一個與自信有關的表達方式,這個表達可不能從字面上理解!Feifei: Hello I'm Feifei and this is The English We Speak.
菲菲:大家好,歡迎收聽地道英語節目。Rob: Yes, it is. And hello I'm Rob.
羅布:歡迎收聽節目。大家好,我是羅布。
Feifei: I don't know about you Rob, but I seem to have so much work to do at the moment.
菲菲:羅布,我不知道你什麼情況,可是我現在好像有很多工作要做。Rob: Yeah, me too. We've got to meet that deadline by Friday.
羅布:我也是。週五就是最後截止期限了。Feifei: I guess we've all got lots to do — and that's why I was surprised that Phyllis has asked to take three days off work this week.
菲菲:我想我們都有很多事要做,所以我在聽說菲利斯這周要請三天假時感到非常驚訝。Rob: Three days? Are you sure? Maybe she's unwell?
羅布:請三天假?你確定嗎?她是不是身體不舒服?Feifei: No, she's fine — I heard her say to the boss in a very loud voice 'I've got a great deal on a flight to Italy so I need to take the rest of the week off.'
菲菲:不是,她很好,我聽到她很大聲地跟老闆說,“我訂了飛往義大利的航班,所以這周剩下的日子我要休假。”Rob: What cheek — she's got a brass neck.
羅布:真是厚臉皮,她真是厚顏無恥。Feifei: A brass neck? Phyllis has a brass neck! Really — when did she get that — maybe she needs a holiday to recover from the operation?
菲菲:黃銅脖子?菲利斯有個黃銅脖子!真的嗎?她是什麼時候有的黃銅脖子?也許她需要假期是因為她需要從手術中恢復過來?Rob: No no no Feifei. Her neck isn't actually made of brass — I just mean she is confident but also a bit rude — she can do or say things that most of us would be too embarrassed to do or say.
羅布:不是,不是這樣的,菲菲。她的脖子不是黃銅做的,我的意思是她很自信,但是有點兒無禮,她能做或是說一些我們因為尷尬而不會去做或者說的事情。Feifei: Yes, she just doesn't care what she says does she? So if someone is described as having a brass neck, it means they are confident and say or do what they want but doesn't understand their behaviour might be unacceptable to others.
菲菲:對,她不在乎她說了什麼,對吧?如果我們說有人有“黃銅脖子”,其實是說他們很自信,他們會說他們想說的話,做他們想做的事,但是並不知道他們的行為對於其他人來說可能無法接受。Rob: Yes, she certainly doesn't worry about what other people think of her. A bit like people in these examples...
羅布:對,她當然不在乎其他人怎麼看她。有點像這些例子裡的人……Examples
例句My ex-boyfriend's got a brass neck, coming round and asking me to do his washing!
我前男友真是厚臉皮,他過來讓我幫他洗衣服!The customer has a brass neck asking for a refund when it was obvious he had already worn the shoes.
這個顧客真是厚臉皮,他顯然已經穿過這雙鞋了,卻還來要求退款。She's got a brass neck telling the boss that he wasn't very good at his job — I would never say that!
她太厚臉皮了,她跟老闆說他不太擅長自己的工作,我可永遠不會那麼說!Feifei: So having a brass neck means you are extremely confident about your own actions but you don't understand that your behaviour might be unacceptable to others. So it's not like us Rob?
菲菲:這個短語的意思是說你對自己的行為極其自信,但你並不知道自己的行為對別人來說可能無法接受。這可不是我們的作風,對吧羅布?Rob: Absolutely not. Although, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind writing the notes for the presentation we're doing? I've got to meet someone for lunch.
羅布:當然不是了。不過我想知道你是不是不介意為我們正在做的展示會做筆記?我約了人吃午飯。Feifei: Ermm...
菲菲:額……Rob: Come on Feifei, you love writing presentations... Oh why are you looking so brassed off?
羅布:來吧菲菲,你很喜歡寫簡報的……哦,為什麼你看上去那麼憤怒呢?Feifei: Brassed off — you mean I'm looking annoyed and disappointed — maybe I'm looking brassed off because of your brass neck.
菲菲:憤怒,你是說我看上去惱怒又沮喪,也許我之所以看上去很憤怒是因為你太厚顏無恥了。Rob: I'll take that as 'no' then. Oh well, at least you understand this English expression now!
羅布:我就當你這是回答“不行”了。好吧,至少現在你理解這個英語表達的意思了!Both: Bye!
二人一起:再見!
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重點講解:
1. recover from 恢復健康;復原;
例句:It took a long time for him to recover from a bad cold.
他患重感冒,很長時間才康復。
2. be made of (由…)構成的;(由…)製成的;
例句:The lavatory windows are made of translucent glass.
廁所窗戶是用半透明玻璃做的。
3. come around 拜訪;探訪;
例句:Mary comes around to see her parents once or twice a week.
瑪麗每星期來看她的父母親一兩次。
4. be good at 擅長的;精通的;能幹的;
例句:The boy is good at doing a sum in his head.
這男孩善於心算。