ESL Podcast 877 – Cheering Someone Up

 　　Eleanor: Isn’t it a beautiful day? The sun is shinning; the birds are singing. It’s good to be alive!

 

　　Porter: Okay, Pollyanna, go spread good cheer somewhere else.

 

　　Eleanor: What’s wrong with you? You must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed.

 

　　Porter: I’m just having a bad day – no, make that a bad month. Nothing is going my way.

 

　　Eleanor: Cheer up! Every cloud has a silver lining¹ and it’s no use crying over spilled milk.

 

　　Porter: Spare me your platitudes², and let me wallow in my own misery³.

 

　　Eleanor: I can’t do that. If your work isn’t going well, then practice makes perfect. You’ll just do better next time.

 

　　Porter: It’s not my work.

 

　　Eleanor: Is it your girlfriend? If your girlfriend isn’t being nice to you then there are plenty of fish in the sea. Don’t you see? Whatever the problem is, it’s not the end of the world.

 

　　Porter: My biggest problem right now is easy to fix.

 

　　Eleanor: How?

 

　　[Door slams.]

 

　　Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

2 platitudes   

n.平常的话，老生常谈，陈词滥调( platitude的名词复数 )；滥套子

参考例句：

• He was mouthing the usual platitudes about the need for more compassion. 他言不由衷地说了些需要更加同情之类的陈腔滥调。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He delivered a long prose full of platitudes. 他发表了一篇充满陈词滥调的文章。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。