生活英语对话 Episode 27: The hungry cat

本单元是关于饥饿猫的对话

Tim: I don't believe it! Kitty's just eaten my dinner. I was putting the kettle on and I turned round and there she was, eating my chicken. That cat's a pain in the neck.
Alice: Oh calm down.
Tim: It drives me mad! I'm starving, I've been slaving away in that dusty old stockroom all day. I hate work just now and then this happens! The cat's got to go or be put down.
Helen: Don't be horrible. You can buy something else to eat.
Tim: We're not all as rich as you, you know, daddy's girl!
Helen: How dare you Tim! I didn't eat your chicken. You drive me up the wall sometimes.
Alice: Hey guys, chill out.


Vocabulary:

to fly off the handle (v, informal):
to be very angry 发脾气

It's a pain in the neck (idiom):
It's very annoying 惹人嫌，让人很受不了的麻烦

I'm starving (informal):
I'm very hungry 饿极了

To put an animal down:
To kill an animal, usually because it is old or ill 把（老弱病残的）动物杀掉

A daddy's girl:
A woman who isn't independent but is spoilt and looked after by her father (or other father-like figure) 乖乖女

本单元的语言点是与愤怒有关的习语，习惯用语得以隐喻的形式去理解，而非从字面上的意思去理解。如果有人说“see red”，意思是指某人发怒，冒火（这里用的是隐喻），而不是指某人看到红色（字面上的意思）。

Idioms of anger
与愤怒有关的习语

Idioms use language metaphorically² rather than literally³. If you 'see red', it means you are very angry (the metaphorical¹ meaning) not that you look at something or someone and see the colour red (the literal meaning).

Idioms are also fixed⁴ groups of words so you can't change the wording of an idiom. For example, you can say 'I'm at the end of my tether' to say you have reached the limits of your tolerance⁵ but you can't say 'I'm at the end of my rope? 习惯用语通常是固定的一些词语，人们不能随意改变习惯用语的词语组成。比如，可以说‘I’m at the end of my tether’来表示山穷水尽，或智穷力竭（tether是栓牛、马等的系绳，系链），但是却不可以说‘I’m at the end of my rope’。


Idioms - losing your temper （发脾气）:

I lost my rag when the traffic warden⁶ gave me a ticket.
I blew my top when the traffic warden gave me a ticket.

I lost my temper in a dramatic way when she gave me a ticket.(当她给我开出罚单时，我立刻火冒三丈。)


Idioms - getting angry （发怒，冒火）:

I saw red when he refused my request for a pay rise.
I got angry. (Red refers to the blood rising in your eyes!) （当他拒绝我的加薪要求时，我立刻火冒三丈。我非常气愤。）

Noisy children make the teacher hot under the collar.
Noisy children make his blood boil.
He gets angry when children are noisy. (Both these idioms refer to the idea of being angry and getting hot.) （当孩子们吵闹时，他变得很愤怒。在这里，上述两个习语指的都是愤怒和火冒三丈的意思。）

I'm at the end of my tether. If those children don't shut up, I'll ...
I have reached my limit, I am about to lose my temper. （我已忍无可忍，快要发脾气了。如果他们还不住嘴，我就要......）

Right! That's the last straw. Be quiet now!
Something has happened to finally push me over my limit. I won't tolerate this noise anymore. （The last straw是指一系列重压、打击中，终于使人不能忍受的最后一击；终于使人不支而垮下的小事。）


Idioms - being annoyed or irritated （恼火或烦躁）:

He is such a pain in the neck （惹人嫌，让人很受不了的麻烦）. He's always asking for money.
He really winds me up （让人烦）. He's always asking for money.
He drives me up the wall （把人搞得心烦意乱）. He's always asking for money.
He irritates or annoys me, usually because he does something repeatedly. （他不断地做某事，让人感觉很烦恼）

1 metaphorical   

a.隐喻的，比喻的

参考例句：

• Here, then, we have a metaphorical substitution on a metonymic axis. 这样，我们在换喻（者翻译为转喻，一种以部分代替整体的修辞方法）上就有了一个隐喻的替代。
• So, in a metaphorical sense, entropy is arrow of time. 所以说，我们可以这样作个比喻：熵像是时间之矢。

2 metaphorically   

adv. 用比喻地

参考例句：

• It is context and convention that determine whether a term will be interpreted literally or metaphorically. 对一个词的理解是按字面意思还是隐喻的意思要视乎上下文和习惯。
• Metaphorically it implied a sort of admirable energy. 从比喻来讲，它含有一种令人赞许的能量的意思。

3 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

4 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

5 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

6 warden   

n.监察员，监狱长，看守人，监护人

参考例句：

• He is the warden of an old people's home.他是一家养老院的管理员。
• The warden of the prison signed the release.监狱长签发释放令。