美国之音《流行美语》 389 gut feeling...

 　　李华去Larry家，帮他收拾屋子，他们会用到两个常用语：gut¹ feeling和out of the woods.

　　(knocking on door)

　　LH: Larry, 快开门。

　　Larry: OK, OK, I'm coming! I'm coming! (door opens)

　　LH: 你怎么还穿着睡衣？？都快中午了，难道你还没有起床啊？

　　Larry: Hm? Oh, I must have slept in or something....

　　LH: 你睡过头了？咱们今天不是要大扫除吗？你的好哥们儿不是明天从纽约来看你吗？你看你这屋子还乱七八糟的呢。

　　Larry: Hmm.... it is a bit messy in here, isn't it? Well, no matter.... I have a gut feeling my friend isn't coming tomorrow.

　　LH: Your "gut" has a feeling? 你的肠子有感觉？你要拉肚子吗？

　　Larry: No, no. A "gut feeling" refers to someone's intuition. To say you have a gut feeling about something means that you have a feeling about the outcome of something before it happens.

　　LH: 哦，原来gut feeling就是直觉的意思。你是说，你有个直觉你朋友不会来了。为什么这么说呢？

　　Larry: Well, sometimes it's hard to explain why you get a gut feeling about something. But in this case, there are a few things that tell me he's not going to come.

　　LH: 哦？比如说？

　　Larry: For one thing, this friend of mine has been meaning to visit me for years, and every time, right before he's supposed to come, something happens and he cancels the trip.

　　LH: 原来，这个人以前每次说要来看你都没能成行，老是因为这样那样的事儿改变计划。

　　Larry: Right, and that's not the only reason I have a gut feeling he won't come.... I was on the phone with him last night....

　　LH: 你们在电话里说什么了？

　　Larry: Girl trouble.

　　LH: 怎么，他跟女朋友吵架了？

　　Larry: (Sigh)..That's right. He was pretty upset. I was talking to him until four o'clock in the morning!

　　LH: 你跟他聊到凌晨4点钟？难怪你今天这么晚都起不来！

　　Larry: Yep. that's why I have a gut feeling he's going to cancel his trip once again. I was hoping to help him with his problems, but I have a gut feeling that he and his girlfriend are not out of the woods quite yet.

　　LH: 等一下！ 你说，你直觉觉得，他和他女朋友还没有out of the woods? 他们俩去森林里干嘛？

　　Larry: Ha.... no, they aren't literally² in the woods. What I meant is, I don't think their problems are totally solved. My advice may have helped him somewhat, but I don't think they're totally out of the woods yet.

　　LH: 哦，They aren't out of the woods yet意思是说，他们之间的问题还没有彻底解决，对吗？

　　Larry: That's right. I have a gut feeling they might even break up.

　　LH: 你觉得他们会分手？要是真这样，那我也有个gut feeling, 他呀，八成是不会来了。

　　Larry: Yep. So, (yawns) I might as well get back to bed and catch up on some sleep.

　　LH: 等一下！ Larry, you're not off the hook! 你别以为这样就没事了！你屋里太乱，你得收拾收拾！

　　Larry: Aw, Lihua, I'll do it later! I'm exhausted³ from staying up last night! Besides, my buddy⁴ isn't going to come down tomorrow.

　　LH: 哎？这个你也不能确定啊！ 你不只是凭直觉觉得人家不来么，这怎么能算数？

　　Larry: I'm pretty sure about my gut feeling this time, Lihua. (phone rings) Oh, here's my friend calling now. I bet he's going to cancel.

　　LH: 你快听听看，你朋友是不是真的不来了。

　　Larry: (Answers phone) Hi, Steve, good morning!....... Oh, I slept fine, don't worry..Mm-hmm.Mm-hmm....Oh, Really? You got back together with your girlfriend? Oh, I had a gut feeling you two would work things out! Oh, you're coming a day early? Tonight? You're already on your way?? Uhh, great. we'll see you soon, then. Bye!

　　LH: 什么？你朋友不仅没有取消行程，而且还要提前一天到？这下傻眼了吧！看来你的gut feeling很不靠谱！得啦！咱们开始大扫除吧！

　　今天李华从Larry那儿学到两个常用语，一个是gut feeling, 表示直觉。另一个是out of the woods，意思是问题得到了解决。

1 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

2 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。

3 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

4 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！