迷你对话学地道口语第186期:提心吊胆

　　迷你对话：
A: I don’t dare to look after the children now.
我现在不敢照看小孩了。
B: Why?
为什么？
A: The children always make themselves in danger. I always have my heart in my mouth with them.
孩子们总是把自己处于危险之中，和他们在一起，我总是提心吊胆的。
B: It is because your children have grown up, and you haven’t lived with a child for a long time.
也许因为你的孩子长大了，你很长时间没有和小孩一起生活了吧。
地道表达：
have one’s heart in one’s mouth
解词释义：
从字面意思来看，该习语的意思是“把某人的心放到嘴巴里”，与汉语中的“心都提起来了”类似，由此转义为“提心吊胆”。
支持范例：
Eg. I would have my heart in my mouth for I don’t know what you might be going to recommend next.
我会时时刻刻提心吊胆，不知你还要提出一些什么别的。
Eg. The possibility of losing her job made her have her heart in her mouth last year.
去年她一直提心吊胆生怕失去工作.
Eg. A wrongdoer has his heart in his mouth by fear of discovery.
作恶者常提心吊胆,怕被别人发觉。
Eg. We have our hearts in our mouths to be being under a momentary¹ attack.
我们为随时可能遭到攻击而提心吊胆。
词海拾贝：
1. look after：照看，看管
Eg. Can you take and look after the children for a few days?
你能把小孩带去照顾几天吗?
Eg. Idiots and other incompetents² need someone to look after them.
白痴和其他弱智者需人照料他们。
2. in danger：出于危险
Eg. When the dyke³ was in danger, the whole village rushed out to repair it.
河堤出险，全村的人都赶去抢修。
Eg. You promise me that you will be the person who yells out when you see the marriage is in danger.
你要答应我，当你发现婚姻陷入危机时你要大声说出来。
3. grow up：长大
Eg. Children must be educated to serve their country when they grow up.
必须教育孩子长大后为国家服务。
Eg. I like to muse⁴ about what I will do when I grow up.
我喜欢仔细思考长大后做什么。

1 momentary   

adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的

参考例句：

• We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
• I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。

2 incompetents   

n.无能力的，不称职的，不胜任的( incompetent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Idiots and other incompetents need someone to look after them. 白痴和其他弱智者需人照料他们。 来自辞典例句
• Capacity-to-contract issues generally involve minors, mental incompetents, intoxicated persons and drug addicts. 缔约能力问题通常包括未成年人，精神不健全人，醉酒者及药瘾者。 来自互联网

3 dyke   

n.堤，水坝，排水沟

参考例句：

• If one sheep leap over the dyke,all the rest will follow.一只羊跳过沟，其余的羊也跟着跳。
• One ant-hole may cause the collapse of a thousand-li dyke.千里长堤，溃于蚁穴。

4 muse   

n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感

参考例句：

• His muse had deserted him,and he could no longer write.他已无灵感，不能再写作了。
• Many of the papers muse on the fate of the President.很多报纸都在揣测总统的命运。