地道英语在线听-Uptight 紧绷弦

Jo: This is Real English from BBC Learning¹ English. I’m Jo.

Sun Chen: 还有我,孙晨

Jo: Today we’re going to look at words and phrases that you might not find in your English textbook.

Sun Chen: 地道英语时段,我们说的可是英语中的新鲜词,在课本里还不一定能找得到,所以,你要仔细听.jo 快说说,今天要学的是哪个词?

Jo: Today’s word is ‘uptight²’ – U.P.T.I.G.H.T. – uptight.

Sun Chen: Uptight. 什么意思呢?

Jo: If you are uptight, you are angry and anxious about something.

Sun Chen: 一个人如果是uptight,那他一定是紧绷着弦儿,一点都不放松,你能给咱举个例子吗?

Jo: Of course. You might say ‘don’t get uptight – relax!’ if your friend was getting stressed and anxious about something.

Sun Chen: 这是个好词吗?

Jo: Not really. You could say ‘my boss is too uptight today’. You mean it as a negative thing, he’s stressed.

Sun Chen: 这么说,我们在使用这个词的时候还得谨慎点儿,弄不好还要得罪人呢!

 

Insert 片断

A: Are Mike and Angela still dating?

B: No, she decided³ to stop seeing him. He was always so uptight about everything.

Jo: My ex-boss was a very uptight person.

Sun Chen: Really?

Jo: Yes. He would scream and shout all the time about nothing.

Sun Chen: He sounds terrible.

Jo: Yes, but luckily my new boss isn’t uptight at all.

Sun Chen: That’s good.

Jo: Yes, Sun Chen. There’s nothing worse than an uptight boss.

 

Sun Chen: 好好,我们还是趁热打铁,赶快复习一下,如果一个人的弦儿绷得特别紧,一点不放松,就可以用uptight来形容了.

 

Jo: Yes, that’s it. You’ve been listening to Real English from BBC Learning English. Join us again soon for more up-to-the-minute Real English. Bye.

Sun Chen: 再见!

 

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 uptight   

adj.焦虑不安的，紧张的

参考例句：

• He's feeling a bit uptight about his exam tomorrow.他因明天的考试而感到有点紧张。
• Try to laugh at it instead of getting uptight.试着一笑了之，不要紧张。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。