听播客学英语 63 我的意思是

 　　Today we meet the English expression “I meant to”. “Meant” is the past tense of “mean”, and I know you all know what “mean” means¹. (Sorry, there are a lot of “means” in that sentence!) I guess you often ask, “What does this word mean?” or you say “Now I understand what the sentence means”.

　　Now look at these sentences:

　　I meant to go to the supermarket, but I did not have any money with me.

　　I meant to do my English homework, but my friend visited, and we talked all evening.

　　I meant to speak to my mother, but she was not at home when I telephoned.

　　“I meant to..” means “it was my plan, or my intention² to..” do something. And it is an expression we often use when we have to explain why we have not done something! “I meant to send her a postcard, but I could not find a stamp.” “I meant to meet my daughter in town, but I had to stay late at work for a meeting.”

　　Why am I explaining about “I meant to..” in this podcast? Well, quite a lot of you have sent me e-mails to ask why there have been no new podcasts for the last few weeks. I have been busy. I am the Trustee of a Charity³ which helps children who have emotional⁴ or family problems. Unfortunately we have run out of money, and have had to close the Charity, pay all the bills, make the staff redundant⁵ and find other organisations to help the children. This has taken a lot of time, so I have not been able to make as many podcasts as I would like. I meant to make several new podcasts, but I did not have the time. I meant to explain to you, but I forgot. I did not mean to leave you in the dark, but I had so many other things to do.

　　Here in England, it is nearly the school summer holidays. I am going to take a break, but I will be back with new podcasts early in September. Also in September, I want to redesign the Listen to English website, and add several new features. Listen to English is now on Twitter, and there is also a Listen to English page on Facebook. You can find links on the website. I shall use Twitter and Facebook to tell you when there are new podcasts, and to send you other news. You can use the Facebook page to send messages to me and to other listeners⁶. So, please follow Listen to English on Twitter, and become a fan of the Listen to English page on Facebook.

　　There is an exercise about “I meant to” on the website. Have a good summer!

1 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

2 intention   

n.意图；目的；打算

参考例句：

• I'm sorry I offended you,but it wasn't my intention.对不起，冒犯你了，但我绝不是有意的。
• We understood her intention.我们明白了她的心意。

3 charity   

n.慈悲，博爱，慈善团体，施舍

参考例句：

• He founded the charity in memory of his late wife.他兴办那个慈善机构以纪念他已故的妻子。
• He gave a handsome sum of money to charity.他向慈善团体捐了一笔相当可观的钱款。

4 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。

5 redundant   

adj.多余的，过剩的；(食物)丰富的；被解雇的

参考例句：

• There are too many redundant words in this book.这本书里多余的词太多。
• Nearly all the redundant worker have been absorbed into other departments.几乎所有冗员，都已调往其他部门任职。

6 listeners   

n.倾听者，收听者( listener的名词复数 )；听众

参考例句：

• the demographics of radio listeners 电台听众统计数据
• The singer's high notes jarred on the ears of her listeners. 那位歌手的高音让听众们觉得刺耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》