Palaver 繁琐；麻烦

 　　A lot of palaver¹ has made her feel under stress

　　Jo: Hello, I'm Jo and you're listening to Real English from BBC Learning English. With me today is Lily, hello.

　　Lily: Hello Jo. 是的，两分钟的地道英语节目，短小精悍，常听常练，你能积累许多书本上见不到的英式新词语。 Jo，今天的新词是什么?

　　Jo: Well today's Real English word is palaver P.A.L.A.V.E.R. palaver.

　　Lily: Palaver. 听上去像个名词，什么意思呢 Jo?

　　Jo: Well if something is a palaver, it means there is an unnecessary fuss² or bother about the way something is done.

　　Lily: I see. Palaver 意思就是，不必要的繁琐和麻烦。

　　Jo: So for example, say I'd just bought a new MP3 player, but it was really difficult to work out how to use it and how to put my music on it, that would be a palaver.

　　Lily: 这太典型了，买了一个新的 MP3 播放器，可是操作太复杂，说明太啰嗦，这时，你就 可以说，it’s a palaver. Let's listen to some more examples.

　　Examples

　　A: Oh I can't believe the whole family are coming to dinner – I'll have to buy lots of food, drink and decide what dishes to cook. It's going to be really stressful.

　　B: For 14 people – I can imagine! What a palaver!

　　A: Have you applied³ for that new job yet?

　　B: I'm trying but it's a real palaver. I have to fill in about five forms, and write an essay, and I have about two days left!

　　本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑。

1 palaver   

adj.壮丽堂皇的；n.废话，空话

参考例句：

• We don't want all that palaver,do we?我们不想那样小题大做，不是吗？
• Progress is neither proclamation nor palaver.进步不是宣言，也不是空谈。

2 fuss   

n.过分关心，过分体贴，大惊小怪，小题大作

参考例句：

• My mother makes a fuss of me every time I come home.我每次回家，母亲总对我体贴备至。
• Stop all this fuss and do your homework.别大惊小怪了，去做你的家庭作业吧。

3 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。