2015年ESL之日常生活 03 Defying Orders

Defying Orders 

Carol: Hey, where are you going? 

Miguel: We can’t sit here doing nothing. 

Carol: We have orders to stay here and to keep watch. You know as well as I do what the consequences are of defying orders. 

Miguel: I don’t care what kind of punishment I get. I can’t sit still and let things happen without an attempt at intervention¹. 

Carol: What are you going to do, enter the fray² without a plan? 

Miguel: I have a plan. I’m going to stop what’s going on using whatever means necessary. 

Carol: By doing what? Have you thought this through? 

Miguel: I’ll get the lay of the land and then formulate³ some options. Everything will work out. 

Carol: And I suppose you expect me to go with you, to stick my neck out, too? 

Miguel: That’s up to you. I’m not twisting your arm. 

Carol: How do you know that if I stay here, I won’t squeal⁴ on you? 

Miguel: I don’t. I guess I just have to rely on your sense of honor. 

Carol: Oh, come on, let’s go. 

Miguel: You’re coming with me? 

Carol: Against my better judgment⁵! 

 

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse 

1 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

2 fray   

v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗

参考例句：

• Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢？
• Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。

3 formulate   

v.用公式表示；规划；设计；系统地阐述

参考例句：

• He took care to formulate his reply very clearly.他字斟句酌，清楚地做了回答。
• I was impressed by the way he could formulate his ideas.他陈述观点的方式让我印象深刻。

4 squeal   

v.发出长而尖的声音；n.长而尖的声音

参考例句：

• The children gave a squeal of fright.孩子们发出惊吓的尖叫声。
• There was a squeal of brakes as the car suddenly stopped.小汽车突然停下来时，车闸发出尖叫声。

5 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。