迷你对话学地道口语第891期:放人一马

 A: I don’t like this girl. She is always toying with the idea of asking other people to cut her a break in everything.

我不喜欢这个姑娘，她总是盘算着让别人事事照顾她。

B: She should have another thought. And she does not have the bargaining chips for asking for the odds¹.

她应该反思一下了，她没有要求比人照顾她的资本。

A: Of course she doesn’t.

她当然没有了。

cut sb. a break

1. 解词释义

Cut sb. a break的定义是：to not judge someone as severely² as you usually would because they are having problems at the present time。也就时说当某人表现不好或者犯错的时候，如果情有可原，就可以cut him/her a break，类似中文里的“放某人一马”“饶了某人”。

2. 拓展范例

e.g. Tom is often late for work these days, but I’m sure boss will cut him a break. After all, his wife just died.

Tom最近老迟到，不过我相信头儿一定不会追究。毕竟，他的妻子刚去世。

e.g. I know you’ve been through a lot, so I’m willing to cut you a break here. But, don’t you yell at me again, okay? Enough is enough.

我知道你最近不好受，所以我愿意放你一马。但是以后别再对着我大吼大叫了！适可而止，别太过分。

3. 同意短语：cut someone some slack

e.g. Cut me some slack and I’ll be sure to pay you all I owe in a month.

放我一马吧，我一定在一个月后把欠你的债务全无还完。

e.g. Come on! Cut me some slack! I won’t do it again!

好啦，饶了我吧，我下回不再做了。

1. toy with：随便对待；不很认真地考虑

e.g. He toyed with the idea of going to China.

他动过去中国的念头，但并没当真。

e.g. For a time he had toyed with the notion of becoming a doctor.

有一段时间他还不大当真地有过做医生的念头。

e.g. Indeed, he began to toy with the idea of going for broke.

实际上他还开玩笑似地谈到豁出去干一场的念头。

2. in everything：在每件事情上

e.g. He aims at perfection in everything he does.

他做任何事情都力求十全十美。

e.g. He is fond of having a hand in everything.

他什么事都喜欢插上一手。

e.g. He crossed me in everything I wanted to do.

无论我做什么他都从中作梗。

3. a bargaining chip：讨价还价的筹码，谈判的筹码

e.g. Rubio suggests that oil be used as a bargaining chip in any trade talks.

鲁比奥建议把石油当作所有贸易谈判的筹码。

e.g. He reiterated³ his position that nuclear weapons could not be used as international bargaining chips.

他一再重申他的立场——认为核子武器不可以用来当作国际谈判的筹码。

e.g. Beijing and Moscow are using their close ties as a bargaining chip vis-a-vis Washington.

北京与莫斯科正利用双方紧密的联系作为对华盛顿的谈判筹码。

4. of course：（尤用于同意或不赞同某人时强调自己的陈述）当然，自然

e.g. "I expect you're right." — "Of course I'm right." 

——“我想你是对的。”——“我当然是对的。”

e.g. "You will strictly⁴ observe your diet: no wine or spirits, very little meat." — "Of course."

——“你要严格控制饮食：禁酒，少吃荤。”——“这个自然。”

1. She is always toying with the idea of asking other people to cut her a break in everything.

要点解析：句中的谓语是is always toying with the idea of……。这个结构是be + always + 现在分词表示对某人经常的这种行为一种厌恶，憎恨的情绪。

2. And she does not have the bargaining chips for asking for the odds.

要点解析：表示没有做某事讨价还价的筹码或资历，在have the bargaining chips的后面的介词要用for。

1 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

2 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

3 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

4 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。