英语听力精选进阶版 6779

Jen: Hi I'm Jennifer and I'm waiting for Helen. I did see her in the corridor¹ earlier, and she was looking a bit unhappy. Wait, here she is. Hi Helen!

Helen: Hi Jen.

Jen: What's the matter, Helen? Why the long face?

Helen: 我的脸怎么了？

Jen: Nothing's wrong with your face, except that it looks a bit upset.

Helen: But you just said I've got a long face. 我的脸很长。

Jen: No – what I said was…

Helen: You think I've got a strange face. 我就知道今天我的发型有问题。

Jen: No, I asked you: "Why the long face?"

Helen: Is it my nose? Is it too big? Or maybe my chin² is the wrong shape. 要不我用口袋把头遮起来算了?!

Jen: No, no, no – that's not what I meant! First of all, you look LOVELY today.

Helen: OK… So what did you mean?

Jen: In English, the expression "why the long face?" is used as an informal³ way of asking someone what's wrong if they look upset.

Helen: 那么我脸上没问题。

Jen: No, there isn't. Let's hear some examples of the phrase⁴ in use.

You've just got a new job, a new house and a new man – you should be happy! Why the long face?

Hey there, don't look so sad! Why the long face?

Helen: "Why the long face?" 这个短语其实是问是不是有什么烦心的事儿？为什么拉着脸？

Jen: Exactly. You could also say "what's up?"

Helen: That's very simple – you could say "what's wrong?" too.

Jen: So what IS wrong? Why do you look so miserable⁵?

Helen: 今天我太倒霉了，什么事儿都不顺利。First I lost my car keys, then I was late for a meeting and I fell over and tripped and landed in a puddle⁶ on my way. 简直一团糟。

Jen: It sounds awful. I know, how about I tell you a joke to cheer you up – you'll like this one.

Helen: OK, why not. Let's hear it.

Jen: A horse walks into a bar. The barman says: "why the long face?"

Helen: So the horse was unhappy? 这有什么好笑的？

Jen: The barman says to the horse "Why the long face?"

Helen: Why would a horse be in a bar?

Jen: It doesn't matter – it's a joke. It's a horse so the barman says "Why the long face?"

Helen: 我还是没听懂这个笑话。

Jen: Well, the horse has a long face.

Helen: So it's unhappy?

Jen: No, well, yes, but that's the joke. Horses have long faces.

Helen: So why did it go into the bar again…?

1 corridor   

n.走廊，回廊，通路

参考例句：

• The corridor opens into Mr.Brown's office.这条走廊通到布朗先生的办公室。
• There was a ring of laughter in the corridor.走廊里传来响亮的笑声。

2 chin   

n.下巴，下颚，不气馁，不灰心

参考例句：

• You've got some egg on your chin.你的下巴上沾着一点鸡蛋。
• He hurried on with his shaving,cutting his chin twice.他急急忙忙地剃胡子，把下巴割破了两次。

3 informal   

adj.非正式的，不拘礼的，通俗的

参考例句：

• I got an informal reception.我受到了非正式接待。
• The leaders met over informal lunches.领袖们在非正式午餐时进行会晤。

4 phrase   

n.短语，词组；成语，习语

参考例句：

• The phrase was caught on and immediately became popular.这个短语被采用后很快就流行了。
• That's exactly the phrase I was looking for.这就是我一直找的那个短语。

5 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

6 puddle   

n.(雨)水坑，泥潭

参考例句：

• The boy hopped the mud puddle and ran down the walk.这个男孩跳过泥坑，沿着人行道跑了。
• She tripped over and landed in a puddle.她绊了一下，跌在水坑里。