英语听力精选进阶版 19615

A stab¹ in the dark 瞎猜

If you take a stab in the dark you won't be needing this knife!

Rob²: Welcome to Authentic³ Real English with me Rob and Feifei, where are you?

Feifei: (off mic) A…A…over here…come quickly. 快点儿过来！

Rob: What seems to be the problem?

Feifei: I think there's been a murder! 有人被谋杀了！

Rob: What?! Really – a murder, here? How can you be so sure?

Feifei: Well, last night I was speaking to my friend and we were talking about Jenny from our office…

Rob: Oh yes Jenny, I haven't seen her around for a while … so?

Feifei: 我那个朋友说 Jenny 遇到了她的白马王子，结了婚然后移民去了澳大利亚。她还说什么 a stab in the dark，黑暗中被刺了一刀。那你说 Jenny 是不是遇害了？

Rob: 'A stab in the dark'? Ha - so you think she was murdered?

Feifei: Well possibly – 我好久都没见过 Jenny 了，说不定被 murder 的那个人就是 Jenny. Oh dear, I think we should call the police!

Rob: Hmmm, don't call them yet. That phrase⁴ isn't as bad as you think. There's not been a murder. When you say you are 'taking a stab in the dark' it means⁵ you don't really know the truth and you are just guessing.

Feifei: Really? 哎呀，可把我吓死了。原来在英语(课程)里，人们用“taking a stab in the dark 在黑暗中被刺了一刀” 来表达人们在没有任何依据的情况下瞎猜，猜想的人并不知道事情的真相。That is good news.

Rob: Let's hear the phrase in action…

Examples

It might be a stab in the dark but I think my football team is in a good place to win the league⁶ this season.

I don't know how many people came to see the show, but I'll take a stab in the dark and say about 300.

John thought we could sell our old car for ￡500 – but really he was taking a stab in the dark!

Feifei: 记住 to take a stab in the dark 这个表达和“背后叉刀”没有任何关系。不过，我说咱们可还是不知道 Jenny 的下落啊，这么久都没她的信儿了。

Rob: Well maybe she didn't move to Australia… maybe she just got a new job… but I'm just taking a shot⁷ in the dark.

Feifei: “Taking a shot in the dark 在黑暗中开枪”？

Rob: No - a shot - or a stab in the dark means the same thing – it means I'm guessing – I don't really know.

Feifei: Well guess no longer – look, here she comes!

[door opens]

Jenny: Hello you two – why are you looking so worried – has someone died?!!

1 stab   

n.刺，戳，刺伤的伤口，剧痛，尝试；vt.刺伤，中伤；vi.刺，扎

参考例句：

• I found a stab wound on his leg.我在他的腿上发现一处刺伤。
• Can I stab at the meat with my knife to see if it is well cooked.为了看看肉是否煮熟，我可以在肉上戳个洞吗？

2 rob   

v.抢劫；vi.抢劫，盗窃；vt.非法剥夺，使丧失，抢劫

参考例句：

• Two men formed a plot to rob the bank.两人制定了抢劫那家银行的秘密计划。
• They were scheming to rob the bank.他们在密谋抢劫银行。

3 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

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 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。

6 league   

n.同盟，联盟，社团，联合会

参考例句：

• I'll never forget the day when I joined the Youth League.我永远不会忘记我入团的那一天。
• Half of the students in our class are League members.我们班有一半学生是团员。

7 shot   

n.炮弹，射击，射手；v.射击，发出，发芽；vbl.射击，发出，发芽

参考例句：

• He shot a wild duck.他射中一只野鸭。
• All the children shot out their hands for the money.所有的孩子突然伸出手来要钱。