美國之音之流行美語Lesson 187 - let off steam / oops

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LL: No, not literally. To let off steam can mean to relax or it can mean to express pent-up feelings, usually of anger.

LH: 原來如此。To let off steam就是放松，也可以是發(fā)泄積壓在心里的感情，通常是火氣。所以你是說一個(gè)星期緊張地學(xué)習(xí)和工作后放松一下，感覺很好。Larry，這個(gè)常用語跟steam， 蒸氣有什么關(guān)系呢？

LL: It's a metaphor. One has to ease the pressure in a steam engine by releasing - or letting off - steam. Otherwise the engine might overheat and explode.

LH: 原來是從蒸汽機(jī)的原理來的。沒錯(cuò)，蒸汽機(jī)如果不定時(shí)釋放一下的蒸氣，那就可能會(huì)爆炸。 Larry，如果你一直不放松的話，你該不會(huì)爆炸吧？

LL: No, I'm not going to explode. However, letting off steam is important to a person's mental health.

LH: 嗯，我同意，一個(gè)人如果沒有放松的機(jī)會(huì)，那對心理健康有很大影響。我通常就是用跑步運(yùn)動(dòng)來讓自己放松的。

LL: A lot of people exercise to let off steam. Other people prefer quiet activities like reading.

LH: 對，每個(gè)人疏解壓力的方法都不一樣。所以Larry，你是通過看書來讓自己放松的？

LL: I like to do exactly what we're doing now. I let off steam by relaxing and having a nice meal with a friend.

LH: 和朋友吃吃飯，聊聊天是挺放松的?？墒侨绻阏娴暮苌鷼?，非常生氣，那你怎么發(fā)泄你的怒氣呢？

LL: Sometimes it helps to talk to someone. It's usually better to let off some steam before dealing with the issue directly.

LH: 那倒是，先跟別人談?wù)劇；饸夂艽蟮臅r(shí)候，最好別去處理那事。

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LL: Oops! I forgot that I have to work on Sunday. That just ruins my whole weekend.

LH: Oops? 我常聽到人們這么說，Larry，這是什么意思??？

LL: People usually say oops to acknowledge that they have made a mistake or have had a minor accident. I mistakenly thought I had the whole weekend off, when I actually have to work on Sunday. Oops.

LH: 原來oops就是發(fā)現(xiàn)自己犯了小錯(cuò)誤或出了一點(diǎn)沒有意料的小插曲時(shí)說的，有點(diǎn)像中文里的“哎呀，糟了”。所以你是說，你差點(diǎn)兒忘了星期天還得上班。還好現(xiàn)在是星期五，你要到星期一再想起來，那可真是糟了?？峙抡fOops都太晚了。

LL: That's true. Oops! I just dropped my fork on the floor.

LH: 叉子掉在地上不是什么大事，叫服務(wù)員再拿個(gè)干凈的就是啦。

LL: That's okay. There's an extra one on the next table. I'll just take that one.

LH: 拿那個(gè)桌上的叉子也行，反正哪兒沒人坐。Oh no, 這回輪到我要說oops了。我想起來了，今天晚上我該給我媽媽打電話了。

LL: You still have time. We should be finished here soon and you can go right home to call your mom.

LH: Oops! 吃完飯趕回家也沒用，我忘了買電話卡了。沒電話卡，我怎么打電話呢？

LL: I have a calling card. You can use it to call your mom. I don't mind at all.

LH: 啊，幸好你有張電話卡，Larry，真是太謝謝你嘍！

今天李華學(xué)到兩個(gè)常用語。第一個(gè)是let off steam，是指發(fā)泄怒氣或其他情緒。另一個(gè)常用語是oops，這是一種語氣詞，通常是在當(dāng)一個(gè)人犯了小錯(cuò)誤時(shí)會(huì)說的。