Donny 在北京學(xué)漢語(yǔ), 他的中國(guó)朋友要是遇到了不知道用美語(yǔ)怎么說(shuō)的詞,就會(huì)來(lái)請(qǐng)教他。今天是吳瓊要問(wèn)的:糾結(jié)。
Donny: Hey 吳瓊, congratulations! I heard you got a job offer.
吳瓊: 沒(méi)錯(cuò),我昨天剛接到的通知! 這可是我夢(mèng)寐以求的工作。
Donny: That's great! You must be very excited.
吳瓊: 不過(guò)啊,我還真有點(diǎn)猶豫。公司要我去美國(guó)待兩年,我舍不得離開這的朋友,可又不愿意放棄這個(gè)難得的機(jī)會(huì), 實(shí)在很糾結(jié)。Donny, 糾結(jié)英文怎么說(shuō)?
Donny: 你可以說(shuō),I am torn, t-o-r-n, torn.
吳瓊: Torn? 那不是被撕裂的意思?
Donny: Well, 一邊是熟悉的生活,另一邊是難得的機(jī)會(huì),兩個(gè)你都不想放棄,it's like your heart is being torn in two different directions, right? 你也可以說(shuō) I'm on the fence.
吳瓊: Fence? 籬笆?
Donny: 對(duì),中文里說(shuō)舉棋不定,英語(yǔ)里說(shuō) on the fence 就好像騎在一堵圍墻上,不知道該向哪邊倒。
吳瓊: 我明白了。那你覺(jué)得我該怎么做呢?
Donny: Maybe you should ask yourself which is the lesser of two evils. Is it worse to give up your dream job or be away from your family and friends?
吳瓊: The lesser of two evils? 兩害相權(quán)取其輕?
Donny: That's right. Maybe when you think about it that way the answer will dawn on you.
吳瓊: Dawn on me? D-a-w-n,不是“黎明”的意思么?
Donny: dawn on me 好象黎明驅(qū)走黑夜,讓你把問(wèn)題看清楚。
吳瓊: 啊,所以我可以說(shuō) it suddenly dawned on me. 恍然大悟。
Donny: Bingo. Now let's see what you've learned today.
吳瓊: 第一:糾結(jié),拿不定主意可以說(shuō) I'm torn. 或是 I'm on the fence;
第二, 兩害相權(quán)取其輕是 the lesser of two evils.
第三:恍然大悟是 It suddenly dawned on me.