生活英語對話 Episode 99: Girl Talk

本單元是關(guān)于女孩間的談話的對話。

Alice: It's only me. Can I come in?

Helen: Yes but don't look at me. I'm a mess.

Alice: Helen, you've been crying. What's wrong?

Helen: I've just had some really bad news from Michal. He's fallen in love with someone else and doesn't want me to contact him ever again.

Alice: Oh, you poor thing.

Helen: I mean it wasn't as if I didn't see it coming. But still it's a shock to see it all down in black and white.

Alice: That's awful.

Helen: But you know what the worst thing is? Poor Tim got the brunt of it all. He just wanted to have a chat with me and I completely went off on one. Alice?

Vocabulary 詞匯

a mess (混亂;一團糟;骯臟)

dirty or untidy

I didn't see it coming (我沒料到會這樣)

I didn't realise this was going to happen. It wasn't obvious to me

to see it down in black and white (看到白紙黑字的印刷品)

to read something written in a letter, book, newspaper etc.

the brunt of it (主要力量;壓力)

the main force of something unpleasant

I went off on one (非正式用語：我非常氣憤，并因此發(fā)火。)

I became very angry and lost my temper

本單元的語言點是 and 連接的兩字短語， 英語里有不少用'and'連接起來的兩個詞組成的短語。譬如，black and white，即白紙黑字。這些詞語叫做二項式短語。這些短語的句式通常是固定的;我們只能說 black and white，而不能說 white and black。

Binomials 2: black and white

Background (背景):

There are many phrases in English that use two words connected with 'and'. For example, black and white, milk and sugar. These expressions are known as binomials. In these phrases the word order is usually fixed; we say black and white, we don't say white and black.

The following binomials are noun, verb and adjective phrases.

Nouns - colours and shapes (與顏色和形狀有關(guān)的名詞短語):

black and white: written down

She was really excited to see her name in black and white in the newspaper. It made her feel very important.

black and blue: bruised, an injury or mark where the skin is darker in colour, often as a result of being hit by something

Poor guy! First they stole his wallet and then they beat him black and blue. He was in hospital for a week after the attack.

salt and pepper: hair that is a mixture of dark hairs and grey or white hairs

She's only 30 but she looks so distinguished with her salt and pepper hair.

stars and stripes: the USA flag

The athlete cried when she heard the national anthem and saw the stars and stripes raised in the Olympic stadium.

Nouns - food (與食品有關(guān)的名詞短語):

sweet and sour: two flavours that give food the combined flavours of sugar and spice

Fancy some sweet and sour chicken from the Chinese take-away tonight?

bread and butter: simple, plain sandwich

I'm not really hungry. I'll just have some bread and butter for lunch.

ham and eggs: typical British breakfast of pig meat (pork) and eggs

He loves to have a big fried breakfast at the weekend, with ham and eggs and all the rest.

bangers and mash: (informal) sausages and mashed potatoes

The kids love bangers and mash. It's so easy to make so that's great for me too.

Verbs and adjectives - housework(與家務有關(guān)的動詞和形容詞短語):

cook and clean: (verb) make a meal or bake a cake and then wash and tidy up afterwards

I've been cooking and cleaning all day long. I'm exhausted.

wash and dry: (verb) using water and washing up liquid to clean dishes and then to dry them with a cloth

The party was great. Let's leave the washing and drying till tomorrow morning.

clean and tidy: (adjective) cleared up

Go up to your room and get to work! I want to see it clean and tidy before you go out.

spic and span: (adjective) very clean

She's incredibly house-proud. The whole place is always so spic and span. I don't know how she finds the time to keep it so tidy.