被現代英語慣用語搞暈了？ - 6分鐘英語：英語精讀講義

Six Minute English from BBC Learning English dot com.

歡迎收聽 BBC Learning English dot com 的六分鐘英語。

Hello, this is Six Minute English from BBC Learning English.

大家好，這裡是 BBC Learning English 的六分鐘英語。

I'm Rob.

我是 Rob。

And I'm Sam.

我是 Sam。

Can you wait a second, Rob? 片語搭配

能等一下嗎，Rob？

I have to um spend a penny. 慣用語

我得，嗯，spend a penny（花一便士）。

Uh what?

呃，什麼？

You're going shopping now, are you? 文法

你現在要去購物嗎？

Uh we're just about to start the program. 文法

呃，我們馬上就要開始節目了。

No, no.

不，不是。

I have to um you know, spend a penny.

我得，嗯，你懂的，spend a penny。

Haven't you heard that expression before? 語氣意圖

你以前沒聽過這個表達嗎？

Spend a penny means go to the toilet.

Spend a penny 意思是去上廁所。

It's an old idiom from the days when it cost a penny to unlock the door of a public toilet. 片語搭配

這是一個古老的習語，源於公共廁所開門需要花費一便士的時代。

Okay, I see.

好的，我明白了。

Well, you're showing your age there, Sam. 慣用語

哎呀，你暴露年紀了，Sam。

Most young people today wouldn't know what that phrase meant. 文法

現在大多數年輕人都不知道這個短語是什麼意思了。

And there aren't many public toilets left nowadays anyway. 文法

而且現在也沒有多少公共廁所留下來了。

Language changes fast, 表達脈絡

語言變化很快，

and new words and phrases are being created all the time. 文法

新的詞彙和短語一直都在產生。

In this program, we'll be learning some modern idioms, 表達脈絡

在本期節目中，我們將學習一些現代習語，

new expressions that have been introduced to English through the internet, TV, and social media. 文法

也就是透過網路、電視和社群媒體引入英語的新表達。

And of course, we'll be learning their meanings as well.

當然，我們也會學習它們的含義。

Great.

太棒了。

I am raring to go, another idiom there. 慣用語

我已經迫不及待（raring to go）了，這又是一個習語。

But first, as usual, I have a question for you, Sam. 表達脈絡

但首先，像往常一樣，我有一個問題要問你，Sam。

Many well-known idioms come from the world of sport. 片語搭配

許多著名的習語都來自體育界。

For example, throw in the towel, which means give up or surrender. 慣用語

例如，throw in the towel（扔毛巾），意思是放棄或投降。

But which sport does the idiom throw in the towel come from?

但是 throw in the towel 這個習語來自哪項運動呢？

Is it A, football, B, tennis, or C, boxing?

是 A 足球，B 網球，還是 C 拳擊？

I think I know this one.

我想我知道這個。

It's C, boxing.

是 C 拳擊。

Okay, Sam.

好的，Sam。

I'll reveal the answer at the end of the program. 表達脈絡

我將在節目最後公布答案。

So, just hold your horses for now. 慣用語

所以，現在請先 hold your horses（勒住你的馬）。

Ah, another idiom there, Rob.

哈哈，那裡又有一個習語，Rob。

Hold your horses meaning stop and think for a moment.

Hold your horses 意思是停下來想一想。

That's an idiom that Gareth Carrol might teach his university students.

那是 Gareth Carrol 可能會教他大學生的一個習語。

Dr. Carrol is the author of a new book, Dropping the Mic and Jumping the Shark.

Carrol 博士是一本新書《Dropping the Mic and Jumping the Shark》的作者。

Where do modern idioms come from?

現代習語從何而來？

He became interested in idioms when he realized

當他意識到一件事時，他開始對習語感興趣：

that he didn't know many of the expressions his students used in their everyday speech.

那就是他不知道學生們在日常講話中使用的許多表達。

Modern idioms like jump the shark. 慣用語

像 jump the shark 這樣的現代習語。

Here is Gareth Carrol telling BBC Radio 4 program Word of Mouth about one source of many modern idioms, the movies. 表達脈絡

這是 Gareth Carrol 在 BBC Radio 4 節目 Word of Mouth 中講述許多現代習語的一個來源：電影。

So, Groundhog Day, I think more or less has the meaning of deja vu now, 講解

所以，Groundhog Day（土撥鼠之日）我認為現在或多或少有 deja vu（既視感）的意思，

and it's in its completely embedded in the language. 用詞

並且它完全融入了這門語言。

Actually, that's probably one of the first phrases that got me thinking about these modern idioms in the first place because it is so ubiquitous. 片語搭配

實際上，那可能是我最初開始思考這些現代習語的短語之一，因為它太無處不在（ubiquitous）了。

It's used in a huge range of contexts, 片語搭配

它被廣泛應用於各種語境，

and one of the things that kind of made me sit up and take notice is I had a number of students who know the phrase Groundhog Day, 慣用語

讓我關注並注意到的一件事是，我有很多學生知道 Groundhog Day 這個短語，

but had no idea it was a film. 片語搭配

卻不知道這是一部電影。

In the film Groundhog Day,

在電影《Groundhog Day》中，

the main character wakes up to live the same day over and over again. 片語搭配

主角醒來後日復一日地過著同一天。

Gradually, the movie title itself became an idiom, Groundhog Day, 用詞

漸漸地，電影片名本身變成了一個習語：Groundhog Day，

meaning a situation in which events that have happened before happen again in exactly the same way. 文法

意思是以前發生過的事情以完全相同的方式再次發生的情況。

It's similar in meaning to another expression, deja vu. 片語搭配

它的意思和另一個表達 deja vu 很相似。

When phrases the movies used develop into idioms, 文法

當電影中使用的短語發展成習語時，

it's often because they are ubiquitous.

通常是因為它們 ubiquitous（無處不在）。

They seem to appear everywhere.

它們似乎隨處可見。

And one of the ways they appear everywhere is, of course, 表達脈絡

它們隨處可見的方式之一，當然是，

the internet.

網路。

Here's Gareth Carrol again telling more to Michael Rosen,

再次回到 Gareth Carrol 與 Michael Rosen 的對話，

presenter of BBC Radio 4 program Word of Mouth.

後者是 BBC Radio 4 節目 Word of Mouth 的主持人。

The vocabulary of the internet, even the word internet, 表達脈絡

網路詞彙，甚至 internet（網路）這個詞本身，

is relatively modern. 片語搭配

都相對較新。

The idea of breaking the internet is now a phrase that I think people uh would use and recognize. 慣用語

breaking the internet（打破網路）這個概念現在是一個我認為人們會使用並認識的短語。

So, something that causes such a stir online 慣用語

所以，這表示在網路上引起了巨大的轟動

that metaphorically so many people rush to a website that it sort of threatens to bring it down, something like that. 講解

形象地說，太多人湧入一個網站，以至於它有可能使網站當機，諸如此類。

In early days, we had go viral, 慣用語

早期我們有 go viral（病毒式傳播），

which has stayed with us, hasn't it? 片語動詞

這個詞保留了下來，對吧？

Yeah.

是的。

Yeah, so the idea of something going viral is certainly very much in the vocabulary now.

是的，所以某種東西 go viral 的概念現在確實在詞彙中很常見。

Um but things like Twitter have lent uh sort of phrases.

呃，但是像 Twitter 這樣的平台貢獻了某種短語。

So, the idea of first-world problems, 慣用語

比如 first-world problems（第一世界問題）的概念，

uh meaning uh sort of ironically things that we complain about, 語氣意圖

呃，帶有諷刺意味的是，它指的是我們抱怨的事情，

but actually compared to other parts of the world may well be relatively minor. 講解

但實際上與世界其他地區相比，可能相對微不足道。

Uh that started life as a Twitter hashtag, for example. 文化背景

呃，舉個例子，它最初是一個 Twitter 標籤。

Another modern idiom is breaking the internet,

另一個現代習語是 breaking the internet，

causing so much excitement about something online that too many people visit the website at the same time,

指在網路上對某事引起極大的興奮，導致太多人同時造訪該網站，

making it crash. 文法

導致其當機。

Social media outlets like Twitter have also created their own idioms, 講解

像 Twitter 這樣的社群媒體平台也創造了它們自己的習語，

including first-world problems.

包括 first-world problems。

A trivial problem that does not seem very important when compared to the serious problems faced by people in poorer parts of the world. 講解

與貧困地區人們面臨的嚴重問題相比，這是一種似乎並不重要的瑣碎問題。

If you don't know some of these idioms, don't worry. 語氣意圖

如果你不知道其中一些習語，別擔心。

Unlike general vocabulary, 表達脈絡

與普通詞彙不同，

a native speaker's full knowledge of idioms takes longer to develop, 講解

母語人士全面掌握習語需要更長的時間來發展，

usually at around the age of 30 to 40. 片語搭配

通常在 30 到 40 歲左右。

Meanwhile, you can still rely on classic English idioms like pull my leg, kick the bucket, and throw in the towel, 講解

與此同時，你仍然可以依賴經典的英語習語，比如 pull my leg（開玩笑）、kick the bucket（翹辮子）和 throw in the towel，

which I think comes from the sport of boxing,

我認為它來自拳擊運動，

Rob. Ah, yes.

Rob。啊，是的。

In my question, I asked which sport gave birth to the phrase throw in the towel. 慣用語

在我的問題中，我問的是哪項運動催生了 throw in the towel 這個短語。

And Sam's answer was correct.

Sam 的回答是正確的。

Well done.

做得好。

The idiom throw in the towel comes from boxing,

習語 throw in the towel 來自拳擊，

where the coach of the losing boxer would literally throw a towel into the ring to surrender. 文化背景

處於劣勢的拳擊手的教練會真的把一條毛巾扔進拳擊台表示投降。

Okay, let's recap the rest of the idioms, old and new, 表達脈絡

好了，讓我們來回顧一下今天學到的其他習語，新舊都有。

that we've learned today.

我們今天學到的。

To spend a penny is an old-fashioned way of saying go to the toilet. 用詞

To spend a penny 是去廁所的一種老式說法。

Groundhog Day describes a situation in which events that have happened before

Groundhog Day 描述了一種以前發生過的事情

happen again exactly the same way.

以完全相同的方式再次發生的情況。

If something is ubiquitous, 用詞

如果某物是 ubiquitous 的，

it seems to appear everywhere.

那麼它似乎隨處可見。

The modern idiom break the internet means to cause so much excitement about something online

現代習語 break the internet 意思是引起了人們對網路上某事物的極大興奮

that you can make the website crash. 文法

以至於能讓網站當機。

And finally, a first world problem is a problem that does not seem very important

最後，first world problem（第一世界問題）是一個似乎不太重要的問題

when compared to the serious problems faced by people in poorer parts of the world.

當與較貧窮地區的人們面臨的嚴重問題相比時。

Unfortunately for us, 語氣意圖

對我們來說遺憾的是，

our six minutes are up. 片語搭配

我們的六分鐘到了。

Bye for now.

先說到這兒了。

Bye-bye.

拜拜。

Six Minute English from the BBC.

來自 BBC 的六分鐘英語。