英文片語的真正涵義 ⏲️ 6分鐘英文：英語精讀講義

6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com.

bbclearningenglish.com 的六分鐘英語。

Hello,

大家好，

this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.

這裡是 BBC Learning English 的六分鐘英語。

I'm Pippa.

我是皮帕 (Pippa)。

And I'm Beth.

我是貝絲 (Beth)。

In English,

在英語中，

what we say and what we mean 文法

我們說的話和我們表達的意思

are sometimes two very different things.

有時是截然不同的兩碼事。

We often use exaggeration for emphasis 片語搭配

我們經常使用誇飾來強調

or for humour

或為了幽默

something known as hyperbole. 用詞

這種修辭被稱為誇飾法 (hyperbole)。

For example, people say,

例如，人們會說，

I am so hungry I could eat a horse. 慣用語

我餓得能吃下一匹馬。

But of course,

但毫無疑問，

no one really could.

沒人真的能吃下。

Here's presenter Michael Rosen and linguist Derek Bousfield

接下來主持人麥可·羅森 (Michael Rosen) 和語言學家德瑞克·鮑斯菲爾德 (Derek Bousfield)

discussing one example of hyperbole

將討論一個誇飾的例子

on BBC Radio 4's Word of Mouth.

在 BBC 廣播 4 台的《Word of Mouth》節目中。

People do say absolute nightmare. 片語搭配

人們確實會說「絕對是個噩夢」。

Yeah,

對的，

or as my daughters would say,

或者像我女兒會說的，

I've had a mare today. 用詞

我今天遇到了一場「mare」。

And when they say mare,

當她們說「mare」時，

which is obviously shortened from nightmare,

這顯然是「nightmare」(噩夢) 的縮寫，

what it basically means is they've had a

它基本上意味著她們經歷了一次

a mild and potentially slightly humorous occurrence at work.

在工作中輕微且可能有點搞笑的插曲。

You might call an unpleasant or difficult experience a nightmare.

你可能會把不愉快或困難的經歷稱為一場噩夢。

Derek's daughter used the word mare,

德瑞克的女兒用「mare」這個詞，

short for nightmare, 片語搭配

也就是噩夢的簡稱，

to describe her terrible day at work.

來形容她在工作中糟糕的一天。

But she was exaggerating.

但她其實是在誇飾。

Her day wasn't really terrible,

她的一天並沒有真的那麼糟糕，

more like strange or annoying. 片語搭配

更像是遇到了奇怪或煩人的事。

Can you remember a time when 文法

你能想得起有什麼時候

what you said wasn't really what you meant, Beth?

你說的和你想表達的並不一致嗎，貝絲？

Well, sometimes

嗯，有時候

we say,

我們會說，

Hi, y'alright? 語氣意圖

嗨，你還好嗎？

Which means,

這通常意味著，

Hi,

嗨，

are you alright?

你還好嗎？

Like, are you OK?

也就是，你沒事吧？

But actually,

但實際上，

we don't really want to hear the answer.

我們並不真的想聽答案。

It just means hello,

它只是意味著你好，

doesn't it? 文法

不是嗎？

Mm, yeah.

嗯，是的。

I have a friend who actually just says,

我有個朋友其實只說，

Alright?

還行？(Alright?)

And they just mean,

而他們真正的意思只是，

hello.

你好。

They don't mean,

他們的意思並不是，

are you OK?

你還好嗎？

They don't want to hear about my day.

他們不想聽我今天過得怎麼樣。

No.

不想。

If you're having a bad day,

如果你今天過得很糟，

they don't want to know.

他們不想知道。

They're just saying,

他們只是在說，

hello.

你好。

In this episode,

在本集節目中，

we'll be finding out more about 片語動詞

我們將進一步了解

how the meaning of words changes in English.

英語單詞的意思是如何改變的。

As usual, 表達脈絡

像往常一樣，

we'll be learning some useful new words and phrases.

我們將學習一些實用的新單詞和短語。

And remember,

請記住，

you'll find all the vocabulary from this episode

你可以找到本集所有的詞彙

on our website,

在我們的網站上，

bbclearningenglish.com.

即 bbclearningenglish.com。

But first, 表達脈絡

但首先，

I have a question for you, Beth.

我有個問題想問你，貝絲。

The word hyperbole comes from two ancient Greek words,

「hyperbole」(誇飾) 這個詞來自兩個古希臘單詞，

huper and ballo.

huper 和 ballo。

But what is their literal meaning? 用詞

但它們的字面意思是什麼呢？

Is it A,

是 A，

to overthrow?

推翻？

B,

B，

to over speak?

過度言語？

Or C,

還是 C，

to overthink?

過度思考？

I have no idea, 片語搭配

我完全不知道，

Pippa.

皮帕。

I'm going to say, 語氣意圖

我猜是，

to over speak.

過度言語。

Okay,

好的，

we'll find out the answer at the end of the programme.

我們將在節目的最後揭曉答案。

It's not just hyperbole 文法

不僅僅是誇飾

that changes the meaning of words.

會改變單詞的意思。

It's opposite,

它的反義詞，

something called understatement,

也就是所謂的保守陳述 (understatement)，

has the same effect too.

也有著相同的效果。

Understatement involves de-emphasising something. 用詞

保守陳述涉及對某事的弱化處理。

For example,

例如，

imagine you were served an awful meal in a restaurant,

想像你在餐廳吃到了一頓極其糟糕的飯，

but instead of saying how bad the food was, 文法

但你沒有說食物有多難吃，

you just said it was less than perfect. 慣用語

你只是說它「不夠完美」。

Here's linguist Derek Bousfield discussing understatement

接下來是語言學家德瑞克·鮑斯菲爾德討論保守陳述

on BBC Radio 4's Word of Mouth.

在 BBC 廣播 4 台的《Word of Mouth》節目中。

We love understatement

我們喜歡用保守陳述

as a way of kind of signalling that something much more serious has gone on. 講解

作為一種暗示發生了一些嚴重得多事情的方式。

And it's a kind of performative

而且這是一種表演性質的、

sardonic,

帶點冷嘲熱諷的、

not-taking-oneself-too-seriously

不太把自己當回事的

identity when you do that.

身分展現。

Because, you know,

因為，你也知道，

taking yourself too seriously 慣用語

太把自己當回事

is a no-no in British culture. 用詞

在英國文化中是個禁忌。

Yes.

是的。

And so linguistically

所以在語言上

not taking yourself too seriously

不太把自己當回事

is is really the done thing. 慣用語

確實是合乎禮儀的做法。

Understatement is valued in British culture,

保守陳述在英國文化中備受推崇，

unlike taking yourself too seriously.

不像太把自己當回事那樣。

If you take yourself too seriously,

如果你太把自己當回事，

you think you're more important than you really are.

你會覺得你比實際上更重要。

In Britain,

在英國，

this is a no-no,

這是一個禁忌 (a no-no)，

a way of behaving that is not socially acceptable.

一種在社交上不被接受的行為方式。

In other words, 表達脈絡

換句話說，

it's not the done thing,

這不是「該做的事」(the done thing)，

meaning it's not what you're expected to do in a particular social situation.

意思是這不是你在特定社交場合下應該做的事。

Another area where the meaning of words can be easily misunderstood is apologising. 表達脈絡

另一個單詞含義容易被誤解的領域是道歉。

Here,

在這裡，

Michael Rosen responds to an imaginary situation

麥可·羅森回應了一個想像的情境，

where his toe gets accidentally stepped on by Derek Bousfield 文法

即他的腳趾不小心被德瑞克·鮑斯菲爾德踩到了，

for BBC Radio 4 programme Word of Mouth.

是在 BBC 廣播 4 台的《Word of Mouth》節目中。

Imagine

想像一下

I stepped on your toe

我踩到了你的腳趾

and I said,

然後我說，

Oh, Michael, I'm really sorry. 語氣意圖

噢，麥可，我真的很抱歉。

And you said,

然後你說，

It's all good. 語氣意圖

一切都好 (It's all good)。

Oh, right.

哦，好吧。

That probably means it isn't.

那多半意味著實際上並不夠好。

Yes,

是的，

I'm actually a bit miffed, 用詞

我其實有點生氣 (miffed)，

a little bit annoyed.

有一點點惱火。

But then I don't want to have a barney with you. 用詞

但此時我不想和你吵架 (have a barney)。

You're a stranger.

你是個陌生人。

So,

所以，

I don't want to get into a whole thing. 慣用語

我不想把事情鬧大。

So, I say,

所以我說，

yeah, it's all good.

是的，沒關係。

It's all good.

一切都好。

Exactly.

確實如此。

It's a bit like,

這有點像，

yeah, I mean,

是的，我的意思是，

that's a British English one.

那是英式英語的說法。

And an equivalent American English one would be, 文化背景

而同等的美式英語說法會是，

no worries. 語氣意圖

別擔心 (no worries)。

If someone tells you it's all good,

如果有人告訴你「一切都好」，

they could actually be feeling miffed,

他們可能實際上感覺有點生氣 (miffed)，

an adjective meaning slightly annoyed or hurt by someone's behaviour.

這是一個形容詞，意思是對某人的行為感到稍微惱火或受傷。

But no matter how annoyed you are, 文法

但無論你有多惱火，

you probably don't want to get into a barney,

你可能都不想陷入一場爭吵 (barney)，

a loud argument or quarrel.

即大聲的爭辯或吵架。

So, you say something like,

所以，你會說一些類似

it's all good,

一切都好，

or no worries,

或者別擔心之類的話，

and move on. 片語動詞

然後繼續做別的事。

As an English learner,

作為英語學習者，

unclear word meanings are a challenge.

不明確的詞義是個挑戰。

A lot depends on the situation 片語搭配

很大程度上取決於具體情況

and on the relationship between speaker and listener.

以及說者與聽者之間的關係。

So, don't be shy, 語氣意圖

所以，不要害羞，

get talking to others in English. 文法

去用英語和其他人交談吧。

And if you make a mistake,

如果你犯了錯，

say,

就說，

no worries,

別擔心，

and carry on. 片語動詞

然後繼續。

Okay, Pippa,

好了，皮帕，

I think it's time to reveal the answer to your question. 片語搭配

我覺得是時候揭曉你問題的答案了。

Yes,

是的，

you thought the ancient Greek words huper and ballo meant overspeak.

你認為古希臘單詞 huper 和 ballo 意思是過度言語。

But the answer was actually A,

但答案實際上是 A，

to overthrow.

推翻。

Huper means beyond,

Huper 的意思是「超越」，

and ballo means I throw.

而 ballo 的意思是「我扔」。

Oh, well.

噢，好吧。

Okay,

好的，

let's recap the vocabulary we've learnt, 表達脈絡

讓我們複習一下我們學過的詞彙，

starting with mare, short for nightmare,

從 mare 開始，它是 nightmare (噩夢) 的縮寫，

meaning an unpleasant or difficult experience.

意思是一段不愉快或困難的經歷。

If you take yourself too seriously,

如果你太把自己當回事 (take yourself too seriously)，

you consider yourself and your actions more important than they really are.

你會認為你和你的行為比實際上更重要。

In Britain,

在英國，

this is a no-no,

這是一個禁忌 (a no-no)，

a way of behaving that is not socially acceptable.

一種在社交上不被接受的行為方式。

The done thing,

另一方面，該做的事 (the done thing)，

on the other hand, 表達脈絡

是指你在特定社交場合下被期望做的事。

is what you are expected to do in a particular social situation.

如果你感到 miffed，

If you're miffed,

說明你對某人的行為稍微感到惱火。

you're slightly annoyed by someone's behaviour.

最後，

And finally,

a barney 是指大聲的爭吵或口角。

a barney is a loud argument or quarrel.

再一次，

Once again,

我們的六分鐘時間到了。

our six minutes are up. 片語搭配

但如果你渴望練習這些新單詞和短語，

But if you're keen to practise these new words and phrases, 用詞

去查看我們的網站，

then check out our website, 片語動詞

bbclearningenglish.com，

bbclearningenglish.com,

在那裡你會找到本集節目的練習表和測驗。

where you'll find a worksheet and quiz for this episode.

很快再見，

See you again soon,

但現在，

but for now, 表達脈絡

再見啦。

goodbye.

再見。

Bye.

bbclearningenglish.com 的六分鐘英語。

6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com.

bbclearningenglish.com 的六分鐘英語。