美语故事

Why are you giving John the silent treatment?
你怎么能对约翰这么冷淡呢？
Just tell him how you feel straight up. 有意见就直截了当告诉他好了！
【Andrew's Note】
The silent treatment or a cold shoulder is very cruel. How can you treat your loved one that way?
待人冷淡是很不尽人意的。你怎么能那样对待自己所爱的人呢？
[1] Julia got steamed upat John after the press conference. It seemed to Julia that John had stolen the limelight and given her no chance to show off her conversational skills. She was tired of living in his shadow. In her mind, John was a ham(爱做作的人), always wanting to be the center of attention.
[2] Julia was down in the dumps and refused to lay eyes on John the next morning, hating his guts because he thought he was hot stuff. In the afternoon, she tried to pick a hole ineverything he did. So John couldn't make head or tail of why she was making it so hot for him.
[3] He turned to Julia, asking her what had gotten her undies in a bundle. She looked down her nose athim and gave him the cold shoulder. John felt quite left out and was hard put totolerate her insolence.
[4] The general manager figured out what happened to them. He decided to have a talk with Julia and try to clear the air. After work, he arranged for a dinner with Julia and had a heart-to-heart talk with her. He asked her why she was cross with（和……生气）John. But she didn't give him a straight answer, denying having anything to do with John.
[5] Later, the manager said outright, "Why are you giving John the silent treatment? Just tell him how you feel straight up."
【参考译文】
[1] 记者招待会后，朱丽亚对约翰大发脾气；她觉得，约翰在记者招待会上抢镜头，出尽了风头，没有给她任何机会展示她的口才。她讨厌生活在他的光环下而黯然失色。在她的心目中，约翰是个喜欢张扬自己：爱出风头的家伙。
[2] 第二天上午，朱丽亚闷闷不乐，没有正眼看约翰一下。她对他恨之入骨，因为他以为自己了不起。下午，她试图对他所做的一切都吹毛求疵。所以，约翰对她的故意刁难百思不得其解。
[3] 他找到朱丽亚，问他究竟做了什么使得她如此生气。她对他却嗤之以鼻，非常冷淡。约翰感到倍受冷落，难以忍受她的傲慢无理。
[4] 总经理发觉他们之间发生了不愉快。他决定和朱丽亚谈谈，试图消除误解。所以下班后，他安排和朱丽亚共进晚餐，想和她推心置腹地谈谈。他问朱丽亚为什么和约翰生气。但她不正面回答这个问题，否认和约翰有任何瓜葛。
[4] 后来，经理直率地说， “你怎么能对约翰这么冷淡呢？有意见就直截了当告诉他好了！

指点迷津

1.got steamed up at sb.or about/over sth.:对（人/事）愤怒﹑ 激动; 生气; 发脾气。
Calm down it's nothing to get steamed up about! 冷静一点--没什麽可激动的!
2.give somebody a cold shoulder/ the silent treatment　对某人冷淡；不理睬某人。
I don't know what I did to deserve the silent treatment, but she hasn't spoken to me all day.
我不知道我究竟干了什么而受到冷遇，她一整天都不和我说一句话。
3.tell sb.straight up:don't beat about the bush;just call a spade a spade; come to the point directly:直截了当地告诉某人某事
I didn't mean any malice to anybody, so please don't bear any grudge against（怀恨某人）me. If I did anything wrong, please tell me straight up.
我没有要对任何人有恶意，所以请别对我怀恨在心。如果我有什么不是之处，尽管直截了当说出来。
4.think oneself hot stuff:to have a high opinion of one's own worth　自以为了不起，过分地看重自己
The young lady thinks herself hot stuff but in fact she is nothing in the company but an office lady.
这个年轻的女士以为自己了不起，实际上她在公司里只不过是个文员而已。
5.living in one's shadow:使失色；使相形见绌
The students held Mr. Yan in high esteem, but then Marston came to the college and Mr. Yan was forced to live in his shadow.
阎先生深受学生们尊敬，不过马斯顿来到这所学院后，他就黯然失色了。
6.pick (a) hole(s) in:吹毛求疵；指责；找(某人的)岔子
She was always fond of picking a hole in her husband's excuses.
不管她丈夫有何种借口，她总是要找岔。
7.get one's undies in a bundle:become irritated or provoked　激怒某人
A lot of guys try to make a play for her, and that really gets her undies in a bundle.
许多好色之徒总是对她百般勾引，这使她非常恼火恼火。
8.look down one's nose at:[口]藐视; 瞧不起; 不理会
Poor though they are, you can't look down your nose at them. You know, every dog has its day.
尽管他们很穷， 但是不该瞧不起他们。要知道，任何人都会有好日子的。
9.cold shoulder:deliberate coldness or disregard; a slight or a snub　怠慢；故意的冷落或轻视
The newcomer received the cold shoulder from several members of the club.
新来者受到一些俱乐部成员的冷落。
10.hard put to　in a state of difficulty:造成极大的困难
We were hard put to finish the book on time.
我们很难按时读完这本书。
11.clear the air:to dispel differences or emotional tensions 消除分歧或情绪上的紧张
They finally got reconciled and cleared the air.
他们最终和解了，消除了分歧。