地道英语学习第6期(附讲解音频):防患于未然
日期:2011-07-08 09:17

(单词翻译:单击)

Helen: 大家好,欢迎收听 BBC 地道英语节目,我是 Helen.

William: Hi, I'm William. Today Hampton Court Palace Flower Show is opening.

Music, birdsong

Helen: Oh, Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 世界上最大的花展!我在新闻上看到过。If only I had a garden!

William: Ah yeah, you live in an apartment, don't you Helen?
你住在公寓中,对吧?

Helen: That's right. So William, let me guess, today we are going to do a phrase relating to flowers and gardening.
是的。William,让我猜下,今天我们要学一个与花和园艺有关的短语。

William: Exactly.
完全正确。

Helen: So...? What's the phrase?

William: Er... Well... How about... er... no... it's gone. It's no good, Helen. I can't think of a phrase right now.

Helen: Oh well. 我反正也不是很想学新短语,我们聊聊天算了吧。

William: So how are you Helen? How are the kids?
Helen你最近如何?孩子们还好吧?

Helen: Yeah, they're both really well. My little boy eats too much chocolate though!
他们都很好,但是我的儿子吃得巧克力太多了。

William: Oh really? Well, you want to nip that in the bud.
真的吗?你想防患于未然?

Helen: Eh? Nip it in the bud?

William: Nip it in the bud. If you nip something in the bud, you stop it before it becomes a problem.

Helen: To nip something in the bud 意思就是在什么事情成为问题之前,早早地消灭于萌芽状态, 防患于未然。

William: Listen to this example from a business context:

-------------------
Example

Man: The last few deliveries we've had from this company have all had broken parts in them!
这个公司邮递来的最后几个包裹里面都有坏的部件。

Woman: Well we need to nip that in the bud! Tell them that unless their service improves, we're going to look for another supplier.
是啊,我们需要防患于未然。告诉他们如果他们不提高服务质量,我们就找别的供应商了。
-------------------
Helen: 那么刚才这个例子中,那位先生抱怨供应商服务态度不好,他的同事认为应该 nip it in the bud, 她想早点采取行动以防问题变得更糟。 那么 William 这个短语 to nip something in the bud 是从哪里来的呢?

(Music, birdsong)
William: Well actually, it comes from gardening Helen. A bud is the part of a plant that becomes a flower, leaf or stem.
事实上,它来自园艺。芽是植物的一部分,它能变成花,叶或茎。

Helen: Ah, a bud 就是植物刚刚冒芽的那一部分。

William: So if you nip something in the bud, you cut the bud off the plant.

Helen: To nip something in the bud 直接的意思就是在植物刚长芽的时候就把这个萌芽给剪掉。That's not very nice!

William: Well, gardening is a tough game, Helen. You have to nip things in the bud sometimes. You also have to kill slugs and snails.
园艺是个累活。Helen,你有时候需要把发芽见到。你也需要杀死鼻涕虫和蜗牛。

Helen: Eugh! I'm glad I don't have a garden.

William: Bye!

Helen: Bye!

分享到
重点单词
  • suppliern. 供应者,供应厂商,供应国
  • stemn. 茎,干,柄,船首 vi. 起源于 vt. 抽去 .
  • budn. 芽,花蕾 vi. 发芽,萌芽 vt. 使发芽
  • phrasen. 短语,习语,个人风格,乐句 vt. 措词表达,将(
  • contextn. 上下文,环境,背景