The English We Speak是英国BBC电台为英语学习者量身打造的一档英语学习节目。

今天，Wang Fei穿得特别正式，这是为什么呢？让我们去了解一下。

Wang Fei: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak, I'm Wang Fei.

William: And I'm William. Welcome to the programme. You look very smart today, Wang Fei.

Wang Fei: (false modesty) Mm, really? Do you think so?

William: Oh, yeah - very smart. Look at your bow tie! And your evening jacket!

Wang Fei: Well, this is just a little something I get out every now and then. I'm sure George and Jack and Tom will be will be wearing something similar.

William: Who? George, Jack and...?

Wang Fei: (off-hand) Oh yeah, you know. George Clooney, Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise.

William: What? You're going to see George Clooney and Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise tonight?!

Wang Fei: Yep. Cannes Film Festival opens tomorrow so I'm going to a little party tonight.

William: Wow! That's incredible! How did you get a ticket?

Wang Fei: Erm... well, I don't have a ticket as such. I'm just going to show up. I'm sure if I'm dressed like this they'll let me in.

William: Right... so basically you're going to gatecrash a celebrity party.

Wang Fei: Gatecrash? What's that?

William: To gatecrash a party. It means to go to a party even though you haven't been invited. Let's hear some more examples.

Examples

例1：

Woman A: What was the party like last night?

Woman B: Oh, it was awful! All these kids crashed it and drank all the beer.

例2：

Man A: How are the preparations going for the party tonight?

Man B: Yeah, not bad.

Man A: Aren't you worried it might get gatecrashed?

Man B: Yeah, we're going to pay a guy to be on the door to stop people coming in.

Wang Fei: In the first example, the speaker described a party that was ruined because kids crashed the party. So, to crash a party means to gatecrash a party?

William: Yeah. And in that second example, the speaker said that he was going to pay a guy to be on the door.

Wang Fei: 'To be on the door' – so this man will check that everyone who comes in has an invitation. Hmm… do you think that there might be someone on the door at this party tonight?

William: The one that you're going to?

Wang Fei: Yes.

William: The celebrity one in Cannes with George and Jack and Tom?

Wang Fei: Yeah.

William: Yeah, I think, Wang Fei, there might be.

Wang Fei: (crestfallen) Ah!

William: Well, I tell you what, Wang Fei, my friend's having a birthday party in the pub down the road. Why don't you come to that instead? You'll be a little bit overdressed but I'm sure it will be fun.

Wang Fei: I was just looking forward to a bit of glamour for a change, with George, Jack and…

William: ... and Tom, yeah I know. One day, Wang Fei, if you keep making great programmes with BBC Learning English then I'm sure that one day you'll be mixing it with George and Jack and Tom.

Wang Fei: But for now, I'll have to be happy with the pub. Again. Bye.

William: Bye!

赏析：

在西方，不同场合的穿着往往非常重要，比如一些正式的场合会场前会立一个牌子“Jacket Required”，即“必须穿西装、正装”，不然就不让进去。今天，Wang Fei穿得比较正式是因为他想混进一个名人聚会，但是不是穿得正式点就会被放行呢？当然不是，因为他需要一张票。

假如Wang Fei当真混进去了，那么他就算是Gatecrash成功了，gate是“门”的意思，crash是“撞击、冲毁”的意思，因此gatecrash意思是“不请自来、偷偷溜进去”的意思。Gatecrash也可以缩写成crash，比如例1中的Kids crashed the party and drank all the beer，就是“孩子们溜进了派对，并且把啤酒都喝完了。”的意思。

为了避免这种情况就必须pay a guy to be on the door,意思是“请个人在门口检票。”

当然，上有政策，下有对策，放个人检票也不一定管用，各个party的不速之客还是让人头疼的事情。比如笔者就曾经gatecrashed a CBA basketball game. Hey guys, to be honest, have you ever gatecrashed a party?

其他语言点：

Bow tie: 领结

Every now and then: 时不时地

Celebrity: 名人

Overdressed: 着装过分正式