惯用口语

1.惯用口语句子：

I'm really in a flap about the interview.
一想到面试我就心慌。
flap n. 慌乱（状态）

I'm on tenterhooks.
= I'm on Dins and needles.
我感觉如坐针毡。
tenterhook n. 张布钩
on tenterhooks=on pins and needles“焦虑不安”

Worrying kept me awake.
我愁得睡不着觉。
awake a. 醒着的

I'm a bundle of nerves.
我心乱如麻。
a bundle of nerves“神经极度紧张的人”

I wonder what it could be.
我在想会是什么事。
I guess something came up.
我猜肯定发生什么事了。

I'm really anxious.
= I'm very worried.
我很担忧。
anxious a. 忧虑的，担心的

I can't take it anymore.
= I can't bear it anymore.
= I can't deal with this anymore.
= l can't take another problem.
我再也受不了了。

I'm anxious about what you did.
= What you did makes me anxious.
= I feel great anxiety about what you did.
你的所作所为让我很担心。
anxiety n. 忧虑，焦虑，担心（其形容词为anxious）

I can't calm down.
我静不下心来。
I can't control myself.
我控制不住自己。
I can't relax.
我放松不下来，，
control v. 控制

I'm going nuts.
= I'm going crazy.
我快要疯了。
nuts a. 发狂的，发疯的

实用对话

2.实用对话

Worry担忧

Rose: Has Alan shown up yet?
罗丝：艾伦露面了吗？
Jack: No, not yet. I guess something came up. He'll call soon enough to let us know what's going on. He's good that way.
杰克：没有．还没露面。我猜肯定发生什么事了。他应该会打电话告诉我们的。要是那样就好了。
Rose: I wonder what it could be.
罗丝：我在想会是什么事。
Jack: I don't know. I hope it's nothing serious.
杰克：我也不知道。希望不是什么严重的事情。
Rose: Last week his sister was admitted to the hospital.
罗丝：上星期他姐姐住院了。
Jack: What happened?
杰克：怎么回事啊？
Rose: She was in a serious car accident. She was hurt pretty badly. They thought she was going to die.
罗丝：他姐姐出了车祸，伤得很严重。他们都觉得她快不行了。
Jack: How is she now?
杰克：那她现在怎么样？
Rose: She fell into a coma... The doctors aren't too hopeful. But I hope they're wrong.
罗丝：她已经昏迷了。医生觉得没有太大希望了。不过我希望他们的判断是错的。
Jack: Poor Alan. He's going nuts. His sister is all he has left; his parents died last year.
杰克：可怜的艾伦。他都快要发疯了。他姐姐可是他惟一的亲人了，他父母去年刚去世。
Rose: Yes, he has been through a lot in the last year. I hope his luck changes soon. Maybe his sister will pull through.
罗丝：是啊，他去年经历得太多了。我希望他能时来运转。也许他姐姐能挺过来呢。

详细解说

3.详细解说

1.“show up”的意思是“露面，出席”，例如：Uncle George didn't show up for our wedding because he forgot.（乔治叔叔没有来参加我们的婚礼，因为他忘了。）
2.“come up”的意思是“发生”，例如：I'll let him know if anything comes up.（如果发生什么事，我会告诉他的。）
3.“fall into a coma”意为“陷入昏迷状态”。
4.单词“poor”在对话中的意思是“可怜的”，例如：How's your poor father?（你可怜的父亲怎么样了？）另外“poor”还可以表示“贫穷的”，例如：My family used to be poor.（我家过去很穷。）“pull through”的意思是“度过难关，恢复健康”。

4.文化洗礼

“worry”的由来

The dog is worrying the rat.
如果你看到这句英文，并尝试着将它翻译成中文：“那条狗正在烦那只老鼠”时，恐怕就要贻笑大方了。这句话正确的翻译应该是：那条狗正在撕咬那只老鼠。你可能会一头雾水，“worry一是烦扰的意思，怎么会和“撕咬”( tear up)联系起来了呢？
事实上，“worry”一词来源于古英语“wyrgan"，有“扼杀”之意，上面这句话中的“worry”即取此意，是指动物“撕咬”它的猎物。后来“wyrgan”又渐渐发展成中世纪英语的“worien”，意思也演变为“strangle（抑制，束缚）”。
随着历史的变迁，“worry”这个词“攻击性”的意味大大削弱了。在中世纪英语中的“worien”保留了其前身“wyrgan扼杀”的意思，并衍生出一个新意思“用牙齿咬住喉咙并且撕裂”或“咬住并来回甩动以杀死或伤害”。到16世纪，“worry”开始含有“以粗暴手段或袭击方式来骚扰”、“口头攻击”的意思。到了17世纪，这个词产生了“干扰、使焦虑和烦扰”的意思。19世纪时，这个词义又向前发展了一点，也就是我们现在经常见到的“使感到焦虑或痛苦”和“感到烦恼或不安”。