美语故事

A watched pot never boils
心急吃不了热豆腐X2cazlKZb9s7wZZj。
【Andrew's Note】
You wait, and you wait, and you wait, but waiting doesn't really help. Things will move along at their own speed whether you wait or not.
你着急地等呀、等呀、等呀，但无济于事GIe7W9AcHj=)4+@jIY。不管你多么着急，事情都以自身的速度运转着#qxJm72+b2。
[1] Mr. Dong wants to attend a seminar to be held in Singapore but the organizing committee asks each participant to present a research paper focusing on ESL teaching in China. However, this requirement puts Mr. Dong in a jam.
[2] This morning he called me and said he had something urgent to talk with me. I was reluctant to leave the work at hand, but went to meet him in the office. He was all smiles to me and killed me with kindness, leaving me dumbfounded. He made a point of making tea for me himself and asked me to be seated next to him. I felt even more perplexed and puzzled.
[3] I couldn't tolerate being treated that way so I asked what the matter was. He got down to business and told me he was in direneed of a paper to present to the Singaporean Seminar. He asked me to do him another favor and promised to give me something in return for my labor. I didn't dare turn him down but I insisted that it would take some time. But Mr. Dong was not happy about that and said, "No, sir. You know the deadline is due just next week, so you must get on with itstraight away and give me the paper this Saturday night."
[4] This time I was getting huffy, saying roughly, "If time is short, I can't vouch forthe quality of your paper. You make your choice, quality or junk? Mr. Dong, a watched pot never boils."
【参考译文】
[1] 董先生想参加一个在新加坡举办的研讨会，但是组委会要求每个与会者需提交一篇针对ESL中国教学情况的论文-31h,USDcj%RUO。这个要求使董先生感到很棘手aY^4Si.T6=Z(。
[2] 今早他给我打来电话，说是有要事和我谈谈D=CDkvUg0ru&;Q4x~gr。我不情愿地放下手头上的工作,去办公室见他0OBwxYxFf=E,。他见到我满脸堆笑，我被这突如其来的热情搞得一时语塞=-@lY.A5&W]88oIstA。他还专门给我沏茶，并请我落座ztXoZ_bat-8q。我越来越感到不知所措了y!w)Tx!La5XC。
[3] 我受不了这般热情的对待，便问何故U,_|gn=E*SSI1YpyZ~n^。他这才言归正传，他正急需一篇论文,提交到新加坡研讨会*ZBz+Yqp*&rsKd2@mY7&。他要我帮他，并许诺会对我的劳动给予回报^^WIS~Q9-~%7s;NG&。我不敢拒绝他，但我强调说这需要时间=dV(A3dW]mP(ZAg8A。但董先生很不高兴，“不，先生^.=4o1xz)@D。你要知道最后期限就在下星期，所以，你得立马着手行动并在周六晚交给我EU+1v]f3hw@。”
[4] 这次我不高兴了，便没好气地说：“ 时间不够，我可不能保证论文质量jhU=5);L,!)e*AhQtaS。你自己定夺：质量还是垃圾？董先生，心急吃不了热豆腐O*Z7|A%0)Jg。”

指点迷津

1.A watched pot never boils:急水不开,fY8_#Il0BT2mek)L(#5。
How can you urge me on like this? You know, a watched pot never boils.
你怎么能这样催我？要知道，心急水不开-CGmfJZ2*A)2E。
2.put sb. into a jam:[俚]使某人陷入困境
1) When he is dogged by creditors, he is loath to hide himself from them but he has to, because he has gotten into a jam.
成天被债主们穷追不舍，他东躲西藏避开他们VLV.3;2P;O。虽然很不情愿，但是他没有办法，因为他陷入困境8SaGI2c&R(.yYo。
2) I'm in a bit of a jam — I haven't got enough money to pay for this meal. 我有点儿小麻烦，我带的钱不够付饭钱6sBsD^EcIP0895ucI&。
3.kill sb. with kindness:用过分的殷勤使人不知所措
In the past the pretty lady treated the poor man like dirt but today she did an about face, treating him like a king and, of course, killing the man with kindness.
过去，这位漂亮的女士看不起这个穷男子；但是她今天却来了一个1800 的大转弯，对他就像国王一般，自然男子被这般殷勤弄得不知所措smKj!Mx5Ib。
4.dire:urgent; desperate　紧急的；急需的
The farmers living in that area are in dire poverty.
生活在那个地区的农民极其贫困3Sfm&Udj8.Ase#3mz。
5.get on with it:加紧干
Now that the task has been assigned to you, you just try to get on with it.
既然任务都布置给你们了，那就赶紧投入工作吧09lv.P@gxtz9|X。
6.get huffy:get angry or get outraged　怒冲冲的; 生气的
When I accused him of dragging his feet, he got huffy immediately.
我说他消极怠工时,他立刻就怒气冲天nq0MKiI3@WH。
7.vouch for:确信; 担保；保证
I am certain to vouch for Marston's trustworthiness because we are bosom friends.
我当然担保马斯顿的可信任度，因为我们是知心朋友d~Tos^5gacAR。