BBC地道英语:Scrounge 骗取他人之物

The script of this programme 本节目台词

William: Hello and welcome to Authentic Real English from www.bbcukchina.com. I'm William.

Feifei: I'm Feifei.

William: Feifei...?

Feifei: What?

William: Don't you want to say hello to our listeners?

Feifei: Hello.

Can I scrounge a cigarette?

William: What's the matter?

Feifei: 我很生气，因为我的朋友 Kate 实在是太不够意思了。我每6个月才见她一次，可以她每次来的时候都不提前打招呼，总是搞突袭。昨天晚上她没提前通知我，突然来我家，虽然没准备，但是见老朋友总是件高兴事儿。

William: Hmmm, that sounds nice. Go on.

Feifei: 老朋友来我家，我赶紧拿出一瓶好酒来招待。可是谁都没想到，她就是来借我的电子字典。我给她字典之后她就走了。连那杯酒都没喝完！

William: Oh dear! She doesn't sound like a very good friend.

Feifei: She's always scrounging stuff off me. I lent her my radio last year and I've still not had it back.

William: Well, look on the bright side Feifei. You've just used a word that we can look at in our programme today. To scrounge.

Feifei: To scrounge. 这是一个贬义词，意思就是骗取某物。

William: Listen to this example of one way to use the verb to scrounge.

Example

Woman: Hi Denise... could you do me a favour?

Woman 2: Yeah, what can I do for you?

Woman: Can I possibly scrounge 10p off you?

Woman 2: Yes of course! Here you are.

Feifei: 上面对话中的女士用 scrounge 来形容自己向朋友索要10便士的行为。Can I possibly scrounge 10p off you?

William: Yes, that's how we use that word; to scrounge something off someone. And you can see that even though this word scrounge is quite negative, we can use it to describe our own actions in a humorous way. Feifei, can I scrounge a pen off you?

Feifei: No you can't! I'm sick of people scrounging stuff off me. William 我们能不能把 scrounge 当名词来用呢？

William: Almost. If you want to describe someone who scrounges a lot, like your friend Kate, Feifei, we can call them a scrounger.

Feifei: A scrounger 就是一个总是骗取他人之物的人。不过这个词非常的贬义，所以在使用的时候要注意。

William: Scrounger. It's a word that you sometimes read in newspapers to describe people who don't work but live off the state.

Feifei: 是的，英国的小报经常会称一些自己不工作，只靠政府的救济金来生活的人scroungers, 因为 they are scrounging off the state.

William: There's also a phrase linked to the verb to scrounge. And I think that this phrase is not so serious, it's often quite a humorous one. So let's hear an example and see if you can catch what the phrase is.

Example

Woman: Hi Tom. We don't see you up our end of the office very often.

Man: I'm on the scrounge for paperclips. Have you got any spare ones?

Feifei: 对话中的男士说 I'm on the scrounge for paperclips 的意思就是他在找曲别针。他虽然用了单词 scrounge, 但是这里并不是贬义的，只是表示他需要什么东西 on the scrounge for something. Well, I'll tell you one thing, William.

William: What's that Feifei?

Feifei: I've had enough of scroungers. Next time Kate turns up at my door she'd better have my dictionary and my radio and I don't care what she says, I'm not lending her anything ever again.

William: Good for you Feifei! Stand up for yourself! Remember listeners; check our website www.bbcukchina.com for more Authentic Real English. Bye!

Feifei: See you!