BBC地道英语:Iffy 有问题的、不确定的

William: Hello, I'm William Kremer and this is your favourite programme about English slang, Authentic Real English.

Wang Fei: 大家好，我是王飞。Hi there, I'm Wang Fei.

William, look what I've made!

William: Ooh! A pizza! It looks lovely.

Wang Fei: 我是用我自己的特制皮萨烤箱做的。现在我们再做最后的一道工序。马上就好了。

William: What are you doing?!

Wang Fei: 我把一个鸡蛋打在皮萨饼上。我在威尼斯看到过一个服务员把鸡蛋打在皮萨饼上。There! Would you like a slice?

William: Er, maybe not, Wang Fei! Don't you think that raw egg is a bit... iffy?

Wang Fei: Iffy?

William: Iffy, which means maybe not very good.

Wang Fei: Iffy 有些怪的，有问题的。我们来听更多的用法。

Examples

A: Oh, don't log in to that computer! It's been a bit iffy lately.

B: I might not go in to work today. My stomach is feeling very iffy after eating Wang Fei's pizza last night!

Wang Fei: Oh, William! 这可太不好了！在第一个例子中，我们听到一位女士警告她的同事不要用一台电脑，因为那台电脑不可靠、有问题。

William: That's right. And in the second example someone said that they were feeling iffy after eating your pizza, Wang Fei!

Wang Fei: That's not nice!

William: It's not nice, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Now, we can also use this word iffy when we are describing something that is uncertain, that might not happen. So let's hear an example of that.

Example

A: Are you still planning to move house this year?

B: Well, that's looking a bit iffy to be honest. It depends on Richard's job.

Wang Fei: 在刚才的例子中，他们说他们的搬家计划 looked a bit iffy, 可能不行了，可能搬不了。

William: Yes. But your pizza looks iffy because it might not be good for me.

This pizza definitely isn't iffy - it looks delicious!

Wang Fei: Hmm. So are you saying that you never eat eggs, William?

William: No, I eat eggs. I just prefer to cook them first!

Wang Fei: 看来你从来没有吃过蛋黄酱吧？

William: Er...mayonnaise... hmmm. Well, anyway, remember that you can hear more Authentic Real English programmes on our website bbcukchina.

Wang Fei: 再见！

William: Bye bye.