BBC地道英语:To Blow Your Own Trumpet 自吹自擂

William: Hello and welcome to Authentic Real English. My name is William Kremer.

Helen: And I'm Helen.

William: I've got something for you, Helen.

Burst of loud classical music (Beethoven's '5th Symphony')

Helen: William, 听音乐是不错的，但是为什么…

Burst of different classical music (Mendelssohn's 'Dance of the Clowns')

William: What do you think... nice music, huh?

Helen: 听起来还可以，起伏挺大的。So are we having a special musical edition today?

William: Well, yes we are! The BBC Proms start this Friday, remember?

Helen: 是哦，差点忘了。BBC Proms BBC 夏季逍遥音乐会是英国广播公司主办的古典音乐盛会。已经有超过100年的历史了。有很多音乐迷们会在夏季的两个月里每天排队争取买到5镑的门票。

William: So, I thought we could have a music-themed programme. And our phrase this week relates to one instrument in particular...

This week's idiom is related to trumpets.

Trumpet music solo

Helen: The trumpet?

William: Yes, do you know what it means to say someone 'blows his own trumpet'?

Helen: Yes. 这个短语 - 吹响自己的喇叭，意思就是炫耀自己的成就，自吹自擂。

William: Exactly. Let's listen to an example.

Example

Woman: Who's going to be there tonight?

Man: I think Angela and Mark and that guy Martin...

Woman: Oh no, not Martin! He's such a bore. He's always blowing his own trumpet. Last time I saw him he went on and on about how he had been promoted twice in six weeks.

Helen: 听起来这个短语是贬义的…

William: Yeah, sometimes. But interestingly, it isn't always used in a negative way. Listen to this example. A woman is talking to her niece.

Example

Woman: I didn't know you'd come top in the class again! Why didn't you tell me? You really must start blowing your own trumpet a bit more!

Helen: 刚才的这位女士告诉她的侄女她应该 blow her own trumpet more 需要给自己捧捧场。 因为她的侄女太低调了，在班级里又考了第一名，但是大家都不知道。

William: English people sometimes use this phrase because they are embarrassed to talk about their achievements. Listen to this clip:

Example

Man: How's it going at your work nowadays?

Woman: Well, at the risk of blowing my own trumpet, it's going very well. In fact, I've just won an award!

Helen: 这位女士回答 "At the risk of blowing my own trumpet" – 也就是，不好意思，听起来好像我在自吹自擂。

William: Yeah. You know, I wonder whether we should blow our own trumpet a bit more, Helen. I mean here we are with a really popular website, bbcukchina.com...

Helen: ...making lots of little programmes that are entertaining, fascinating and useful...

William: ...and best of all, it's all free! Brilliant, huh?

Helen: 好了好了，我想我们该停了， 再说下去，别人还以为我们是自恋狂呢。

William: Yeah, OK. Well, let's have some of that nice music again to finish off. Bye!

Helen: Bye!

Music (Beethoven's '5th Symphony')