BBC地道英语:Why the long face? 为什么板着脸？

Jen: Hi I'm Jennifer and I'm waiting for Helen. I did see her in the corridor earlier, and she was looking a bit unhappy. Wait, here she is. Hi Helen!

Helen: Hi Jen.

Jen: What's the matter, Helen? Why the long face?

Helen: 我的脸怎么了？

Jen: Nothing's wrong with your face, except that it looks a bit upset.

Helen: But you just said I've got a long face. 我的脸很长。

Jen: No – what I said was…

Helen: You think I've got a strange face. 我就知道今天我的发型有问题。

Jen: No, I asked you: "Why the long face?"

Helen: Is it my nose? Is it too big? Or maybe my chin is the wrong shape. 要不我用口袋把头遮起来算了?!

Jen: No, no, no – that's not what I meant! First of all, you look LOVELY today.

Helen: OK… So what did you mean?

Jen tells Helen a bad joke about a horse, using the expression 'why the long face'.

Jen: In English, the expression "why the long face?" is used as an informal way of asking someone what's wrong if they look upset.

Helen: 那么我脸上没问题。

Jen: No, there isn't. Let's hear some examples of the phrase in use.

Helen: "Why the long face?" 这个短语其实是问是不是有什么烦心的事儿？为什么拉着脸？

Jen: Exactly. You could also say "what's up?"

Helen: That's very simple – you could say "what's wrong?" too.

Jen: So what IS wrong? Why do you look so miserable?

Helen: 今天我太倒霉了，什么事儿都不顺利。First I lost my car keys, then I was late for a meeting and I fell over and tripped and landed in a puddle on my way. 简直一团糟。

Jen: It sounds awful. I know, how about I tell you a joke to cheer you up – you'll like this one.

Helen: OK, why not. Let's hear it.

Jen: A horse walks into a bar. The barman says: "why the long face?"

Helen: So the horse was unhappy? 这有什么好笑的？

Jen: The barman says to the horse "Why the long face?"

Helen: Why would a horse be in a bar?

Jen: It doesn't matter – it's a joke. It's a horse so the barman says "Why the long face?"

Helen: 我还是没听懂这个笑话。

Jen: Well, the horse has a long face.

Helen: So it's unhappy?

Jen: No, well, yes, but that's the joke. Horses have long faces.

Helen: So why did it go into the bar again…?