BBC地道英语:Throw the book at somebody 严厉惩罚某人

Helen: Hello, I'm Helen and 今天和我一起主持地道英语节目的是 Rosie, 是她，不过她到哪儿去了? Where is she?

Rosie: Hi, I'm Rosie! Hi Helen! I'm sorry I'm late. The traffic, you know?

Helen: Is it that bad? 我也住北伦敦，我可是准点就上班了。 你是不是应该考虑换条路线？昨天你也迟到了，还有前天也一样。会都开到一半了，你才来。 That's not good!

Rosie: I know, I know. The boss was not pleased and called me in his office afterwards. He said he will throw the book at me!

Helen: Oh! 那可太糟了! That's very bad indeed!

Rosie: Yes, it is! I'm very concerned now. I know I should be a bit more careful.

Helen: 老板书架上的那些书可是重量级的！都是百科全书，死沉死沉的！他一点儿都不喜欢电子书或者是小说书。我看到好几套都像是古董书，外面包着厚厚的牛皮，和他的古董书架倒是挺配的。He likes this stuff.

Rosie: I know he likes antiques; that doesn't bother me. He is going to throw the book at me, Helen! He said it yesterday. He sounded very angry and he said: "Rosie, it's happening too often now! You are always late for meetings, for programmes, you have been absent frequently and I'm going to throw the book at you!" That's what he said, Helen!

Will Rosie's boss injure her by throwing the book at her?

Helen: Oh, 如果他把这么沉的书向你扔过来，你很容易被砸伤的！说不定他还会扔其他东西。这太危险了！我可不愿意看到他大发雷霆的样子！There's that Queen Victoria bust from the 19th century he loves. It's an antique too… if you get him angry enough he might even throw the bust on you!

Rosie: Queen Victoria's bust!? What are you talking about? Helen, in English, to throw the book at somebody means to impose the maximum penalty on somebody who's been breaking the rules – the book is supposed to be the list of rules and regulations and the expression is used by people in a position of authority.

Helen: Ahhh! I see! 你说 to throw the book at someone 其实不是真的把书扔到别人头上去， 这是个比喻，意思是严厉惩罚那些违反纪律或规则的人。 为什么是本书，那是因为条款规则都是写在这本本子里的。 一般有一定权力或领导地位的人才会用这个表达。

Rosie: Yes, you got it. Let's listen to some examples:

Judge: Mr. Jones, I'm tired of seeing you in my courtroom! If you don't stop trying to steal cars I'm going to throw the book at you! You'll face a long prison sentence!

Prisoner: I'm sorry, Judge. I think I've learnt my lesson now and will behave properly!

Teacher: I'm your teacher! Pay attention to what I'm saying! If you continue cheating in your exams I'm going to throw the book at you!

Helen: Ahhh! I see! 老板不会真的把他的百科全书扔到你头上。

Rosie: Of course not! But he probably will send me a formal letter and start disciplinary procedures with the human resources department and might even end up sacking me!

Helen: Well, that's a relief! 我得承认我从小就喜欢看百科全书，如果扔你头上，万一书给摔坏了，那就太可惜了。

Rosie: It doesn't matter what happens to his old books, Helen. This is serious. It might not hurt me but it will hurt my pocket! No job, no money!

Helen: Well, 这其实非常简单，带上手表，看准时间，别迟到就行了！你就遵守纪律吧！我也想准点结束工作。我们准时上下班，这样 nobody will throw the book at us! 你说是不是？ Nobody will throw the book at me! Goodbye!

Rosie: I will buy a new watch. Thank you for the advice. Bye!

Helen: No problem. 我们下次节目再见。