时髦英语口语词汇讲解第20期:Get a life

This familiar old noun 'life', now used widely in the phrase 'get a life!', usually in a derogatory tone of voice like that -'Get a life, why don't you!'
life这个古老的名词现在正被广泛地使用与短语get a life当中；说的时候，语气通常带有贬义，就像这样：拜托你活得精彩点，好不好！

Well, it's said to somebody who the speaker feels is leading an unfulfilling existence, your life is empty, dull, there's more to life than what you're doing, start living!
嗯，说话人说这话的时候一般会觉得听话人正过着一种呆板/不称心的生活，空虚无聊。但是生活本来应该要比你这样精彩得多的，所以，应该真正开始过一种精彩的生活。

It can be serious, but it's usually jocular.
可以是很严肃地说这话，但是通常是开玩笑的口吻。

It can be used for instance to a workaholic, or for anybody obsessed with something like a television programme, always watching a particular soap, shall we say.
例如，可以跟一个工作狂或者那种痴迷于看电视的总是看肥皂剧的人说这话。

That person might be told to 'get a life'.
我们可以告诉那人：你活的像样点不行啊！

The phrase goes back a couple of decades.
这个短语应该是几十年前才出现的。

It was US slang in California, years and years ago, and then it became the name of a US television show.
多年前，它在美国的加利福尼亚以俚语的形式出现，然后变成了美国一个电视节目的名字。

And then it became all sorts of usages around radio, television, novels, short stories - don't take things too seriously!
接着，它开始在电台节目、电视节目、小说或者短篇故事中被使用——‘不要太当真/不要活得那么较真！

Chill out! Get a life!
放松点，让生活精彩点！

It happens to the best of us...people who pity my obsession with linguistics often tell me to 'get a life'!
这通常发生在那些特别优秀的人身上——那些可怜我痴迷于语言的人老是对我说：‘活得精彩点'！