我们讲的英语第76期: Finding your feet适应新环境

Helen: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak. Rosie and I are doing a salsa class tonight. It's my favourite Latin American dance and I love the music!
海伦：大家好，欢迎来到我们说的英语节目。罗茜和我今晚要学习萨尔萨舞。这是我最爱的拉丁舞种，我喜欢这种音乐！

Rosie: Yes, and it's not easy… One, two, three! Oh, I'm not very good yet – I'm still finding my feet.
罗茜：对，但这并不容易……一、二、三！哦，我跳的还不是很好——我还在适应。

Helen: You're still finding your feet? No wonder you're so bad. How can you dance if you don't know where your feet are?
海伦：你还在找你的脚？难怪你跳得这么差。如果你不知道你的脚在哪里，要怎么跳舞啊？

Rosie: I do know where my feet are, Helen. When you say you're finding your feet in English, it means you're becoming confident at something.
罗茜：我知道我的脚在哪里，海伦。英语中说找你的脚的意思是，你渐渐地对某件事充满信心。

Helen: So if I say I'm still finding my feet, it means I'm still getting used to a new situation… which might not have anything to do with feet?
海伦：那如果我仍在找我的脚，意思就是我还在适应新环境……这和脚可能没有什么关系？

Rosie: That's right. And when you say you've found your feet, it means you've become familiar with a situation.
罗茜：没错。而且，如果你说你找到了你的脚，意思就是你已经熟悉环境了。

Helen: Let's have a look at some examples then:
海伦：下面咱们来看几个例子：

Lauren has only been at her new job for four days, so she's still finding her feet.
劳伦的新工作刚刚做了四天，所以她仍在适应新环境。

My daughter started secondary school two weeks ago, but she's already found her feet. She's made loads of new friends and really likes her teachers.
我女儿两周前升上初中了，而她已经适应新环境了。她交了很多新朋友，而且她也很喜欢她的老师。

“I've been living in Egypt for a year but I still can't speak Arabic very well.” “I'm sure you'll find your feet soon.”
“我在埃及生活一年了，但是我的阿拉伯语说得仍不是很好。”“我确定你很快会适应的。”

Helen: So finding your feet has nothing to do with your actual feet – you can use it when you start a new job or when you're doing something new.
海伦：所以“适应新环境”这个短语实际上跟脚没有任何关系——你可以在开始新工作或者是尝试新鲜事物时使用这个短语。

Rosie: That's right… And I feel like I'm getting quite good at salsa now.
罗茜：好的……我感觉现在我的萨尔萨舞跳得很好了。

Helen: Really? It looks like you're still finding your feet…
海伦：真的吗？看起来你还在适应……

Rosie: I might ask someone to dance with me, Helen. That guy over there is pretty good. Hi, would you like to dance?
罗茜：也许我应该请某人和我一起跳舞，海伦。那边那个男子不错。你好，能请你跳支舞吗？

Man: Oh, OK.
男：哦，好的。

Rosie: Oooooh this is fun. One, two, three… Oops sorry! Did I step on your foot?
罗茜：哦，这很有趣。一、二、三……哦，对不起！我是不是踩到你了？

Man: Ouch!
男：哎哟！

Helen: It looks like Rosie's doing more than finding her feet - she's finding other people's feet and stepping on them too!
海伦：看上去罗茜做到的事情可不仅仅是找到她的脚——她找到了其他人的脚而且踩在了上面！