我们讲的英语第88期:To bend over backwards 竭尽全力

Neil: Hello. I'm Neil.
尼尔：大家好，我是尼尔。

Helen: I'm Helen. And Neil is speaking in that rather strange voice because he's in a strange position.
海伦：我是海伦。尼尔用那种非常奇怪的声音说话，原因是他现在的姿势非常奇怪。

Neil: That's right. I'm bending over backwards–or trying to.
尼尔：没错。我正在向后弯腰，或者是试图向后率。

Helen: Bending over backwards. The problem is that you're not very flexible are you?
海伦：向后弯腰。问题是你不是很灵活，不是吗？

Neil: No. Even if I bend forwards I can hardly touch my knees, and certainly not my toes.
尼尔：对。即使我向前弯腰，我也很难碰到膝盖，当然更碰不到脚趾了。

Helen: Well, look at me!
海伦：嗯，看看我！

Neil: Wow! Helen! I had no idea you could do that! You can bend over backwards all the way to the floor!
尼尔：哇！海伦！我都不知道你能做到！你竟然能向后弯腰，并手掌触地！

Helen: Yes. Anyway, maybe we should explain why we're bending over backwards.
海伦：对，不管怎样，可能我们要解释一下我们为什么要向后弯腰。

Neil: Oh, yes, of course. That's because today's phrase is:
尼尔：哦，对，当然了。那是因为我们今天要学习的短语就是：

Helen & Neil: To bend over backwards!
海伦&尼尔：To bend over backwards!！

Helen: Listen to these examples and see if you can guess what it means.
海伦：来听几个例子，看看大家能否猜出这个短语的意思。

I would bend over backwards for you–just let me know how I can help.
我会竭尽全力帮你，只要告诉我我怎么能帮到你。

Julia bent over backwards to make sure everything was right for their visit.
朱莉亚竭尽全力确保他们访问期间一切顺利。

Neil: Did you guess the meaning of 'to bend over backwards'?
尼尔：你猜到这个短语的意思了吗？

Helen: It means to go to great lengths or to put in a lot of effort for someone or something.
海伦：意思就是为某人或者某事想尽办法或是付出大量努力。

Neil: Like, "I would bend over backwards to make you happy", Helen.
尼尔：比如“我会竭尽全力让你幸福”，海伦。

Helen: Ahhhh. Thank you Neil. Let's hear some more examples:
海伦：啊，谢谢你，尼尔。我们再来看几个例子：

I bent over backwards to get Jim what he wanted, but he never thanked me.
我想尽办法让吉姆得到他想要的东西，但是他从来没有谢过我。

I'll help you a bit, but don't expect me to bend over backwards.
我会帮你一点，但是别指望我会不遗余力地帮你。

Neil: Oh, ooof!
尼尔：哦，天哪！

Helen: Are you okay?
海伦：你还好吧？

Neil: I need to sit down, I think I've hurt my back!
尼尔：我要坐下来，我想我弄伤了我的后背！

Helen: Ah, Neil, you must be careful not to bend over backwards too often!
海伦：尼尔，你要小心，向后弯腰不要做过太频繁！

Neil: Yes.
尼尔：没错。

Helen: Or you should just bend over backwards figuratively, but not literally! That's all for now. Bye!
海伦：或者你应该象征性地做一下，而不是按字面意思做！我说完了。再见！

Neil: Bye!
尼尔：再见！