我们讲的英语第91期:Why the long face 为什么拉长着脸

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!
珍：大家好，我是珍妮佛，我正在等海伦。我不久前在走廊看到她了，她看起来有点不高兴。等等，她来了。你好，海伦！

Helen: Hi Jen.
海伦：你好，珍。

Jen: What's the matter, Helen? Why the long face?
珍：海伦，出什么事了？你为什么拉长着脸？

Helen: What's wrong with my face?
海伦：我的脸怎么了？

Jen: Nothing's wrong with your face, except that it looks a bit upset.
珍：你的脸没问题，除了你的表情有点沮丧。

Helen: But you just said I've got a long face.
海伦：可是你刚刚说我脸很长。

Jen: No–what I said was…
珍：不，我刚刚的意思是……

Helen: You think I've got a strange face. I KNEW I shouldn't have worn my hair like this today.
海伦：你觉得我的脸很奇怪。我知道我今天不该梳这样的发型。

Jen: No, I asked you: "Why the long face?"
珍：不，我刚刚问你：“你为什么拉长着脸？”

Helen: Is it my nose? Is it too big? Or maybe my chin is the wrong shape. Maybe I should just wear a bag over my head!
海伦：是我的鼻子吗？鼻子太大了？或者是我下巴的轮廓很奇怪。可能我应该在头上套个袋子！

Jen: No, no, no–that's not what I meant! First of all, you look LOVELY today.
珍：不，不，不，我刚刚不是那个意思！首先，你今天看上去很可爱。

Helen: OK… So what did you mean?
海伦：好，那你是什么意思？

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.
珍：这个表达是英语中一个非正式的用法，用来询问某人为什么看上去很沮丧。

Helen: So there's nothing wrong with my face?
海伦：所以我的脸没什么问题？

Jen: No, there isn't. Let's hear some examples of the phrase in use.
珍：没问题。我们来听听这个短语的一些例子。

You've just got a new job, a new house and a new man–you should be happy! Why the long face?
你刚刚找到一份新工作，买了新房子，还有了新男友，你应该高兴才对啊！可是你为什么拉长着脸？

Hey there, don't look so sad! Why the long face?
嘿，别这么难过！为什么拉着个脸啊？

Helen: So "why the long face?" is just another way of asking "what's the matter?"
海伦：所以这个短语是另一种询问“你怎么了”的方式。

Jen: Exactly. You could also say "what's up?"
珍：没错。你也可以说“怎么了？”

Helen: That's very simple–you could say "what's wrong?" too.
海伦：这很简单，也可以说“出什么事了？”。

Jen: So what IS wrong? Why do you look so miserable?
珍：那到底怎么了？为什么你看起来这么痛苦？

Helen: I've just had a really bad day–everything has gone wrong. 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. It was a horrible day.
海伦：我刚刚度过了非常糟的一天，所有事都出了差错。我先是弄丢了车钥匙，然后我开会迟到了，我在路上被绊倒摔进了水坑里。这一天真可怕。

Jen: It sounds awful. I know, how about I tell you a joke to cheer you up–you'll like this one.
珍：听起来真糟糕。我给你讲个笑话让你高兴一下怎么样，你会喜欢这个笑话的。

Helen: OK, why not. Let's hear it.
海伦：好啊，为什么不呢？我们来听笑话吧。

Jen: A horse walks into a bar. The barman says: "why the long face?"
珍：一匹马走进一家酒吧。酒吧侍者说：“为什么你脸这么长？”

Helen: So the horse was unhappy? What's funny about that?
海伦：所以那匹马不高兴吗？那有什么搞笑的？

Jen: The barman says to the horse "Why the long face?"
珍：酒吧侍者对那匹马说“为什么你脸这么长？”

Helen: Why would a horse be in a bar?
海伦：为什么马会进酒吧？

Jen: It doesn't matter–it's a joke. It's a horse so the barman says "Why the long face?"
珍：那不重要，只是个笑话。那是一匹马，所以酒吧侍者说“为什么你脸这么长？”

Helen: I don't understand.
海伦：我不明白。

Jen: Well, the horse has a long face.
珍：嗯，马的脸很长啊。

Helen: So it's unhappy?
海伦：它不高兴吗？

Jen: No, well, yes, but that's the joke. Horses have long faces.
珍：不是，那只是个笑话。马的脸都很长。

Helen: So why did it go into the bar again? I don't get it.
海伦：可是它到底为什么要去酒吧呢？我不明白。