我们讲的英语第136期:To nip something in the bud 防患于未然

Helen: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak. I'm Helen.
海伦：大家好，欢迎收听地道英语节目。我是海伦。

William: Hi, I'm William. Today Hampton Court Palace Flower Show is opening.
威廉：大家好，我是威廉。今天汉普顿宫廷花卉展开幕了。

Music, birdsong
音乐声，鸟鸣声

Helen: Oh, Hampton Court Palace Flower Show–the world's largest flower show! I've seen it on the news before. If only I had a garden!
海伦：哦，汉普顿宫廷花卉展，这可是世界上最大的花卉展览！我之前在新闻上看到过。我要是有个花园就好了！

William: Ah yes, you live in an apartment, don't you Helen?
威廉：是啊，海伦，你住在公寓里，是吧？

Helen: Yeah. So William, let me guess, today we are going to do a phrase relating to flowers and gardening?
海伦：对。威廉，让我来猜猜看，今天我们要学习和花朵还有园艺有关的词组吗？

William: Exactly.
威廉：完全正确。

Helen: So...? What's the phrase?
海伦：那……？是什么词组呢？

William: Er... Well, how about... how about... er. No, it's gone. It's no good. I can't think of a phrase right now.
威廉：额……嗯，这个……那个……嗯。不行，不好。我现在想不出来。

Helen: Oh well. Let's just have a chat instead. I'm tired of learning new phrases anyway.
海伦：好吧。那我们就用聊天代替好了。不管怎样我已经厌倦总是学习新词组了。

William: OK. Well, how are you Helen? How are the kids?
威廉：好吧。海伦，你怎么样？孩子们怎么样？

Helen: Oh they are both really well. My little boy eats too much chocolate though!
海伦：哦，他们都非常好。不过我的小儿子吃的巧克力太多了！

William: Oh really? Well, you want to nip that in the bud.
威廉：哦，真的吗？嗯，你要防患于未然。

Helen: Eh? Nip it in the bud?
海伦：什么？Nip it in the bud？

William: Nip it in the bud. If you nip something in the bud, you stop it before it becomes a problem. Listen to this example from a business context:
威廉：对，防患于未然。这个意思是你要在发生问题前阻止这件事。来听一个来自业务环境的例子。

Man: The last few deliveries we've had from this company have all had broken parts in them.
男：最近这家公司给我们发的货几乎都有破损。

Woman: Well, we need to nip that in the bud. Tell them that unless their service improves, we're going to look for another supplier.
女：嗯，我们需要防患于未然。告诉他们，如果他们的服务质量还不改善的话，我们会另找供应商。

Helen: So in that example, the man was complaining about poor service from a supplier. The woman wanted to nip it in the bud.
海伦：在这个例子中，男子在抱怨供应商的糟糕服务。而那名女子则希望防患于未然。

William: That's right. She wanted to take steps to improve the service before it got even worse.
威廉：没错。她希望在问题更严重前采取措施改善服务。

Helen: So where does this phrase come from William–to nip something in the bud?
海伦：那威廉，这个短语来自哪里呢？

Birdsong and music
鸟鸣声和音乐声

William: Well, it comes from gardening, actually. A bud is the part of a plant that becomes a flower, a leaf or stem. If you nip something in the bud, you cut the bud off the plant before it has time to grow.
威廉：嗯，实际上是来自园艺。植物的蓓蕾会生长成花朵、叶子或是花茎。而这个短语就是指你在植物成熟前把蓓蕾剪掉了。

Helen: Oh. That's not very nice.
海伦：哦，那不是很好。

William: Well, gardening is a tough game, Helen. You have to nip things in the bud sometimes. You also have to kill slugs and snails.
威廉：嗯，海伦，园艺是件很难做的事。有时你必须要剪掉蓓蕾。你还必须要消灭蛞蝓和蜗牛。

Helen: Eugh! I'm glad I don't have a garden.
海伦：啊！我真庆幸我没有花园。

William: Bye!
威廉：再见！

Helen: Bye!
海伦：再见！