我们讲的英语第183期:Blah blah blah 无休止地絮叨

(Mildred talking on the phone)
（米尔德丽德正在打电话）

Finn: Yeah, yes... yes, Mildred, yeah I know.
芬恩：是啊，是啊，是的，米尔德丽德，我知道。

(Mildred on the phone)
（米尔德丽德在打电话）

Finn: Yeah, I know... I know, I know.
芬恩：是的，我知道……我知道，我知道。

(Mildred on the phone)
（米尔德丽德在打电话）

Finn: Yeah, right. Thanks, Mildred. Bye!
芬恩：是，好的。谢谢你，米尔德丽德。再见！

Feifei: Hi Finn, what did Mildred want?
菲菲：你好，芬恩，米尔德丽德想要什么？

Finn: I don't know, Feifei.
芬恩：我也不知道，菲菲。

Feifei: But you kept saying you knew.
菲菲：可是你一直在说你知道。

Finn: I know. Mildred had this ongoing dispute with her neighbour and she went on and on and on about it. It's always "my nasty neighbour blah blah blah blah blah..."
芬恩：我知道。米尔德丽德一直和邻居有争吵，所以她不断地说那件事。她一直在说“我那讨厌的邻居等等等等……”

Feifei: Yes, I have to agree it's always the same thing.
菲菲：嗯，我必须同意那都是同一件事。

Finn: And in English we use the phrase "blah blah blah" when we want to represent a boring conversation.
芬恩：在英语中我们用blah blah blah这个短语来形容一场无聊的对话。

Feifei: Where does it come from?
菲菲：这个短语来自哪里？

Finn: Well, according to an article I read the other day, in ancient Greece, the term "bar bar bar" was used to indicate "meaningless noises".
芬恩：嗯，我那天看到了一篇文章，据那篇文章所说这个短语起源于古希腊，他们用bar bar bar这个短语来表示“无意义的噪音”。

Feifei: Oh yes! It has the same root as the word "barbarian".
菲菲：哦，是啊！那和“野蛮”这个词是同一个词根。

Finn: That's right. And that explanation came from Geoff Nunberg, a linguist at the University of California.
芬恩：没错。这是加利福尼亚大学的语言学家做出的解释。

Feifei: "Bar bar bar" might have evolved to what we have today...
菲菲：我们今天所说的短语很可能由Bar bar bar演变而来。

Finn: ...Blah blah blah. And Americans might say: "yada yada yada", but it conveys the same idea of a repetitive, boring conversation.
芬恩：Blah blah blah表示废话，美国人可能会说yada yada yada，但是其实表达的是同一个意思，都是指无聊的对话。

Feifei: Yada yada yada…
菲菲：Yada yada yada……

Finn: Yes. And from "blah blah blah" we have the related verb "to blabber", which is used informally to mean to talk a lot in an annoying way, and it can be used for people who tend to reveal secrets because they talk too much.
芬恩：对。从blah blah blah这个短语我们形成了一个相关的动词喋喋不休，这是种非正式用语，意思是以令人感到厌烦的方式说了很多话，也可以用来形容因为说太多话而泄露秘密的人。

Feifei: Shall we listen to some examples?
菲菲：我们来听一些例句好吗？

Finn: Yes. "Blah blah blah" is today's expression in The English We Speak.
芬恩：好啊。Blah blah blah就是今天地道英语节目要学的短语。

A: Can I borrow your car tonight?
A：今晚我可以借用一下你的车吗？

B: No. I need to go to the supermarket and then I’ve got to pick up a package… and, well, the car is not working properly, and, you know, today is a busy day for me…
B：不行。我要去超市，然后我还要去拿包裹……嗯，这辆车现在有些小问题，而且你也知道，我今天非常忙……

A: Johnny, I am sick and tired of you "need to do" this and you've "got to do" that and … blah blah blah. Don't give me any more excuses. You don't want to lend me your car, do you?
A：约翰尼，我对你说“要做这个”、“要做那个”还有其他的废话已经感到厌烦了。别再给我找借口了。你就是不想借我你的车，是不是？

Don't tell Amanda you're leaving school early to go to the cinema. She's always blabbing about other people's lives.
别告诉阿曼达你提前离开学校去看电影了。她经常泄露别人的秘密。

Feifei: Oh. I certainly don't go around blabbing.
菲菲：哦，我一定不到底去乱说。

Finn: That's good to know.
芬恩：很高兴知道这些。

(The phone rings)
（电话响了）

Finn: Hello... Let me pass the phone to someone who is keen to talk to you. Just a moment, please. Feifei, it's for you.
芬恩：你好……我把电话给想和你聊天的人吧。请稍等一会儿。菲菲，找你的。

Feifei: Thanks, Finn. Hello.
菲菲：谢谢你，芬恩。你好。

(Mildred is on the phone)
（米尔德丽德在打电话）

Feifei: Oh, hello, Mildred!
菲菲：哦，你好，米尔德丽德！

(Mildred on the phone)
（米尔德丽德在打电话）

Feifei: Yes, yes, that was Finn, my best friend!
菲菲：是啊，是啊，刚刚那是芬恩，我最好的朋友！

Finn: This is the beginning of a long conversation... Blah blah blah... Bye.
芬恩：这是一个长对话的开始……然后就是一堆废话……再见。

Feifei: Bye.
菲菲：再见。

(Mildred on the phone)
（米尔德丽德在打电话）

Feifei: Oh, sorry, Mildred, that was not to you, but to... No, no, never mind...
菲菲：哦，抱歉，米尔德丽德，刚刚那不是跟你说的，而是和……不，不是，别在意……

(Mildred on the phone)
（米尔德丽德在打电话）

Feifei: I know, I know... yes, I know...
菲菲：我知道，我知道……是啊，我知道……