我们讲的英语第262期:To make a monkey out of me 捉弄我

Rob's been asked to dress up like a monkey but it seems like someone is literally making a monkey out of him! What does that mean and why is someone foolish compared to a monkey? Luckily Li has some words of wisdom that makes Rob feel better.
有人让罗布打扮成猴子去参加聚会，其实是他们在捉弄罗布！这个短语是什么意思，为什么要把愚蠢的人比作猴子？幸运的是，莉的智慧提示让罗布感觉好多了。

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

Rob: And hello, I'm Rob
罗布：大家好，我是罗布。

Li: Sorry, I didn't hear that.
莉：抱歉，我听不清你说什么。

Rob: If I just take this head off... can you hear me better now? Hello!
罗布：我把这个布偶头套拿下来试试……现在能听清我说的话了吗？大家好！

Li: That's better, but why are you wearing a life-size monkey costume Rob?
莉：好多了，不过罗布，你为什么穿着真人大小的猴子布偶服？

Rob: Well, my friend said I should wear it to his son's birthday party this morning — his son loves monkeys and it would make his birthday really special if he saw one!
罗布：今天早上我朋友让我穿上这个去参加他儿子的生日派对，他儿子非常喜欢猴子，如果他儿子能看到一只猴子，那会让他的生日派对非常特别！

Li: Well, that's very kind of you Rob — and how did the party go?
莉：罗布，你真是太好了，派对怎么样？

Rob: Well that's the problem. As you can see, I dressed up like a monkey, travelled across London on the bus and there was no party!
罗布：这就是问题所在。你看，我打扮成了一只猴子，坐公交车在伦敦穿行，可是根本就没有什么派对！

Li: Ha ha — no party! It looks like your friend has been 'making a monkey out of you'!
莉：哈哈，没有派对！看起来你朋友捉弄了你！

Rob: Making a monkey out of me? Yes, that's a very good phrase. You mean he's trying to make me look foolish or to humiliate me.
罗布：捉弄我？这是个很棒的短语。你的意思是他想让我看上去很傻，想让我丢脸。

Li: He's certainly done that! Let's hear some examples of the phrase in action...
莉：他就是这么做的！我们来听些例句，看看这个例句如何应用。

Examples
例句

Mary made a monkey out me by telling to me to ask her best friend out on a date — she said no!
玛丽捉弄了我，她让我邀请她最好的朋友去约会，可是她的朋友拒绝了我。

My boyfriend's always making a monkey out of himself by getting drunk at parties.
我男朋友经常因为在派对上喝醉而让自己丢脸。

Sid made a monkey out of Paul by telling him to wear a suit to the party — everyone else was wearing jeans!
希德捉弄了保罗，希德让保罗穿西装去参加派对，可是其他人穿的都是牛仔服！

Li: So 'making a monkey out of someone' is not a nice thing to do. You can also say 'making a fool out of someone'. So Rob, you're angry because he's made a fool out of you?
莉：捉弄人并不是好事。还可以用make a fool out of someone来表达同样的意思。罗布，你是不是因为你朋友捉弄了你而感到很生气？

Rob: Yes, that's right! This phrase doesn't just apply to people who dress up like monkeys. It can apply to any situation where somewhere has been made to look foolish or ridiculous — like me. But Li, this phrase compares someone to a monkey because monkeys look like they are fooling around. Isn't that right?
罗布：没错！这个短语不仅仅可以用来形容打扮成猴子的人。还可以形容任何看上去很傻或是很荒谬的情况，就像我遇到的事。不过莉，这个短语把某人比作猴子，是因为他们看起来很傻。对吗？

Li: No. In the Chinese culture, a monkey is seen as a clever animal and is often compared to a clever person.
莉：不是这样。在中国文化中，猴子是一种很聪明的动物，聪明的人经常被比作猴子。

Rob: Oh really? Well, in that case I might wear this monkey costume for a little bit longer. How does it make me look? Clever, smart?
罗布：哦，真的吗？这样的话我可以再穿会儿这身猴子布偶装。我穿这个看上去怎么样？聪明，机智？

Li: Quite smart and quite handsome too.
莉：非常机智，而且非常帅气。

Rob: Oh thank you very much!
罗布：非常谢谢你！

Li: Bye.
莉：再见。

Rob: Bye.
罗布：再见。