我们讲的英语第270期:A recipe for disaster 后患无穷

Feifei's cooking a special cake for Helen's birthday but Rob thinks she might have the wrong recipe. What does he mean and how can Feifei turn the cake from a disaster to a success?
菲菲正在为海伦的生日准备特别蛋糕，不过罗布认为她的食谱好像是错的。他是什么意思？菲菲要怎么挽救这个蛋糕，从灾难变成成功？

Feifei: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak. I'm Feifei…
菲菲：大家好，欢迎收听地道英语节目。我是菲菲。

Rob:…and hello, I'm Rob. Err, Feifei what are you doing?
罗布：大家好，我是罗布。额，菲菲，你在做什么？

Feifei: I'm making a cake — a chocolate cake — obviously!
菲菲：我当然是在做蛋糕了，巧克力蛋糕！

Rob: Why are you making a chocolate cake?
罗布：你为什么要做巧克力蛋糕？

Feifei: It's Helen's birthday. What's wrong with that Rob?
菲菲：今天是海伦的生日。罗布，这有什么问题吗？

Rob: Well, for a start we are in a radio studio not a kitchen. Also, you've only got five minutes before she arrives — and you're putting salt in the cake mix not sugar.
罗布：嗯，首先，我们现在在演播室，不是厨房。另外，还有五分钟她就到了，而且你刚刚放进蛋糕粉里的是盐，不是糖。

Feifei: Ooops!
菲菲：天哪！

Rob: It's a recipe for disaster!
罗布：这是一场灾难！

Feifei: A recipe for disaster? No, look, it's a recipe for a chocolate cake Rob.
菲菲：灾难配方？不是，你看，罗布，这是巧克力蛋糕食谱。

Rob: That might be — but a recipe for disaster means a combination of things that will, at some point, go wrong and cause harm, damage or in this case, humiliation — in other words it will end in trouble.
罗布：这可能是食谱，不过a recipe for disaster的意思是一些东西结合以后，会在某个时刻出错，并造成伤害或损害，在这种情况下会丢脸，换句话说，就是会带来麻烦。

Feifei: So the phrase isn't about cooking? Oh dear Rob, this wasn't the recipe I wanted to follow!
菲菲：所以这个短语和烹饪无关？天哪，罗布，这不是我要照做的那个食谱！

Rob: No. Let's hear some examples of this phrase in action — and we can work out how to limit the damage.
罗布：无关。我们来听些例句，看看这个短语如何应用，我们可以想想怎么减少损失。

Examples
例句

My doctor says drinking too much, not exercising enough, and having a stressful job are a recipe for disaster. He says I might die young!
我的医生说，喝太多酒、锻炼不足、工作压力大将后患无穷。他说我可能早死。

I'm not looking forward to the party. Having my wife and ex-girlfriend in the same room will be a recipe for disaster!
我并不期待这场聚会。让我妻子和前女友出现在同一个场合会引发麻烦的！

Watch out on the road tonight — all that rain followed by freezing temperatures is a recipe for disaster.
今晚在路上要小心，雨水在冰冷的气温下会造成问题的！

Feifei: So put another way, 'a recipe for disaster' is a phrase that means someone's actions will result in things going badly wrong. So what problem is my cake making going to cause, Rob?
菲菲：换句话说，这个短语的意思是某人的行为会导致严重错误。罗布，那我这个蛋糕会有什么问题呢？

Rob: Well can't you see there's cake mix on the table — the cake won't be ready in time — and it'll taste disgusting with all that salt in it.
罗布：你看不到桌子上的蛋糕粉吗？蛋糕不能按时准备好了，而且里面放的盐会让蛋糕的味道很恶心的。

Feifei: Oh calm down — do you want to taste the cake mix?
菲菲：哦，冷静下来，你想尝尝这个蛋糕粉吗？

Rob: Oh go on then…. Mmmm, actually it's not too bad. And there's not much mess. Perhaps it's not a disaster — but maybe we shouldn't give it to Helen. Shall we keep it for later?
罗布：哦，好吧。嗯，实际上味道还不赖。情况不太糟。也许这并不是灾难，不过我们可能不应该把这个蛋糕送给海伦。我们能留着以后用吗？

Feifei: Ha ha — it looks like this has been a recipe for success!
菲菲：哈哈，看起来这个蛋糕成功了！

Rob: For once Feifei, you might be right! Bye!
罗布：菲菲，这一次你可能是对的！再见！

Feifei: Bye.
菲菲：再见。