英语口语练习小对话 第745期:久候

Subject :Just cool your heels.

迷你对话

A: They all laughed at me when I passed by. I cannot bear it any more! I want to kill them.

当我路过他们时，他们都在嘲笑我。我无法忍受，我想杀死他们。

B: Calm down. Just cool your heels.

镇定下来。安静会儿吧。

地道表达

cool one’s heels

1. 解词释义

Cool one’s heels中的cool是“使……冷却”的意思，heels是指“脚趾”。那么，其字面意思是“使某人的脚发凉”，引申为“等候很长时间”的意思。在本文中，作为俚语，其意思是“经过一些时间后冷静，安静下来”。

2. 拓展例句

e.g. I was early for the appointment, so I had to cool my heels in the outer office.

我比约定的时间来得早，所以只得在外面的办公室里等着。

e.g. Let him cool his heels in the outer office, that will teach him to be more polite.

让他在外间办公室等候着，那将可教训他以后客气点。

e.g. I had to cool my heels for nearly an hour before the manager would see me.

在经理见我之前，我只得久等了将近一个小时。

e.g. I'm going to let you cool your heels in jail until the chief gets back.

我要让你在监狱里冷静冷静，直到警长回来为止。

e.g. It won't hurt them to cool their heels in jail for a few days, even if some of them are not in the wrong!

冤枉她们坐几天牢，也不要紧！

Ps 1 : pass by的意思是“经过，路过”。例如：

He took up a stick, pointed against the wall, and didn't allow anyone to pass by.

他拿起一根棍子, 顶着墙, 不让任何人通行。

They were injured when a parked car exploded as their convoy passed by.

他们的车队经过时，一辆停放着的汽车爆炸了，他们受了伤。

Ps 2：calm down的意思是“镇静，冷静，镇定”。例如：

We will go back to normal when things calm down.

事态平息之后，我们将一切如常。

Calm down, there's nothing to worry about.

冷静点儿, 没有什么好担心的。

Ps 3：not… any more的意思是“再……”，相当于no more。它侧重于“数量”或“程度”。注意与not… any longer区分开来，它注重“时间”。例如：

You can drink no more. = You can't drink any more.

你不能再喝了。(喝酒的量到了一定程度，不能再继续下去了。)

He no longer lives here. = He doesn't live here any longer.

他不在这儿居住了。(一个时间以前他住在这儿，过了这个时间，他就离开了。)