美国习惯用语第207讲motor mouth; foot in mouth disease
2009-04-03来源:和谐英语
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例句-1: Dick is a nice guy. But he's such a motor mouth that people avoid talking to him. He just can't stop talking, and nobody else has a chance to get a word in the conversation.
这个人说:迪克是一个很好的人。但是,他一说话就没个完,人们都怕跟他说话。他说话的时候就是停不下来,在谈话的过程中,没有任何人插得进嘴。
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这种说话不停,不让别人有机会发表观点的人往往是很让人讨厌的,至少,这些人缺乏礼貌,不尊重周围的人。下面是一个人的亲身体验。
例句-2: The Rosens' friend David is a real motor mouth. I never go to any event when he's invited. He talks on forever, jumping from topic to topic like he knows everything. But for some reason the Rosens seem to like him.
这句话的意思是:罗森家的朋友戴维德真是一个说话没完的人。不管什么活动,只要他们请戴维德,我绝不参加。他每次都说个没完,从一个主题跳到另一个主题,好像他什么都知道。不过,罗森夫妇不知为什么似乎很喜欢他。
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滔滔不绝,说话像机器那样的人固然不讨人喜欢,但是,更严重的是有的人老是在不合时宜的情况下说不恰当的话。美国人说这种人有毛病,而且还有一个特殊的说法。这就是我们要讲的第二个习惯用语。Foot in mouth disease. Foot就是一只脚,disease就是病。Foot in mouth disease从字面上来解释,它的意思就是,把脚放在嘴巴里的病。当一个小娃娃把自己的小脚放到嘴巴里去的时候,人们会觉得很好玩。但是,要是一个大人想这么做的话,他就会显得很傻,很愚蠢,就像你意识到自己说错了话一样。下面是一个典型的出言不当的例子。
例句-3: Well, Pete did it again! He asked Mister Jones what his wife was doing these days. I guess he'd forgotten Missus Jones died last fall. Poor Pete: I have never seen a worse case of foot in mouth disease.
这个人说:“得!比德又犯了同样的毛病 。他问琼斯先生他的太太最近在干什么。我想他把琼斯太太去年秋天去世的事给忘了。可伶的比德。我从来没有见过比这样出语不当更严重的了。”
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从某种程度上来说,每个人都有说错话的可能。下面我们要举的例子也很有趣。一个丈夫由于对妻子不忠诚而闹得家庭不和,他正在设法弥补跟妻子的关系。下面是他们的一个朋友在跟自己的太太说话:
例句-4: David is trying very hard to make up with his wife. But his sister said at the party last night that she would never live under the same roof with her husband if he had an affair like David. She has a real case of foot in mouth disease!
这个人对自己的妻子说:戴维德正在努力和他太太弥补关系。但是,他的妹妹昨晚在聚会上说,要是她的丈夫像戴维德那样有外遇的话,她是绝对不会再跟她的丈夫住在一起的。她真是有毛病,说话说得那么不恰当。