时间:2019-03-14 作者:英语课 分类:美国习惯用语


英语课

 美国习惯用语第844:对一件事情一无所知(音频)


not know beans about
大家肯定都听过鸟叫,英语里形容鸟叫的相声词是tweet. 你知道吗,现在有个网站叫twitter, 可以用电脑或是手机在上面发送字数不超过140个字的短信。我也是最近才从年轻同事那里知道这个网站的,但还是不知道具体怎么操作。今天我们要学的习惯用语恰恰可以用来形容这种情况。那就是:not know beans about.
说一个 not know beans about,一件事情,意思就是对一件事情一无所知,毫无概念。就拿我来说吧,如果你让我上网tweet你,那我简直就是丈二和尚摸不着头脑,因为I do not know beans about it.
奥巴马夫妇入主白宫后,第一夫人米歇尔多次成为头版新闻。就在前不久,她在白宫开垦了一个菜园子。让我们听听下面这篇报道是怎么说的。
例句-1:First Lady Michelle Obama recently started a vegetable garden at the White House. It's a reflection of the many gardens that are sprouting 1 up in backyards across the county. Even Americans who don't know beans about farming are trying it. Soon enough these absolute beginners are enjoying their own delicious and healthy produce.
报道说:第一夫人米歇尔·奥巴马最近在白宫开了个菜园。眼下,这样的菜园子在全美各地象雨后春笋一样纷纷出现。就连对种植一窍不通的美国人也跃跃欲试。没过多久,这些初次“务农”的人就能尝到自己种出来的可口健康的水果和蔬菜了。
我和老公就是从去年开始种菜的。去年第一次尝试,we did not know beans about it. 所以只种了西红柿、黄瓜和韭菜,结果大丰收。你别说,自己种的菜味道就是不一样,又有利环保,绝对是一举两得。
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常听人说,爱情可以战胜一切。真是这样吗?听听下面这个例子,你就会得出答案。
例句-2:When Brenda was first introduced to Jack 2, she was intimidated 3 by his knowledge. When it came to his field, astrophysics, she frankly 4 did not know beans. But over several dates, she fell in love with his enthusiasm for galaxies 5 and electromagnetism. It's amazing how much she understands now.
这个人说:布兰达第一次经人介绍跟杰克认识的时候,杰克的博学多才让她有些无地自容。对于杰克研究的天文物理学,布兰达可以说是一无所知。但是几次约会下来,她就被杰克对宇宙和电磁的热情折服了。现在她懂得越来越多,简直不可思议。
有趣的是,not know beans的另外一种说法是not know Jack. 因此,在上面这个例子里,我们可以说,对于天文物理学,Branda doesn't know Jack. 这里的Jack指的就不Jack这个人了。
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大家也许会问,为什么要说beans,豆子呢?或许恰恰是因为豆子小,微不足道吧。这个习惯用语早在十九世纪早期就已经出现了,一直沿用到今天。

v.发芽( sprout的现在分词 );抽芽;出现;(使)涌现出
  • new leaves sprouting from the trees 树上长出的新叶
  • They were putting fresh earth around sprouting potato stalks. 他们在往绽出新芽的土豆秧周围培新土。 来自名作英译部分
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
v.恐吓;威胁adj.害怕的;受到威胁的
  • We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
  • The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》
adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说
  • To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说,我一点也不赞成这个主意。
  • Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说,我不反对改革。
星系( galaxy的名词复数 ); 银河系; 一群(杰出或著名的人物)
  • Quasars are the highly energetic cores of distant galaxies. 类星体是遥远星系的极为活跃的核心体。
  • We still don't know how many galaxies there are in the universe. 我们还不知道宇宙中有多少个星系。
标签: 习惯用语
学英语单词
absorption reaction rate
abuse of law
acrobatic show
Aleksandrinka
Allo-PBSCT
application workspace
arbitrally
blinking method of stereoscopic viewing
brass watch case blank
Chilean tinamous
cixiid
clap-hand
common laburnum
compartment hot well
compartmentalised
conductivity
contra-cyclical measures
Coquimbo owl
cross platform
cyclotheric sedimentation
dc data set
determinable freeholds
diacetylurea
dicumarols
elasto-aerodynamics
erosional vacuity
erotematic
final thermomechanicaltreatment
Gamu
general most favoured nation clause
glory of the snow
green goodss
gyroso-
hally
haylee
hofners
hydrated stock
hyperthite
idiologism
in the jug
incidental cost
ioduretted
items sample
keep on trucking
kindjals
koevoets
laminated clay
Lasianthus formosensis
leveling off
macro-observation
magmatic circulation
marine windscreen
mGal, mgal
moisture measurer for sand and stone
muscle scars
N.C.
nbcc
nobeliums
nuclenoic
NuLab
on-state characteristic
peritoneal tap
phthioic acid
plate mangle
prends
prevention of collision
prolmon tablet
pyramidal cells
raw mast
reactor coolant system cold leg isolation valve
Regranex
relative-entropy
reliability index of generating system
risto
Rubus chiliadenus
sit down to
solti
standard reference materials
starch ester
static stability margin
stochastic procss
strict secrecy
stupiditarian
superior characters
switching pulse
symbiotic action
synedra undulata
synthetic nitrogenous fertilizer
systematic production of substitution lines
thuggish
total corneal transplantation
total variation decreasing scheme
Tuamarina
twin-screw conveyor
TWTA
ultraviolet radiations
unintentional nonlinearity
unquietous
wassily chair
wax string
y.m