生活英语对话 Episode 99: Girl Talk

本单元是关于女孩间的谈话的对话。
Alice: It's only me. Can I come in?
Helen: Yes but don't look at me. I'm a mess.
Alice: Helen, you've been crying. What's wrong?
Helen: I've just had some really bad news from Michal. He's fallen in love with someone else and doesn't want me to contact him ever again.
Alice: Oh, you poor thing.
Helen: I mean it wasn't as if I didn't see it coming. But still it's a shock to see it all down in black and white.
Alice: That's awful.
Helen: But you know what the worst thing is? Poor Tim got the brunt of it all. He just wanted to have a chat with me and I completely went off on one. Alice?


Vocabulary 词汇

a mess （混乱;一团糟;肮脏）
dirty or untidy

I didn't see it coming （我没料到会这样）
I didn't realise this was going to happen. It wasn't obvious to me

to see it down in black and white （看到白纸黑字的印刷品）
to read something written in a letter, book, newspaper etc.

the brunt of it （主要力量；压力）
the main force of something unpleasant

I went off on one (非正式用语：我非常气愤，并因此发火。)
I became very angry and lost my temper

本单元的语言点是 and 连接的两字短语， 英语里有不少用'and'连接起来的两个词组成的短语。譬如，black and white，即白纸黑字。这些词语叫做二项式短语。这些短语的句式通常是固定的；我们只能说 black and white，而不能说 white and black。

Binomials 2: black and white

Background (背景):
There are many phrases in English that use two words connected with 'and'. For example, black and white, milk and sugar. These expressions are known as binomials. In these phrases the word order is usually fixed 1; we say black and white, we don't say white and black.

The following binomials are noun, verb and adjective phrases.

Nouns - colours and shapes （与颜色和形状有关的名词短语）:

black and white: written down
She was really excited to see her name in black and white in the newspaper. It made her feel very important.

black and blue: bruised 2, an injury or mark where the skin is darker in colour, often as a result of being hit by something
Poor guy! First they stole his wallet and then they beat him black and blue. He was in hospital for a week after the attack.

salt and pepper: hair that is a mixture of dark hairs and grey or white hairs
She's only 30 but she looks so distinguished 3 with her salt and pepper hair.

stars and stripes: the USA flag
The athlete cried when she heard the national anthem 4 and saw the stars and stripes raised in the Olympic stadium.


Nouns - food （与食品有关的名词短语）:

sweet and sour: two flavours that give food the combined flavours of sugar and spice
Fancy some sweet and sour chicken from the Chinese take-away tonight?

bread and butter: simple, plain sandwich
I'm not really hungry. I'll just have some bread and butter for lunch.

ham and eggs: typical British breakfast of pig meat (pork) and eggs
He loves to have a big fried breakfast at the weekend, with ham and eggs and all the rest.

bangers and mash 5: (informal) sausages and mashed 6 potatoes
The kids love bangers and mash. It's so easy to make so that's great for me too.


Verbs and adjectives - housework（与家务有关的动词和形容词短语）:

cook and clean: (verb) make a meal or bake a cake and then wash and tidy up afterwards
I've been cooking and cleaning all day long. I'm exhausted 7.

wash and dry: (verb) using water and washing up liquid to clean dishes and then to dry them with a cloth
The party was great. Let's leave the washing and drying till tomorrow morning.

clean and tidy: (adjective) cleared up
Go up to your room and get to work! I want to see it clean and tidy before you go out.

spic and span: (adjective) very clean
She's incredibly house-proud. The whole place is always so spic and span. I don't know how she finds the time to keep it so tidy.