生活英语对话 Episode 27: The hungry cat

本单元是关于饥饿猫的对话

Tim: I don't believe it! Kitty's just eaten my dinner. I was putting the kettle on and I turned round and there she was, eating my chicken. That cat's a pain in the neck.
Alice: Oh calm down.
Tim: It drives me mad! I'm starving, I've been slaving away in that dusty old stockroom all day. I hate work just now and then this happens! The cat's got to go or be put down.
Helen: Don't be horrible. You can buy something else to eat.
Tim: We're not all as rich as you, you know, daddy's girl!
Helen: How dare you Tim! I didn't eat your chicken. You drive me up the wall sometimes.
Alice: Hey guys, chill out.


Vocabulary:

to fly off the handle (v, informal):
to be very angry 发脾气

It's a pain in the neck (idiom):
It's very annoying 惹人嫌，让人很受不了的麻烦

I'm starving (informal):
I'm very hungry 饿极了

To put an animal down:
To kill an animal, usually because it is old or ill 把（老弱病残的）动物杀掉

A daddy's girl:
A woman who isn't independent but is spoilt and looked after by her father (or other father-like figure) 乖乖女

本单元的语言点是与愤怒有关的习语，习惯用语得以隐喻的形式去理解，而非从字面上的意思去理解。如果有人说“see red”，意思是指某人发怒，冒火（这里用的是隐喻），而不是指某人看到红色（字面上的意思）。

Idioms of anger
与愤怒有关的习语

Idioms use language metaphorically 2 rather than literally 3. If you 'see red', it means you are very angry (the metaphorical 1 meaning) not that you look at something or someone and see the colour red (the literal meaning).

Idioms are also fixed 4 groups of words so you can't change the wording of an idiom. For example, you can say 'I'm at the end of my tether' to say you have reached the limits of your tolerance 5 but you can't say 'I'm at the end of my rope? 习惯用语通常是固定的一些词语，人们不能随意改变习惯用语的词语组成。比如，可以说‘I’m at the end of my tether’来表示山穷水尽，或智穷力竭（tether是栓牛、马等的系绳，系链），但是却不可以说‘I’m at the end of my rope’。


Idioms - losing your temper （发脾气）:

I lost my rag when the traffic warden 6 gave me a ticket.
I blew my top when the traffic warden gave me a ticket.

I lost my temper in a dramatic way when she gave me a ticket.(当她给我开出罚单时，我立刻火冒三丈。)


Idioms - getting angry （发怒，冒火）:

I saw red when he refused my request for a pay rise.
I got angry. (Red refers to the blood rising in your eyes!) （当他拒绝我的加薪要求时，我立刻火冒三丈。我非常气愤。）

Noisy children make the teacher hot under the collar.
Noisy children make his blood boil.
He gets angry when children are noisy. (Both these idioms refer to the idea of being angry and getting hot.) （当孩子们吵闹时，他变得很愤怒。在这里，上述两个习语指的都是愤怒和火冒三丈的意思。）

I'm at the end of my tether. If those children don't shut up, I'll ...
I have reached my limit, I am about to lose my temper. （我已忍无可忍，快要发脾气了。如果他们还不住嘴，我就要......）

Right! That's the last straw. Be quiet now!
Something has happened to finally push me over my limit. I won't tolerate this noise anymore. （The last straw是指一系列重压、打击中，终于使人不能忍受的最后一击；终于使人不支而垮下的小事。）


Idioms - being annoyed or irritated （恼火或烦躁）:

He is such a pain in the neck （惹人嫌，让人很受不了的麻烦）. He's always asking for money.
He really winds me up （让人烦）. He's always asking for money.
He drives me up the wall （把人搞得心烦意乱）. He's always asking for money.
He irritates or annoys me, usually because he does something repeatedly. （他不断地做某事，让人感觉很烦恼）