「美語怎麼說」Episode 18:看熱鬧

Donny在北京學漢語,他的中國朋友要是遇到了不知道用美語怎麼說的詞,就會來請教他。今天是吳瓊要問的:

看熱鬧

「美語怎麼說」Episode 18:看熱鬧

看熱鬧

Donny: Wuqiong, I heard you got your driver's license !
WQ: 是啊,昨天我已經開車上路啦!
Donny: So how did it go?
WQ: 唉,別提了! 我開的那條路上出車禍,結果,開車的、騎車的、走路的,都想看熱鬧,最後,整條街都堵住了! 對了Donny,這些看熱鬧的人,用英文怎麼說呢?
Donny: 英文叫 rubberneck.
WQ: rubberneck? 我知道 rubber 是橡膠,neck是脖子。那rubberneck不就是橡膠脖子麼?
Donny: 你想啊,那些看熱鬧,圍觀的人,they stretch their necks to watch what's happening, right?
WQ: 哦……我明白了,伸長脖子看熱鬧的人好像長了橡膠脖子,所以叫他們rubberneck! 哈哈,真形象!
Donny: Right! rubberneck也可以當動詞。你剛才說,大家看熱鬧,整條街大堵車,在英文裡就是 The traffic was bumper-to-bumper because of rubbernecking.
WQ: bumper-to-bumper? b-u-m-p-e-r, bumper, 不是汽車保險槓麼?
Donny: Exactly! So bumper-to-bumper means cars are moving so slowly that their bumpers are almost touching.
WQ: 我明白了,bumper-to-bumper, 汽車一輛緊挨著一輛,慢慢往前拱。這麼說,I was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic,鬱悶死了!
Donny: Wuqiong, 那車禍到底嚴不嚴重?
WQ: 特嚴重! 六輛車撞在一起了!
Donny: Ouch... a six-car pileup!
WQ: pileup? p-i-l-e, pile, 再加上 up, pileup 就是連環車禍麼?
Donny: That's Right!
WQ: 我跟你說,這個pileup裡,有兩輛奧迪,一輛奔馳,一輛寶馬,好像還有...
Donny: (interrupt wuqiong) Wuqiong, 你看得這麼清楚,真不愧是 a good rubberneck! Okay, new driver, tell me what you've learned today!


WQ: 第一,看熱鬧的人叫rubberneck;第二,堵車可以說bumper-to-bumper /ˈbʌmpɚ/;第三,連環車禍是pileup /ˈpaɪlˌʌp/ !


分享到:


相關文章: