10. I Forgot All about It
我把它忘到了九霄云外
BACKGROUND 背景
One friend is telling the other about his busy schedule.
一個(gè)人在告訴他的朋友他有多忙。
A: Hi, Kim. How’s it going? I’ve got a problem.
嗨,金姆。進(jìn)展如何?我遇到了點(diǎn)麻煩。
B: What’s bothering you Stone? You look stressed.
石頭,是什么事讓你心煩?你看上去心事重重的。
A: I always bite off more than I can chew. I agreed to speak at an international conference in Shanghai next Monday. Now I won’t be able to do it.
我總是試圖做自己做不來的事。我答應(yīng)下星期一在上海的一個(gè)國際性大會(huì)上講話。現(xiàn)在沒法去了。
B: Why not? What happened?
為什么呢?怎么回事呀?
A: I’m going to Beijing that day. I have an important speech and TV interview there. I forgot all about it. I don’t have the heart to tell the conference now. It’s the second time I’ve done this. How can I save face? I feel terrible.
那天我剛好要去北京,我有一個(gè)非常重要的演講和電視采訪。我全給忘了。現(xiàn)在,我沒有勇氣告訴上海方面。這可是第二回了。我怎么才能挽回面子呢?我覺得糟透了。
B: Don’t worry about it. They’d have to search high and low to find a better speaker. And they know it. They need someone who can speak good English and Chinese.
別擔(dān)心,他們會(huì)到別處去找個(gè)更好的演講者。而且他們也會(huì)理解的。 他們需要一個(gè)能說一口流利的英語和漢語的人。
A: Thank you. But I doubt that. I’m sure they’d prefer someone who keeps his word. I’ve got to talk to my assistant. He’s always messing up my schedule!
謝謝。但我對此表示懷疑。我想他們寧愿要一個(gè)守信用的人。我要找我的助手談?wù)?他總是把我的計(jì)劃打亂!
B: Forget it. They know you’re not leading them on. They’ll ask you again, I’m sure. These things happen. You’re a busy guy.
得了吧。他們知道你不是騙他們的。我確信他們還會(huì)再請你的。這種事常有,你也很忙。
A: Thanks for saying that, Kim. I feel a lot better.
金姆,謝謝你這么說。我覺得好多了。
B: That’s what friends are for. Besides, I’m sure it’s not easy being so famous!
這是朋友之間應(yīng)該做的。再說,名人也不是好當(dāng)?shù)模?
額外成就感
have the heart: have the courage to do something that will cause others unhappiness or disappointment 有勇氣☆☆☆☆☆
* I don’t have the heart to tell my parents that I failed the exam.
我不敢告訴父母我考試沒及格。
* She didn’t have the heart to tell her boyfriend the truth.
她沒有勇氣把真相告訴男友。
* I don’t have the heart to watch that explosion one more time.
我不敢再看那爆炸的場面。
save face: maintain one’s pride and honor; not be disgraced
挽回面子☆☆☆☆
* I completely forgot Kim’s party and tried to save face by sending her flowers the next morning.
我徹頭徹尾地忘了金姆同志的聚會(huì),于是在第二天早上送花給她以挽回面子。
* You can’t save face by making up lies. Just tell the truth.
編瞎話是不會(huì)為你挽回面子的。照實(shí)說吧。
* We told him that he failed in private so he could save face.
我們私下里告訴他,他失敗了,這樣可以留點(diǎn)面子。
high and low: everywhere; in every conceivable place 到處☆☆☆
* I’ve lost my ID card. I’ve looked high and low for it, but I can’t find it.
我把身份證丟了。到處找也沒找到。
* We searched high and low for a better place to live, but in the end, we stayed in our old house.
我們到處尋找一個(gè)居住條件好的地方,但最后還是留在了老房子里。
* You’ll have to look high and low for an original copy of that book. They are extremely rare.
你得好好找一找那本書的原版,很少有的。
keep one’s word: be responsible and do what one says one will do
說到做到;信守諾言☆☆☆☆☆
* If Jim said he’d get that book for you, he’ll do it; he always keeps his word.
如果吉姆說過要把書給你帶來,他就一定會(huì)的;他總是說話算話。
* I am counting on you to keep your word. Don’t let me down.
我指望著你信守諾言呢。別讓我失望。
* She is known for keeping her word.
她以誠信著稱。
* I promise. I’ll be there. I’ll keep my word.
我保證。我肯定會(huì)去的。我說話算話。
lead someone on: make someone believe something that isn’t true
欺騙;說謊☆☆☆☆☆
* Eric gave me a long story about what a good student he was in college. Later I discovered none of it was true; he was just leading me on.
艾立克給我講了一大堆他在大學(xué)里是多么的出色。后來我發(fā)現(xiàn)那全是假的,他是在騙我。
* If you don’t want to go out with me any more just say so. Don’t lead me on.
如果你不想再跟我出去了那就直說。別跟我撒謊。
* He never really cared about her. He was just leading her on.
他從沒喜歡過她。他只不過騙她罷了。
* They never planned to sign the contract. They were just leading us on.
他們根本就不想簽合同,就是想騙我們。