解析:如果別人在你旁邊羅嗦個(gè)沒(méi)完,你感到厭煩了,說(shuō)“You are so boring!”(你真煩!)。“Shut up!”(閉嘴!)自然沒(méi)錯(cuò),可人家受得了嗎?不如來(lái)一句“Oh, come on. Give me a break!”(幫幫忙,讓我歇歇吧!)這地道幽默吧?
2. You’re in the pink!
解析:要想說(shuō)人“氣色好”,“You look fine!”當(dāng)然不錯(cuò),可如果你說(shuō)“You’re in the pink!”就妙得多了,實(shí)際上,在英語(yǔ)口語(yǔ)中,表示顏色的詞用起來(lái)非常形象生動(dòng)。
3. He is bouncy.
解析:“他精力充沛”,美國(guó)人說(shuō)“He is bouncy.”而不說(shuō)“He is energetic.”,牢記一些日常對(duì)話(huà)中的活句式是你一把必備的鑰匙。比如“久仰”,“I've long been looking forward to meeting you.”比“I heard a lot about you.”輕松得多。
4. Please give my love to...
解析:代問(wèn)他人好當(dāng)然能用“Please remember me to your sister.”或“Please give my best wishes to your father.”不過(guò),若是很好的朋友,何不說(shuō)“Please give my love to Jim.”
5. I will miss you.
解析:在中國(guó)可不能隨便說(shuō)“我想你”,然而,當(dāng)和西方人分手時(shí)說(shuō)“I will miss you.”要比說(shuō)“Good-bye.”或“See you soon.”有趣得多,不妨一試。
6. Did you get lost?
解析:有人開(kāi)會(huì)遲到了,你若對(duì)他說(shuō)“You are late.”聽(tīng)起來(lái)像是廢話(huà),若說(shuō)“Did you get lost?”則更能讓他歉然,可別說(shuō)成“Get lost!”那可是讓人滾蛋的意思。
7. Do you have the time?
解析:別人征求你的意見(jiàn),問(wèn)能否開(kāi)窗戶(hù)等,你若說(shuō)“You can do that.”就有點(diǎn)土了,可以用“Do you have the time?”。實(shí)際上,問(wèn)他人的姓名、地址都可以這么用:“May I have you name?”要比“What’s your name?”禮貌得多,不過(guò)警察例外。
8. I would rather not say.
解析:別人問(wèn)你不愿公開(kāi)的問(wèn)題,切勿用“It’s my secret, and don’t ask such a personal question.”回答,一來(lái)顯得你沒(méi)有個(gè)性,二來(lái)也讓對(duì)方尷尬。你可以說(shuō)“I would rather not say.”(還是別說(shuō)了吧)。
9. It’s on the tip of my tongue.
解析:有時(shí)候,你想說(shuō)什么,可說(shuō)時(shí)想不起來(lái),你可以說(shuō)“Well…”、“Let me see…”、“Just a moment…”或“It’s on the tip of my tongue.”等,相比之下,最后一個(gè)句型是最地道的。
10. To change the subject...
解析:交談時(shí),你可能會(huì)轉(zhuǎn)換話(huà)題,不要只說(shuō)“By the way...”,實(shí)際上,“To change the subject...”、“Before I forget...”、“While I remember...”或“Mind you...”都是既地道又受歡迎的表達(dá)。
11. I got it.
解析:遇到你不懂的問(wèn)題時(shí)可別不懂裝懂,“I know.”可能是中國(guó)人用得最多,而美國(guó)人最不能接受的一句話(huà)。當(dāng)一美國(guó)教師向你解釋某個(gè)問(wèn)題時(shí),你如果連說(shuō)兩遍“I know.”,我敢保證,他不會(huì)再跟你說(shuō)什么了。用“I got it.”就順耳得多,要是不懂就說(shuō)“I’m not clear about it.”,不過(guò)如果你會(huì)說(shuō)“It’s past my understanding”或“It’s beyond me.”你的教師定會(huì)驚訝不已的。