Donny在北京學(xué)漢語,他的中國朋友要是遇到了不知道用美語怎么說的詞,就會(huì)來請(qǐng)教他。今天是吳瓊要問的:看熱鬧。
Donny: Wuqiong, I heard you got your driver's license !
WQ: 是啊,昨天我已經(jīng)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(jié)果,開車的、騎車的、走路的,都想看熱鬧,最后,整條街都堵住了! 對(duì)了Donny,這些看熱鬧的人,用英文怎么說呢?
Donny: 英文叫 rubberneck.
WQ: rubberneck? 我知道 rubber 是橡膠,neck是脖子。那rubberneck不就是橡膠脖子么?
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(zhǎng)脖子看熱鬧的人好像長(zhǎng)了橡膠脖子,所以叫他們r(jià)ubberneck! 哈哈,真形象!
Donny: Right! rubberneck也可以當(dāng)動(dòng)詞。你剛才說,大家看熱鬧,整條街大堵車,在英文里就是 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(xiǎn)杠么?
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。這么說,I was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic,郁悶死了!
Donny: Wuqiong, 那車禍到底嚴(yán)不嚴(yán)重?
WQ: 特嚴(yán)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(huán)車禍么?
Donny: That's Right!
WQ: 我跟你說,這個(gè)pileup里,有兩輛奧迪,一輛奔馳,一輛寶馬,好像還有...
Donny: (interrupt wuqiong) Wuqiong, 你看得這么清楚,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;
第三,連環(huán)車禍?zhǔn)莗ileup, p-i-l-e-u-p!