常春藤生活英语【75】Sense of Direction 迷路记

Dialogue A
Marla and Hank are driving to Marla’s sister’s new house.
Marla: Are you sure this is the right street?
Hank>: No, I have absolutely> no idea where we are.
Marla: Well, you have a lousy1 sense of direction so I knew we'd get lost.
Hank>: It's not my fault this time. Your sister's directions don't make sense.
Marla: What? They seemed easy to understand to me.
Hank>: Well then, why don't you drive if you are so much better at it than I am?
Marla: Fine. Pull over2.

Dialogue B
Marla and Hank switch¹ seats .
Hank>: No! Turn left!
Marla: OK! Don't yell² at me!
Hank>: See! The directions are difficult to understand.
Marla: Yes, you're right.
Hank>: I'm glad you finally came to your senses and stopped blaming everything on me.
Marla: Actually, you didn't ask for help until it was too late. So, in a sense, it's still your fault.
Hank>: Whatever. Look, there's the street!
Marla: Great! At least we found it in the end.
Hank>: Yep. Thanks to you.

Dialogue A
玛拉跟汉克正开车前往玛拉姊姊的新家。
玛　拉：你确定是这条街没错？
汉　克：不确定，我完全不知道我们在哪里。
玛　拉：唉，你的方向感真是糟糕透顶，所以我早就知道我们会迷路。
汉　克：这次可不是我的错。妳姊姊的指示根本就没人看得懂。
玛　拉：什么？在我看来，它们还挺好懂的啊。
汉　克：那既然妳比我还行的话，为何不自己开？
玛　拉：好啊。靠边停。

Dialogue B
玛拉跟汉克交换座位。
汉　克：不！向左转！
玛　拉：好啦！别对我大吼大叫的！
汉　克：妳看！指示很难懂吧。
玛　拉：没错，你说的对。
汉　克：我很高兴妳终于开窍了，不再把所有事都怪到我头上来。
玛　拉：其实你一直等到为时已晚才求人帮你。所以从某种意义上来说，还是你的错。
汉　克：随便啦。妳看，那条街在那耶！
玛　拉：太好了！至少我们最后找到路了。
汉　克：对啊。真多亏了妳咧。

Building Your Vocabulary

absolutely　adv. 绝对地；完全地
You are absolutely the right person for the job.
你绝对是这份工作的不二人选。

Phrases³ for Learning⁴

1. sense of direction　　　方向感
You need to have a good sense of direction to find a way out of this forest.
你得要有好的方向感，才能在这座森林里找到出路。
2. make sense　　　有意义；有道理
This sentence doesn't make any sense.
这个句子没有任何意义。
3. come to + 所有格 + senses　　某人恢复理智∕醒悟
Marvin came to his senses and realized he had done something wrong.
马文恢复了理智，了解到他做错事了。
4. blame...on + 人　　把……归咎于某人
Don't blame your mistakes on me.
不要把你自己的错推到我身上来。
5. in a/one sense　在某种意义上
You may not agree with me. But in one sense, I believe David is innocent⁵.
你或许不会同意。但从某种意义上来说，我相信戴维是清白的。

参考字词

1. lousy　a. 糟糕的
2. pull over　　（使车辆）停靠在路边

Tips In Use

Well, you have a lousy sense of direction...
（唉，你的方向感真是糟糕透顶……）
Your sister's directions don't make sense.
（你姊姊的指示根本就没人看得懂。）

以上两句都有 direction，但其意思不同。第一句中的 direction 表『方向感』，为不可数名词；而第二句的 directions 则表『指示，（行路的）指引』，恒为复数形。
Follow the directions if you want to find the treasure.
（如果你想找到宝藏，就照着这些指示做。）

1 switch   

n.开关，电闸，转换，软枝；vt.转变，切换，摆动，转换，使转轨；vi.转换，变换，摆动

参考例句：

• The switch on the wall was beyond the baby's reach.墙上的开关小孩子是够不到的。
• There's been a switch in our plans.我们的计划改变了。

2 yell   

vi./n.号叫，叫喊

参考例句：

• This gave them a chance to yell.这给了他们大声喊叫的机会。
• When his schoolmate made the last goal,the boy gave out with an untrammeled yell.那个男孩在他的同学踢进最后一球时不禁纵声欢呼。

3 phrases   

n.短语( phrase的名词复数 )；成语；说法；乐句

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

5 innocent   

adj.无罪的，清白的；无害的；天真的，单纯的

参考例句：

• I'm not quite so innocent as to believe that.我还不至于简单到相信那种事的地步。
• I was very young,and very innocent.我那时非常年轻，幼稚无知。