生活英语对话 Episode 99: Girl Talk

本单元是关于女孩间的谈话的对话。
Alice: It's only me. Can I come in?
Helen: Yes but don't look at me. I'm a mess.
Alice: Helen, you've been crying. What's wrong?
Helen: I've just had some really bad news from Michal. He's fallen in love with someone else and doesn't want me to contact him ever again.
Alice: Oh, you poor thing.
Helen: I mean it wasn't as if I didn't see it coming. But still it's a shock to see it all down in black and white.
Alice: That's awful.
Helen: But you know what the worst thing is? Poor Tim got the brunt of it all. He just wanted to have a chat with me and I completely went off on one. Alice?


Vocabulary 词汇

a mess （混乱;一团糟;肮脏）
dirty or untidy

I didn't see it coming （我没料到会这样）
I didn't realise this was going to happen. It wasn't obvious to me

to see it down in black and white （看到白纸黑字的印刷品）
to read something written in a letter, book, newspaper etc.

the brunt of it （主要力量；压力）
the main force of something unpleasant

I went off on one (非正式用语：我非常气愤，并因此发火。)
I became very angry and lost my temper

本单元的语言点是 and 连接的两字短语， 英语里有不少用'and'连接起来的两个词组成的短语。譬如，black and white，即白纸黑字。这些词语叫做二项式短语。这些短语的句式通常是固定的；我们只能说 black and white，而不能说 white and black。

Binomials 2: black and white

Background (背景):
There are many phrases in English that use two words connected with 'and'. For example, black and white, milk and sugar. These expressions are known as binomials. In these phrases the word order is usually fixed¹; we say black and white, we don't say white and black.

The following binomials are noun, verb and adjective phrases.

Nouns - colours and shapes （与颜色和形状有关的名词短语）:

black and white: written down
She was really excited to see her name in black and white in the newspaper. It made her feel very important.

black and blue: bruised², an injury or mark where the skin is darker in colour, often as a result of being hit by something
Poor guy! First they stole his wallet and then they beat him black and blue. He was in hospital for a week after the attack.

salt and pepper: hair that is a mixture of dark hairs and grey or white hairs
She's only 30 but she looks so distinguished³ with her salt and pepper hair.

stars and stripes: the USA flag
The athlete cried when she heard the national anthem⁴ and saw the stars and stripes raised in the Olympic stadium.


Nouns - food （与食品有关的名词短语）:

sweet and sour: two flavours that give food the combined flavours of sugar and spice
Fancy some sweet and sour chicken from the Chinese take-away tonight?

bread and butter: simple, plain sandwich
I'm not really hungry. I'll just have some bread and butter for lunch.

ham and eggs: typical British breakfast of pig meat (pork) and eggs
He loves to have a big fried breakfast at the weekend, with ham and eggs and all the rest.

bangers and mash⁵: (informal) sausages and mashed⁶ potatoes
The kids love bangers and mash. It's so easy to make so that's great for me too.


Verbs and adjectives - housework（与家务有关的动词和形容词短语）:

cook and clean: (verb) make a meal or bake a cake and then wash and tidy up afterwards
I've been cooking and cleaning all day long. I'm exhausted⁷.

wash and dry: (verb) using water and washing up liquid to clean dishes and then to dry them with a cloth
The party was great. Let's leave the washing and drying till tomorrow morning.

clean and tidy: (adjective) cleared up
Go up to your room and get to work! I want to see it clean and tidy before you go out.

spic and span: (adjective) very clean
She's incredibly house-proud. The whole place is always so spic and span. I don't know how she finds the time to keep it so tidy.

1 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

2 bruised   

[医]青肿的，瘀紫的

参考例句：

• his bruised and bloodied nose 他沾满血的青肿的鼻子
• She had slipped and badly bruised her face. 她滑了一跤，摔得鼻青脸肿。

3 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

4 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

5 mash   

n.麦芽浆，糊状物，土豆泥；v.把…捣成糊状，挑逗，调情

参考例句：

• He beat the potato into a mash before eating it.他把马铃薯捣烂后再吃。
• Whiskey,originating in Scotland,is distilled from a mash of grains.威士忌源于苏格兰，是从一种大麦芽提纯出来的。

6 mashed   

a.捣烂的

参考例句：

• two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
• Just one scoop of mashed potato for me, please. 请给我盛一勺土豆泥。

7 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。