【话匣子英语】善意的谎言

哈皮和毛拉在讨论善意的谎言以及残酷的实话，到底是哪种方式更好一些呢？

 

Sample transcript¹:

 

Maura: Maybe you go to someone’s house for dinner and they make pizza and you really don’t like onions and they put onions on the pizza. They ask if you like the pizza and you say, “Yeah, it’s delicious” because you don’t like onions but you don’t want to tell them that. You don’t want to be rude or impolite.

 

Harp²: Yeah, exactly, that’s a little white lie. So a little white lie is usually to protect someone’s feelings, I would say.

Maura: Right, you want to be polite, you don’t want to be rude. So what is the other one? Brutal³ honesty. So brutal honesty is when you tell the complete truth and it can be rude or impolite.

Harp: Exactly. Sometimes people don’t want to hear brutal honesty.

Maura: Right. You don’t care about manners, but you completely say the truth.

Harp: I love this expression because it’s so interesting when you think of the two words together. So, if something is “brutal,” like, for example, you could say that exam was brutal. That means it was very hard, it was very … it was extreme, it was not nice, it was … it’s just very hard word.

Maura: Yeah, it’s kind of a violent word.

Harp: Yeah, exactly. And then honesty, you think of a very positive thing, someone told me the truth. It was … yeah, someone who is being truthful⁴ and so when you put the two words together, brutal honesty. It’s an int

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 harp   

n.竖琴；天琴座

参考例句：

• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
• He played an Irish melody on the harp.他用竖琴演奏了一首爱尔兰曲调。

3 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

4 truthful   

adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的

参考例句：

• You can count on him for a truthful report of the accident.你放心，他会对事故作出如实的报告的。
• I don't think you are being entirely truthful.我认为你并没全讲真话。