每天三分钟学英语 第344期:外国人说Is that a thing?可别翻译成“那叫事吗”?

 情景对话：
Claire: What was that?!
Phil: Don't be offended¹. In many cultures, it's customary² to bow only to the man.
Claire: Phil. Haley, Andy -- is that a thing?
Phil: Oh. I don't know.

知识点讲解：

What was that?
那是怎么回事？

例句】
Did you see that look she gave me? What was that? I thought she had a boyfriend.
你看到她刚刚看我的眼神了么？那是怎么回事？她不是有男朋友么。

Don't be offended.
别觉得被冒犯啊。

这句话可以用来解释，
避免别人误会我们在冒犯他们。

例句】
Don't be offended if he didn't say hi to you. He doesn't have good social skills.
如果他没跟你打招呼，别觉得被冒犯啊，他不太善于社交。

Is that a thing?
他俩在谈恋爱么？

可以表示“他俩是有什么事嘛”
是不是他们之间有什么“猫腻”

例句一】
Jeremy and Anna, really? Is that a thing? I thought they hated each other.
Jeremy 和Anna，真的么？他俩在谈恋爱么？我以为他们不合呢。

例句二】
You and Jake, is that a thing?
你和Jake，你俩是不是有点什么关系啊？

1 offended   

v.触怒( offend的过去式和过去分词 )；得罪；冒犯；使反感令人不适

参考例句：

• They'll be offended if you don't go to their wedding. 你若不参加他们的婚礼，他们会生气的。
• She was offended by the vulgarity of their jokes. 他们那些粗俗的笑话使她大为不快。

2 customary   

adj.习惯上的，惯常的，合乎习俗的

参考例句：

• He makes his customary visit every week.他每星期都按照惯例造访一次。
• It is customary with me to do so.这样做是我的习惯。