英语听力精选进阶版 6731

Helen: 大家好，欢迎收听 BBC 地道英语节目，我是 Helen.

William: Hi, I'm William. Today Hampton Court Palace Flower Show is opening.

Music, birdsong

Helen: Oh, Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 世界上最大的花展！我在新闻上看到过。If only I had a garden!

William: Ah yeah, you live in an apartment, don't you Helen?

Helen: That's right. So William, let me guess, today we are going to do a phrase relating to flowers and gardening.

William: Exactly.

Helen: So...? What's the phrase?

William: Er... Well... How about... er... no... it's gone. It's no good, Helen. I can't think of a phrase right now.

Helen: Oh well. 我反正也不是很想学新短语，我们聊聊天算了吧。

William: So how are you Helen? How are the kids?

Helen: Yeah, they're both really well. My little boy eats too much chocolate though!

William: Oh really? Well, you want to nip that in the bud¹.

Helen: Eh? Nip it in the bud?

William: Nip it in the bud. If you nip something in the bud, you stop it before it becomes a problem.

Helen: To nip something in the bud 意思就是在什么事情成为问题之前，早早地消灭于萌芽状态， 防患于未然。

William: Listen to this example from a business context²:

Example

Man: The last few deliveries we've had from this company have all had broken parts in them!

Woman: Well we need to nip that in the bud! Tell them that unless their service improves, we're going to look for another supplier.

Helen: 那么刚才这个例子中，那位先生抱怨供应商服务态度不好，他的同事认为应该 nip it in the bud, 她想早点采取行动以防问题变得更糟。 那么 William 这个短语 to nip something in the bud 是从哪里来的呢？

Music, birdsong

William: Well actually, it comes from gardening Helen. A bud is the part of a plant that becomes a flower, leaf or stem³.

Helen: Ah, a bud 就是植物刚刚冒芽的那一部分。

William: So if you nip something in the bud, you cut the bud off the plant.

Helen: To nip something in the bud 直接的意思就是在植物刚长芽的时候就把这个萌芽给剪掉。That's not very nice!

William: Well, gardening is a tough game, Helen. You have to nip things in the bud sometimes. You also have to kill slugs and snails⁴.

Helen: Eugh! I'm glad I don't have a garden.

William: Bye!

Helen: Bye!

1 bud   

vi.发芽，萌芽；n.芽，花蕾

参考例句：

• Some flowers bud their leaves very early in spring.有些花在春季里很早发出叶来。
• A bad habit in a child should be nipped in the bud.应该尽早把孩子的坏习惯改过来。

2 context   

n.背景，环境，上下文，语境

参考例句：

• You can always tell the meaning of a word from its context.你常可以从上下文中猜出词义来。
• This sentence does not seem to connect with the context.这个句子似乎与上下文脱节。

3 stem   

n.茎，干，船首，词干，血统；vt.堵住，阻止，抽去梗；vi.起源于，发生

参考例句：

• Cut the stem cleanly,just beneath a leaf joint.把茎切整齐点，正好切在叶根下。
• The ship was in a blaze from stem to stern.整艘船从头到尾都着火了。

4 snails   

n.蜗牛；迟钝的人；蜗牛( snail的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think I'll try the snails for lunch—I'm feeling adventurous today. 我想我午餐要尝一下蜗牛——我今天很想冒险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most snails have shells on their backs. 大多数蜗牛背上有壳。 来自《简明英汉词典》