英语听力精选进阶版 6737

Helen: 大家好，欢迎收听地道英语。我是 Helen.

Rob: And I'm Rob. Helen, you look like you've been rushing. Here, have some water.

Helen: Oh thanks. I'm a bit out of breath. 我好久没锻炼了，有点喘不上气了。抱歉，我在银行办事儿迟了。

Rob: You got here just in the nick of time then.

Helen: Just in the nick of time? Shouldn't it be just in time?

Rob: Well, you can say both.

Helen: 你刚才说的 'in the nick of time' 这个短语经常能听到吗?

Rob: Yeah, I think so. It means at the very last moment. Let's hear how this phrase is used.

Example

Woman 1: Alice gave birth to a baby girl last night.

Woman 2: I thought she wasn't due for another three weeks.

Woman 1: It was early and they got to the hospital just in the nick of time.

Man: Sarah and I were on our way to see Beyonce in concert. But she left her mobile in the office, so we had to go back and get it.

Woman: Did you miss the show?

Man: Thankfully not, we got there just in the nick of time.

Helen: 我们刚才听到一位孕妇正好在孩子出生前一刻赶到医院，而另一对恋人差点没赶上 Beyonce 的演唱会。

Rob: That would've been awful. You hear this phrase often used to suggest a disaster had been averted¹. If the action happened any later, then something awful could happen.

Helen: I see. 这个短语的意思是刚好，恰好，最后一刻赶到了。那么这是在英式英语吗？

Rob: I don't think the phrase 'in the nick of time' is specifically British. It originated² from the UK, but English speakers from all over the world use it now.

Helen: 让我们听听例子吧。

Example

Man: We arrived just in the nick of the time. Another five minutes, our plane would have left without us.

Woman: Sam was experimenting with stir frying last night and the wok³ caught fire. Luke rushed in with the fire blanket just in the nick of time.

Helen: That was close. 热锅烧菜起火了，还好 Luke 机灵没浇水灭火。就差那么一点点，不然就闯大祸了。

Rob: That would have been a catastrophe⁴. So Helen, are you the kind of person who likes to do things at the very last minute?

Helen: Well, I'd like to think of myself as a person who can do things in the nick of time. Thanks for listening. Bye.

Rob: Bye.

1 averted   

防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• A disaster was narrowly averted. 及时防止了一场灾难。
• Thanks to her skilful handling of the affair, the problem was averted. 多亏她对事情处理得巧妙，才避免了麻烦。

2 originated   

v.起源于，来自，产生( originate的过去式和过去分词 )；创造；创始；开创

参考例句：

• The disease is thought to have originated in the tropics. 这种疾病据说起源于热带地区。
• The art of portrait miniatures was originated in England. 微型画像艺术创始于英国。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 wok   

n.锅，炒菜锅

参考例句：

• I'm not teaching my students how to use a wok.我不是教我的学生们如何用炒菜的。
• He threw the meat into his biggest wok to cook.他把肉扔到最大的一口锅里煮。

4 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。