英语听力精选进阶版 19608

Like turkeys voting for Christmas 像火鸡支持过圣诞一样

It is estimated that 10 million turkeys were consumed at Christmas 2013 in the UK

Rob: Hello, I am Rob. And welcome to Authentic¹ Real English. In this programme, we teach you English words and phrases which you might not find in your dictionary.

Feifei: … and Hello, I'm Feifei.

Rob: Hello, Feifei. I am getting very excited, it’s nearly Christmas.

Feifei: 我也是！我特别喜欢圣诞节的气氛，还有那么多好吃的，礼物，还有……

Rob: Oh, Feifei, did you hear the boss wants us to agree to work on Christmas Day?

Feifei: 什么？圣诞节要上班？我可不能答应！为什么呀？

Rob: I don’t know, but he wanted us to agree to it. So I told him agreeing to work on Christmas Day would be like turkeys voting for Christmas.

Feifei: ‘Like turkeys voting for Christmas’? 像火鸡支持过圣诞节一样？我说 Rob，你喜欢吃火鸡肉这个没错，但是咱们圣诞节来上班和火鸡有什么关系呢？

Rob: Let me explain, Feifei. As you know, lots of people eat turkeys at Christmas. So, do you think if the turkeys had a choice, they would vote for Christmas?

Feifei: 如果火鸡有权利选择要不要过圣诞节，那肯定是不要过啦！它们怎么会选择被送入烤箱供人们享用的命运呢，肯定是疯了！

Rob: That’s right. So in English, we use this idiom ‘like turkeys voting for Christmas’ as a metaphor² when someone accepts a situation which will have a negative outcome for them.

Feifei: 我明白了，所以说如果我们同意圣诞节来上班，就不能吃喝了，当然更重要的是不能和家人团聚了。

Rob: Exactly! It will be ‘like turkeys voting for Christmas’. Let’s hear some people using this phrase.

Examples

Workers agreeing to pay cuts would be like turkeys voting for Christmas.

It would be like turkeys voting for Christmas if people ask for a tax rise.

Rob: Remember this is an informal saying, so do take note of the context it’s used in.

Feifei: Thank you Rob for teaching us this humorous idiom. 话说这火鸡肉可是很美味呢，我突然特别饿。

Rob: Me too. Maybe we should just skip work today and go find some turkeys to eat?

Feifei: Now Rob, if I said yes to that, it would really be like turkeys voting for Christmas.

Rob: Ha ha…

Feifei: 感谢收听本期《地道英语(课程)》节目，欢迎下次继续收听。在此，我们也祝大家圣诞节快了！We wish you a very happy Christmas!

Rob: Merry Christmas!

1 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

2 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。