英语博客-北美风情 187、Fears

  As promised in our New Year’s episode, here is our episode about fears. No matter where we live or what language we speak, we’re all afraid of something! In this episode, Harp¹ and Maura talk about a few expressions you might use when you feel scared. They also talk about how to get over your fears, and they share some of their own. What are you afraid of?

　　Maura: We can say, when you feel afraid, that you have shivers down your spine².

　　Harp: Yes, shivers down your spine.

　　Maura: And a shiver is usually something that you feel from cold air and you kind of, you move around and it’s like a cold feeling that comes over you.

　　Harp: Yeah, it’s a little bit like you’re body’s shaking a little bit because of something surprising.

　　Maura: Yeah, and your spine is down your back, so you feel a cold breeze and you kind of get goose bumps all down your back.

　　Harp: Yeah. So shivers down your spine is the same idea as heebie-jeebies. It’s when you get this feeling that you’re scared or that you’re uncomfortable. It’s just not pleasant.

　　Maura: Yeah. I think the idea of having shivers down your spine comes from thinking that you’ve seen a ghost or had an experience like that because sometimes we associate, especially in the dark, a sudden cold breeze that comes from nowhere and passes by you is possibly a spirit in front of you, so then you get shivers down your spine.

1 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。

2 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。