英语听力短剧 14蒂姆赚得盆满钵满

Episode¹ 14: Tim strikes it rich

Tim: Can I help you madam?

Customer: I’m looking for a man’s watch.

Tim: Well we have a sumptuous² selection³ here: sports, evening, everyday watches. Do you see anything you like?

Customer: Oh, I rather like that one.

Tim: Impeccable taste, madam. Now, just take it over to the cash till there and they’ll wrap it up for you.

Customer: Thank you, goodbye.

Tim: Goodbye…..Oh, you’ve dropped something madam. Madam! Oh she's gone. Let’s see 50, 100, 150 pounds!

Well you know what they say Tim, a fool and her money……

 

今天我们来看一些常用的谚语.

proverb is a well-known phrase that gives advice or says something that is generally true.

Proverbs are fixed⁴ groups of words so you can't change the wording of a proverb. For example you can say "Too many cooks spoil the broth⁵" (a lot of people will make a mess of trying to complete a task together) but you can't say "Too many cooks spoil the soup".

Proverbs are also so well-known that we often only say the first half of them (the rest we leave unsaid because everyone knows the ending). So for example, Tim said "A fool and her money…." when the whole proverb is "A fool and his money are soon parted" which means that stupid people find it difficult to hold on to their money.

In the examples below the part in brackets⁶ is often left unsaid.

Proverbs: money

Money burns a hole in your pocket. 一有钱就想花

You spend your money too quickly.

All that glitters⁷ (is not gold). 闪闪发光物，未必尽黄金

Don't judge something by its appearance. It may look like it's worth a lot of money but it might actually be quite cheap.

Money talks. 金钱万能;有钱能使鬼推磨

People who are rich have more power and influence than people who are poor.

Don't count your chickens (before they hatch). 不要蛋未孵化先数小鸡，别过早打如意算盘

You shouldn't spend money (or make plans) based on what you expect to have (or happen) in the future.

Proverbs: work

Many hands (make light work). 众人拾柴火焰高

This is the opposite of "Too many cooks" and means that if we all work together we will complete the task more quickly than if we each work by ourselves.

A bad workman (always blames his tools). 拙匠常怨工具差，不会撑船怪河弯；劣工尤器

If you don't do a task well it's because you don't have the skills to do it not because the instruments you used weren't good enough.

You can't teach an old dog (new tricks). 教不会老狗新把戏，无法改变老人的想法，积习等

As people get older, they usually don't like to try new things or new ways of doing things.

Make hay (while the sun shines).打铁趁热

Don't wait till tomorrow to do what you can do today because tomorrow your circumstances might change and you may not be able to do it.

1 episode   

n.（作品的一段）情节，插曲，系列事件中之一

参考例句：

• The episode was a huge embarrassment for all concerned.这段小插曲令所有有关人员都感到非常尴尬。
• This episode remains sharply engraved on my mind.这段经历至今仍深深地铭刻在我的心中。

2 sumptuous   

adj.豪华的，奢侈的，华丽的

参考例句：

• The guests turned up dressed in sumptuous evening gowns.客人们身着华丽的夜礼服出现了。
• We were ushered into a sumptuous dining hall.我们被领进一个豪华的餐厅。

3 selection   

n.选择，挑选，精选品，可选择的东西

参考例句：

• We left the selection of the team to the captain.我们把挑选队员的工作交给了队长。
• The shop has a fine selection of cheeses.那家商店有各种精美乳酪可供选购。

4 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

5 broth   

n.原(汁)汤(鱼汤、肉汤、菜汤等)

参考例句：

• Every cook praises his own broth.厨子总是称赞自己做的汤。
• Just a bit of a mouse's dropping will spoil a whole saucepan of broth.一粒老鼠屎败坏一锅汤。

6 brackets   

n.括弧( bracket的名词复数 )；等级；类别层次；壁架v.把…括在括弧内( bracket的第三人称单数 )；把…归为一类

参考例句：

• Publication dates are given in brackets after each title. 出版日期括于书名后面。
• Put your name in brackets at the top of each page. 把你的名字填在每页上端的括弧内。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 glitters   

闪烁，闪耀，闪光( glitter的第三人称单数 )； 眼睛闪现（某种强烈情感）

参考例句：

• I mean that all glitters is not gold. 我是说，不是所有闪光的东西都是金子。
• All is not gold that glitters. 闪光的东西不一定都是金子。