英文明明學很久,為何一出國、跟老外聊天就碰壁?9個「超實用片語」讓你說出最道地英文

為何英文學很久,跟老外講話還是處處碰壁?可能是你的英文不夠「道地」...(圖/JESHOOTScom@pixabay)

大家應該都有經驗,明明覺得學了很久英文、清楚各種文法,也熟悉許多單字片語,可是有時候一出國或跟外國朋友聊天的時候還是會碰壁、聽不懂他們話中的意思。

像是聽到人家說 Your presentation just blew me away. Well done on that one! 如果你腦中出現一陣風把他吹走的話,一定會滿頭霧水,畢竟這裡的 blow someone away 其實不是它字面的意思,它到底是指什麼呢,趕緊看下去吧!

◎ blow someone away

Blow 有「吹」的意思,如果某件事物 blow someone away 的話,意思是指它讓某人印象很深刻或讓某人十分驚喜

Dr. Young’s speech totally blew me away. I was so glad I got to be there!(Young 博士的演講讓我印象十分深刻。我好開心我有去聽!)

◎ Greek to someone

Greek 意思是「希臘人(的)、希臘語(的)」,但如果聽到人家說 something is Greek to someone 則表示某人對某個東西一竅不通

The whole makeup thing is Greek to my boyfriend. I asked him to buy an eyebrow pencil, but he bought an eyeliner instead.(我男友對化妝品這種東西完全不熟悉。我請他買眉筆但他卻買了眼線。)

◎ be a catch

Catch 常用的意思是「接住、捕捉」,但其實 catch 還可以指「陷阱、看不到的圈套」

The house is located in a perfect area, but it’s surprisingly cheap. I wonder what the catch is.(這間房子位於一個很完美的地區,但它的價格卻很意外地便宜。我想知道陷阱在哪裡。)

◎ pull oneself together

Pull 有「拉」的意思,那把自己原本失意落魄的精神都拉起來,其實就是在說「振作、打起精神」喔。 (相關報導: 想進外商,但是寫英文履歷好可怕...10個「萬用單字」讓履歷質感破表、超加分! 更多文章

We’re running out of time, so you really need to pull yourself together so that we can get out of here as soon as possible.(我們快沒時間了,所以你真的需要好好振作,好讓我們可以盡快離開這裡。)

◎ when pigs fly

字面上是指「當豬會飛的時候」,這個片語就是用在你要表達某件事情永遠不可能發生

A: Joe seems to like you a lot. Don’t you want to give him a shot and go out with him just once?(Joe 似乎非常喜歡妳。妳難道連一次都不想給他機會跟他出去嗎?)B: I will when pigs fly. He used to be really mean to me in middle school, and that’s why I don’t want to see his face ever again.(等到豬會飛的時候我就跟他約會。他中學的時候對我超壞的,那也是為什麼我不想再看到他的臉。)