英語口語練習小對話 第745期:久候

Subject :Just cool your heels.

迷你對話

A: They all laughed at me when I passed by. I cannot bear it any more! I want to kill them.

當我路過他們時，他們都在嘲笑我。我無法忍受，我想殺死他們。

B: Calm down. Just cool your heels.

鎮定下來。安靜會兒吧。

地道表達

cool one’s heels

1. 解詞釋義

Cool one’s heels中的cool是“使……冷卻”的意思，heels是指“腳趾”。那麼，其字面意思是“使某人的腳發涼”，引申爲“等候很長時間”的意思。在本文中，作爲俚語，其意思是“經過一些時間後冷靜，安靜下來”。

2. 拓展例句

e.g. I was early for the appointment, so I had to cool my heels in the outer office.

我比約定的時間來得早，所以只得在外面的辦公室裏等着。

e.g. Let him cool his heels in the outer office, that will teach him to be more polite.

讓他在外間辦公室等候着，那將可教訓他以後客氣點。

e.g. I had to cool my heels for nearly an hour before the manager would see me.

在經理見我之前，我只得久等了將近一個小時。

e.g. I'm going to let you cool your heels in jail until the chief gets back.

我要讓你在監獄裏冷靜冷靜，直到警長回來爲止。

e.g. It won't hurt them to cool their heels in jail for a few days, even if some of them are not in the wrong!

冤枉她們坐幾天牢，也不要緊！

Ps 1 : pass by的意思是“經過，路過”。例如：

He took up a stick, pointed against the wall, and didn't allow anyone to pass by.

他拿起一根棍子, 頂着牆, 不讓任何人通行。

They were injured when a parked car exploded as their convoy passed by.

他們的車隊經過時，一輛停放着的汽車爆炸了，他們受了傷。

Ps 2：calm down的意思是“鎮靜，冷靜，鎮定”。例如：

We will go back to normal when things calm down.

事態平息之後，我們將一切如常。

Calm down, there's nothing to worry about.

冷靜點兒, 沒有什麼好擔心的。

Ps 3：not… any more的意思是“再……”，相當於no more。它側重於“數量”或“程度”。注意與not… any longer區分開來，它注重“時間”。例如：

You can drink no more. = You can't drink any more.

你不能再喝了。(喝酒的量到了一定程度，不能再繼續下去了。)

He no longer lives here. = He doesn't live here any longer.

他不在這兒居住了。(一個時間以前他住在這兒，過了這個時間，他就離開了。)