Lesson49

10. I Forgot All about It
我把它忘到了九霄云外

BACKGROUND 背景

One friend is telling the other about his busy schedule.
一个人在告诉他的朋友他有多忙。


A: Hi, Kim. How’s it going? I’ve got a problem.
嗨，金姆。进展如何？我遇到了点麻烦。

B: What’s bothering you Stone? You look stressed.
石头，是什么事让你心烦？你看上去心事重重的。

A: I always bite off more than I can chew. I agreed to speak at an international conference in Shanghai next Monday. Now I won’t be able to do it.
我总是试图做自己做不来的事。我答应下星期一在上海的一个国际性大会上讲话。现在没法去了。

B: Why not? What happened?
为什么呢？怎么回事呀？

A: I’m going to Beijing that day. I have an important speech and TV interview there. I forgot all about it. I don’t have the heart to tell the conference now. It’s the second time I’ve done this. How can I save face? I feel terrible.
那天我刚好要去北京，我有一个非常重要的演讲和电视采访。我全给忘了。现在，我没有勇气告诉上海方面。这可是第二回了。我怎么才能挽回面子呢？我觉得糟透了。

B: Don’t worry about it. They’d have to search high and low to find a better speaker. And they know it. They need someone who can speak good English and Chinese.
别担心，他们会到别处去找个更好的演讲者。而且他们也会理解的。 他们需要一个能说一口流利的英语和汉语的人。

A: Thank you. But I doubt that. I’m sure they’d prefer someone who keeps his word. I’ve got to talk to my assistant. He’s always messing up my schedule!
谢谢。但我对此表示怀疑。我想他们宁愿要一个守信用的人。我要找我的助手谈谈.他总是把我的计划打乱！

B: Forget it. They know you’re not leading them on. They’ll ask you again, I’m sure. These things happen. You’re a busy guy.
得了吧。他们知道你不是骗他们的。我确信他们还会再请你的。这种事常有，你也很忙。

A: Thanks for saying that, Kim. I feel a lot better.
金姆，谢谢你这么说。我觉得好多了。

B: That’s what friends are for. Besides, I’m sure it’s not easy being so famous!
这是朋友之间应该做的。再说，名人也不是好当的！


额外成就感

have the heart: have the courage to do something that will cause others unhappiness or disappointment 有勇气☆☆☆☆☆
* I don’t have the heart to tell my parents that I failed the exam.
我不敢告诉父母我考试没及格。
* She didn’t have the heart to tell her boyfriend the truth.
她没有勇气把真相告诉男友。
* I don’t have the heart to watch that explosion one more time.
我不敢再看那爆炸的场面。

save face: maintain one’s pride and honor; not be disgraced
挽回面子☆☆☆☆
* I completely forgot Kim’s party and tried to save face by sending her flowers the next morning.
我彻头彻尾地忘了金姆同志的聚会，于是在第二天早上送花给她以挽回面子。
* You can’t save face by making up lies. Just tell the truth.
编瞎话是不会为你挽回面子的。照实说吧。
* We told him that he failed in private so he could save face.
我们私下里告诉他，他失败了，这样可以留点面子。

high and low: everywhere; in every conceivable place 到处☆☆☆
* I’ve lost my ID card. I’ve looked high and low for it, but I can’t find it.
我把身份证丢了。到处找也没找到。
* We searched high and low for a better place to live, but in the end, we stayed in our old house.
我们到处寻找一个居住条件好的地方，但最后还是留在了老房子里。
* You’ll have to look high and low for an original copy of that book. They are extremely rare.
你得好好找一找那本书的原版，很少有的。

keep one’s word: be responsible and do what one says one will do
说到做到;信守诺言☆☆☆☆☆
* If Jim said he’d get that book for you, he’ll do it; he always keeps his word.
如果吉姆说过要把书给你带来，他就一定会的；他总是说话算话。
* I am counting on you to keep your word. Don’t let me down.
我指望着你信守诺言呢。别让我失望。
* She is known for keeping her word.
她以诚信著称。
* I promise. I’ll be there. I’ll keep my word.
我保证。我肯定会去的。我说话算话。

lead someone on: make someone believe something that isn’t true
欺骗；说谎☆☆☆☆☆
* Eric gave me a long story about what a good student he was in college. Later I discovered none of it was true; he was just leading me on.
艾立克给我讲了一大堆他在大学里是多么的出色。后来我发现那全是假的，他是在骗我。
* If you don’t want to go out with me any more just say so. Don’t lead me on.
如果你不想再跟我出去了那就直说。别跟我撒谎。
* He never really cared about her. He was just leading her on.
他从没喜欢过她。他只不过骗她罢了。
* They never planned to sign the contract. They were just leading us on.
他们根本就不想签合同，就是想骗我们。