Lesson45

6. Jenny Is Always Late 珍尼总是迟到

BACKGROUND 背景

A girl is complaining about her friend always being late.
一个女孩在抱怨她的朋友总是迟到。


A: Hi, Ken.
嗨，肯。

B: Hi, Lily. What are you so upset about?
嗨，莉莉。你为什么事这么生气？

A: I’m furious with Jenny! She’s always late.
珍尼快气死我了！她总是迟到。

B: Always? Why don’t you talk it over with her? Encourage her to be
on time, or tell her how much it annoys you?
总是？你为什么不和她好好谈一谈，鼓励她准时一点，或者告诉她你对这件事很恼火呢？

A: Look! I’ve talked till I’m blue in the face. It’s out of the question.
告诉你，我已经费尽口舌，却毫无成效。要说服她真的是不可能的。

B: There must be something you can do.
你一定会有办法的。

A: I doubt it. Last night we went to a concert. Do you know what time we got there? Just in time to go out for the intermission! We missed half of the show!
我很怀疑这一点，昨晚我们去听音乐会。你知道我们什么时候到的吗？正好赶上中间的休息时间，我们误了一半！

B: I guess you’re just wasting your breath then. Time means nothing to Jenny.
那我想你确实是徒劳了。时间对珍尼来说是没有用的。

A: You’re right. I guess I should just stop doing things with her.
是啊。我想我以后不跟她交往了。

B: You don’t have to go that far. Just don’t waste your time waiting for her.
你倒没必要那么过分。只要别再浪费时间等她就行了。

A: I guess you’re right. I could just tell her to meet me at the restaurant or movie.
我想你说得对。那我就让她在饭馆或是电影院等我。

B: Right. Then if she’s late, it’s her problem not yours.
对。那样的话，她若迟到就是她的问题而与你无关。

A: Thanks for your advice! I appreciate it!
谢谢你的建议。非常感谢！

额外成就感

talk something over: discuss谈一谈；讨论☆☆☆☆
* I always talk things over with my good friends before I make any important decision.
我每次做重要决定之前都要和我的好朋友商量一下。
* If something at work is bothering you, you should talk it over with your boss.
如果工作上有什么困扰的话，你应该跟老板好好谈一谈。
* Do you have a minute? I need to talk something over with you.
你有空吗？我想跟你谈点事。

on time: at the hour designated; not before or after that hour 准时☆☆☆
* Bill’s very punctual; he’s always on time for everything.
比尔总是很准时，做什么事都一样。
* It’s extremely important that you be on time for the meeting today.
你今天准时到会非常重要。
* Is this train usually on time?
这趟火车准时吗？

till one is blue in the face: until one can say no more in trying to convince someone of something 尽最大努力劝说，但不奏效☆☆☆☆☆
* My father talked to me till he was blue in the face, but it did no good; I quit school anyway.
我老爸费了老鼻子劲劝说我都没有奏效，到头来我还是退学了。
* You can scream till you are blue in the face. I’m not changing my mind.
你把脸吵绿了都没有用，我不会改变主意的。
* I tried to convince him until I was blue in the face.
我百般劝解他都不管用。

out of the question: impossible; beyond consideration
不可能☆☆☆☆
* Your suggestion that we go swimming is out of the question; it’s too cold today.
我们不可能按你的建议去游泳，因为今天太冷了。
* Borrowing the money is out of the question.
借钱是不可能的。
* Quitting is out of the question. It’s too hard to find another job right now.
辞职不可能。现在找个工作太难了。

in time to: be at a place at the right time to do something
正好赶上☆☆☆
* George couldn’t come for dinner, but he arrived in time to have dessert and coffee with us.
乔治吃饭没赶上，正好赶上吃甜点和喝咖啡。
* We arrived at the airport just in time to catch our plane.
我们及时赶到机场才赶上了那趟航班。

waste one’s breath: speak uselessly, to no purpose
徒劳；白费口舌☆☆☆☆
* Don’t waste your breath try to convince him; he’s going to leave anyway.
不要白费口舌劝阻他了，他反正也要走的。
* I told her she needed to work harder, but I was wasting my breath.
我告诫她要努力工作，但那只是白费口舌。
* Don’t waste your breath giving me any excuses. I don’t want to hear them.
别找借口了。我不想听。