The english we speak(BBC教學)第339期:Not a sausage 一丁點也沒

Neil and Feifei want to find out about Rob's new job. But he's saying absolutely nothing about it. Learn how we can express the idea of 'absolutely nothing' with the help of a sausage.

尼爾和菲菲想了解羅布的新工作。但是他什麼都不說。請學習我們如何在“香腸”的幫助下表達“一點也沒有”這個意思。

Neil: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak. I'm Neil...

尼爾：大家好，歡迎收聽地道英語節目。我是尼爾。

Feifei: I'm Feifei. So, Neil, did you hear anything?

菲菲：我是菲菲。尼爾，你有聽說什麼嗎？

Neil: About what, Feifei?

尼爾：關於什麼的，菲菲？

Feifei: Rob's new job. He must have told you something?

菲菲：羅布的新工作。他一定跟你說了什麼吧？

Neil: No. He didn't even mention it.

尼爾：沒有。他甚至都沒提過這件事。

Feifei: How strange. Not even a little clue?

菲菲：太奇怪了。一點兒線索都沒有嗎？

Neil: No, not a sausage.

尼爾：沒有，一點也沒有。

Feifei: Well, I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. In the meantime – let's explain that wonderful phrase you just used.

菲菲：好吧，我確定我們很快就會弄清楚的。現在，我們來解釋一下你剛用過的那個很棒的短語。

Neil: In this programme we are teaching you the very cute but slightly old-fashioned phrase: not a sausage.

尼爾：在本期節目中，我們要教大家一個非常可愛，不過有些過時的短語：not a sausage。

Feifei: We use it to mean 'nothing at all'. It's generally used for emphasis or to show mild surprise.

菲菲：這個短語的意思是“一點也沒有”。通常用來強調或表示程度較輕的意外。

Neil: It's informal and friendly. Let's listen to some examples to get a better sense of how it's used:

尼爾：這是一個非正式又友好的短語。下面我們來聽幾個例句，更好地瞭解這個短語的用法。

Examples

例句：

A: Did you find any good deals?

A：你找到划算的東西了嗎？

B: No, not a sausage.

B：沒有，一點也沒有。

A: Did the boss say anything about my project?

A：有關我這個項目，老闆說什麼了嗎？

B: No, sorry, not a sausage.

B：抱歉，什麼都沒說。

A: Are there any sandwiches left?

A：還有三明治嗎？

B: I'm afraid not. Not a sausage.

B：恐怕沒有了。一點也沒有了。

Feifei: That last one might have sounded confusing: No sandwiches left?

菲菲：最後一個例句聽上去可能會讓人困惑：沒有三明治了嗎？

Neil: Not a sausage! Yes, confusingly, we were asking about another kind of food – and the answer was still not a sausage.

尼爾：一點也沒有了！對，的確令人困惑，我們問的是另一種食物，而回答依然是“沒有香腸”（一點也沒有了）。

Feifei: You know what? All this talk of sausages is making me hungry.

菲菲：你知道嗎？一直在說香腸，我都餓了。

Neil: Indeed. I'm meeting Rob for lunch – fancy joining?

尼爾：的確是。我約了羅布吃午飯，一起來嗎？

Feifei: Great. Hopefully he will finally spill the beans about this mysterious new job.

菲菲：太好了。希望他最後能透露一些他那神祕的新工作的消息。

Neil: Ooh – to spill the beans – meaning to reveal your secrets. It's often used when you share a secret you didn't mean to share!

尼爾：哦，spill the beans這個短語的意思是泄露祕密。這個短語通常用來形容分享你並不打算分享的祕密。

Feifei: Another great phrase. So, what do you fancy for lunch?

菲菲：這是另一個很棒的短語。你午餐想吃什麼？

Neil: Well, it has to be a full English breakfast. With beans and... sausages!

尼爾：嗯，必須是全套英式早餐。要有豆子，還要有香腸！

Feifei: But of course! Bye everyone!

菲菲：當然了！再見！

Neil: Bye.

尼爾：再見。

譯文屬僅供學習交流使用，未經許可請勿轉載

重點講解：
1. find out (尤指特意通過努力)發現，找出，查明；
例句：It makes you want to watch the next episode to find out what's going to happen.
這讓人想要看下一集，弄清緊接着會發生什麼事。
2. in the meantime 此期間；其間；
例句：You buy the fruits, in the meantime I'll cook breakfast.
你去買水果，同時我來做早餐。
3. spill the beans 泄露祕密；
例句：He trusts Bob and knows that Bob won't spill the beans.
他相信鮑勃，知道鮑勃不會輕易泄露消息的。
4. mean to do sth. 計劃；打算；準備；
例句：Summer is the perfect time to catch up on the new books you meant to read.
夏天是把想讀卻沒讀的新書惡補一下的最佳時機。