The english we speak(BBC教學)第289期:It's on the cards 十有八九會發生

Rob and Feifei are playing cards and he is winning every single game. She's distracted — until Rob tells her what's on the cards!

羅布和菲菲正在玩紙牌，羅布每把都贏。菲菲一直心不在焉，直到羅布告訴他某件事十有八九會發生！

Rob: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak. I'm Rob and I've won yet another card game! Yes!

羅布：大家好，歡迎收聽地道英語節目。我是羅布，這把牌我又贏了！太棒了！

Feifei: Hello everyone. I’m Feifei and I've just lost to him again...

菲菲：大家好。我是菲菲，我剛剛又輸給他了……

Rob: It's not surprising. You've been very distracted all morning.

羅布：這沒什麼好驚訝的。你一上午都心不在焉的。

Feifei: There's a promotion coming up and I wonder if I'll get it.

菲菲：馬上會有一個晉升機會，我想知道我能不能晉升。

Rob: Well, you work hard Feifei. I'm sure a promotion is on the cards.

羅布：菲菲，你工作非常努力。我確定晉升的很可能是你。

Feifei: It's on the cards?! But I haven't been paying much attention to them! Which cards?

菲菲：在紙牌上？可是我沒有注意紙牌！什麼牌？

Rob: No, no, it's not actually written on any cards. It's just an expression. In British English, we say something 'is ON the cards' — or 'IN the cards' in American English — when we mean that something is likely to happen.

羅布：不是，不是寫在紙牌上。這是一個表達方式。在英式英語中，我們用ON the cards，而美式英語用IN the cards來表達某事很可能發生。

Feifei: So you mean that it's possible and even likely that I'll get a promotion because I work hard?

菲菲：所以你的意思是我很可能因爲工作努力而獲得晉升？

Rob: Yes. Here are some examples of how this expression is used:

羅布：對。下面有一些例句，我們來看看這個表達如何應用：

Examples

例句

Wage rises are on the cards in the UK. There are now signs that things are getting better for ordinary British workers.

英國很可能漲工資。有跡象表明，英國普通工人的境況越來越好了。

My son might be ready to settle down. He's had lots of girlfriends but now he's going steady with a colleague and a wedding might be on the cards.

我兒子可能準備好安頓下來了。他以前交過很多女朋友，不過現在他和他同事的戀愛關係很穩定，他們很可能會結婚。

Feifei: Great! So I'm likely to get that promotion. It's on the cards!

菲菲：太好了！我很可能升職。這很可能發生！

Rob: Yes. And there's something else on the cards today.

羅布：對。今天還可能發生其他事。

Feifei: Oh really, what is it?

菲菲：哦，真的嗎，什麼事？

Rob: I'm going to win another round of this game! Look, I've got three aces now!

羅布：這把我又要贏了！看，我現在有三張A！

Feifei: OK. You deserve it. You are a good player and have luck on your side. Another win is definitely on the cards!

菲菲：好吧，你應該獲勝。你是一個很好的玩家，而且運氣也在你那邊。你肯定會再贏一把的！

Rob: Great! I'm on a roll!

羅布：太棒了！我手氣太好了！

Feifei: Bye!

菲菲：再見！

Rob: Bye Bye!

羅布：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. come up 即將發生;即將到來；
例句：I'm afraid something urgent has come up.
恐怕有緊急事情發生。
2. on the cards 很可能發生；
例句：Last summer she began telling friends that a New Year marriage was on the cards.
去年夏天，她就和朋友們說她有可能在元旦期間結婚。
3. pay attention to 關心；注意；
例句：Please pay attention to the difference between the two words.
請注意這兩個詞之間的區別。
4. be likely to do sth. 可能（做…）的；有（…）傾向的；
例句：If you hurl yourself at that boy, he's likely to run away.
若你拼命討好那個男孩，他很可能被嚇跑的。
5. settle down (尤指結婚或買房後)定居，安頓下來；
例句：He was tired of the merry-go-round of romance and longed to settle down.
他厭倦了沒完沒了的風流韻事，渴望安定下來。
6. go steady 有確定的情侶關係;戀愛關係穩定；
例句：She's been going steady with Randolph for almost a year now.
她和倫道夫已經談了近一年戀愛了。
7. on a roll 連連成功；連交好運；
例句：I made a name for myself and I was on a roll, I couldn't see anything going wrong.
我靠自己的能力成名了，接二連三地獲得成功，我覺得一切似乎一帆風順。