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2024.10.03 21:54
第十一部 第七課: clam up , to tank
- Larry 和李華正在為他的朋友 Laura 擔心．他們兩人都覺得 Laura 好像有甚麼心事．今天李華會學到兩個常用語： clam up 和 to tank。
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- Laura has been acting really strange lately, but every time I try to ask her what's bothering her, she just clams up.
- 我也注意到了， Laura 最近是有點怪怪的．我也問過她怎麼回事，她就是不肯說 .... 對了， Larry，你剛才說 clam up，那是甚麼意思啊？
- To clam up is to become silent and refuse to talk about something.
- To clam up 就是閉緊了嘴巴，不肯把心裡的事告訴別人．疑？可是 Larry， clam 不是一種蛤蜊嗎？這跟說不說話有甚麼關係啊？
- Yes, in fact, that's where the expression comes from. Clams can close their shells very tightly. If a person refuses to talk, his lips are closed just like a clam's shell.
- 喔～，對哎．一個人嘴巴閉得緊緊的時候，就好像蛤蜊閉上殼，怎麼也不打開．這個說法太形象了！
- The problem is that Laura has clammed up about whatever is bothering her, which means that we have no way of helping her out.
- 那倒也是喔．她要不說，我們又怎麼能幫她呢．也許我們應該讓她一個人靜一靜，等她想說的時候啊，自然會告訴我們到底是怎麼回事兒。
- That's probably the only thing we can do.
- 其實啊我爸爸也是一樣呢．心裡如果有事啊，從來不肯說．有的時候把我媽急的一直生氣。
- A lot of people clam up when something is bothering them. I tend to clam up when I'm really nervous.
- 我也是哎！我只要一緊張啊，我就不說話了．每個人都不一樣，像我妹妹啊，她一生氣就可以幾天都不說話．別人也不知道她在生甚麼氣。
- That's like my mother. She could clam up for days when she is angry with my father.
- 你媽媽跟你爸爸生氣的時候幾天不說話啊．那，你爸爸怎麼辦呢？
- Whenever my mother clams up, he clams up too.
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- I found out what was bothering Laura. She was upset because the last play she wrote tanked. Everyone criticized it.
- 大家都批評她最近寫的劇本．為甚麼啊？你說她寫的那個劇本 tanked，那是甚麼意思啊？ Tank，不就是打仗用的坦克嗎？
- No, this has nothing to do with the tank used in a war. This 「tank」 is a verb. When something 「tanks」 that means that it is a complete failure.
- 哦～，這個 tank 和軍用坦克啊毫無關係．這裡說的 tank 是個動詞，意思就是完全失敗．所有的劇評家都批評 Laura 的舞台劇啊，那真是太慘了．可憐的 Laura!
- Yeah, no wonder she clammed up. I wouldn't want to talk about it if one of my projects tanked, either.
- 就是啊，自己的成果啊被別人這樣批評，心情一定不好受．對了， Larry，為甚麼大家不喜歡 Laura 的劇本呢？
- I have no idea. I haven't seen or read her play, so I have no way of judging her work. Laura is a good playwright, I don't understand why her work tanked.
- 嗯，沒有看過她的劇本啊我們是很難判斷．不過， Laura 確實是一個很好的劇作家．也許啊我們應該去看看她寫的舞台劇，說不定沒有這麼糟麼嘛。
- Even if the play really is terrible, we could at least show our support by going to see it.
- 你說的對，不管啊是好是壞，我們去看就代表我們對 Laura 的支持．好！我去問她在哪兒可以買票． Larry，那你甚麼時候有空去看呢？
- Let's go this Friday. Originally, I had planned to see a movie this Friday, but the movie I wanted to see tanked, so I might as well go and see Laura's play.
- 怎麼就這麼巧啊？你要看的電影也失敗啦．好，就這麼說定了．我去買票，星期五啊我們就去看 Laura 的舞台劇囉！
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- 今天李華學到兩個常用語．第一個是： clam up，是指「一個人不肯把心裡的話告訴別人」．另一個常用語是： to tank，也就是「失敗」的意思。
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