“A thing”的旧词新意
内容简介 Neil 把胡子剃得一干二净，因为留胡须现在是“a thing”，所以他不要随波逐流。看视频，学习这个词的新流行用法。
大家好，欢迎收听 BBC 英语教学的《》节目。我是冯菲菲。
Neil
And I’m Neil.
Where’s your beard?
Neil
Well, I, uh, shaved it off. I fancied a change. Beards are such a thing these days.
Yup, ever since beards became a thing, I’ve found them a bit boring.
Neil
‘A thing’. Of course, we know what the word ‘thing’ normally means, but what does ‘a thing’ mean here?
本集节目中给大家介绍的表达是“a thing”。大家都知道 a thing 最常用的意思是“一件东西，一个物品”，而目前流行的说法是用“a thing”来表示“一个潮流，一种时尚”。比如：如果我们说“留胡须 is a thing”，那实际要表达的意思就是“留胡须很时尚，lots of people have them”。
Neil
Yes. Cats on the internet – they’re a thing.
Oh, fidget spinners. They’re definitely a thing.
Neil
Fidget spinners?
对，就是那个风靡全球的“fidget spinners 指尖陀螺”。Those little metal or plastic toys that spin on your finger. Know them?
Neil
Oh, those things that kids everywhere are playing with.
Not just kids. Anyway. What else is a thing? Listen to these examples.
Examples
Using funny GIFs in your message is such a thing.
You know parkour: the sport of running and jumping across buildings? Why is that such a thing?
Organic powdered food. Since when has that been a thing?
A well-known use of this phrase was after American personality Kim Kardashian posted a picture of herself pregnant, with the words “pregnancy lips 怀孕的嘴唇”.
Neil
It’s a term not many people had heard of, and prompted responses like this: “Pregnancy lips? Is that even a thing?”
当你对别人所描述的一件事情一无所知，或对所描述的事情持怀疑态度的时侯，你就可以说“Is that a thing?”或“Is that even a thing?”。
Neil
But there’s little doubt the phrase ‘a thing’ is itself ‘a thing’ – it’s now been included in major dictionaries.
There we are. A thing. No plans to grow the beard back, then?
Neil
Only when being clean-shaven becomes too much of a thing!
Bye.
Neil
Bye.