今天要讲的三个习惯用语里都是以soft这个词为主的。Soft这个词的中文意思是“软。我们现在来给大家介绍今天要讲的第一个习惯用语:soft soap。Soap就是用来洗澡或者洗衣服的肥皂。
Soft soap这个习惯用语在美国人当中至少已经使用了一百五十年了,意思是“奉承或者是“过分地恭维某个人。Soft soap大概是指奉承的话跟肥皂水一样滑溜。美国以往有不少逐家逐户上门推销货物的推销员。现在由于种种原因已经没有以往那么多了,但还是存在。
下面我们来听一个美国人的讲话。他是在警告他的邻居不要上那个推销人寿保险人的当。他说:
例句-1:Don't listen to this guy. He is full of soft soap about what a great bargain he is selling, but if you read the policy carefully and compare costs, you can see that it is not really worth the price.
别听那家伙的话。他把他推销的东西吹得超级合算,但是你要是仔细看看它的保险条例,再比比价格的话,你就可以看出这个价钱是不值的。
我们今天要讲的第二个习惯用语是:soft pedal。Pedal指的踏板,就像钢琴下面的踏板,或者是缝纫机或自行车的踏板。Soft pedal的意思是不强调你正在说的事,就像我们常说的“低调处理。
下面例句里讲话的人正在说电视采访一位大学篮球队教练的情况。这个篮球队实力很强;很有希望赢得全国冠军的称号。我们来听听这个人是怎么说的。
例句-2:This coach tried to soft pedal his team's chance to win the title. He said he has very tough opponents to play, his best player is hurt and so on and so on, but from everything I hear he really ought to have the number one team in the whole country.
这位教练说自己的球队获得全国冠军的机会并不怎么大。他说他的对手实力很强,他最好的球员受了伤,等等,等等。但是从我听到的种种消息,他的球队实在是全国数一数二的。
今天我们要讲的第三个习惯用语是:soft touch。Touch这个词最普遍的意思是用身体的某个部分,一般是用手指去触摸某样东西,看看它的感觉是什么样的。但是touch和soft合在一起作为一个习惯用语,它的意思就不同了。Soft touch指的是一个很容易被某人说服去做某件事的人,例如借钱给你等;也就是说这个人很好说话。
我们来举个例子。Freddie正努力攒钱来偿付他的欠债。例句里说话的人正在替Freddie出主意。他说:
例句-3:Freddie, why don't you tell our friend Bill you are in trouble with people you owe and ask him to loan you the money. He has a good heart and he is a soft touch for people in a tight spot. He knows you will pay him back as soon as you can.
弗雷迪,你要不跟我们的朋友比尔说你因为欠债处境有点困难,问他借点钱。他心地很好,听到有人有困难他很愿意帮忙的。他也知道你会尽快把钱还他的。
注意这个句子里还有一个很有用的词组:to be in a tight spot。Tight就是很紧;spot在这里就是指在一个地方。在很紧的地方也就是动不了、没有活动的余地,那就是处境困难。
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