A: Nice pen.
B: I got it over there. Its a steal.
假如在一部电视剧中听到这样两句对话,你会怎样理解呢?Its a steal是不是指笔是偷来的?B是贼吗?
非也,非也。
A说nice pen是因为看到B有一支漂亮的笔,这句话自然有赞美的意思,即这笔蛮别致的。
A steal 是英美流行口语,指极便宜的东西,因此B回答的是:我在那边买的,很便宜。
由于cheap有低劣蹩脚之意,于是近年流行用its a steal取代its cheap。
七十年代出版的梁实秋主编的《最新实用英汉辞典》中,steal还没有便宜货的释义,可见its a steal是近年流行的口语。
说到字典,比方你听到外籍朋友说three hundred dollars for this dictionary - isnt that a bit steep.
这里的steep又是什么意思呢?相信不会有人把它解作陡峭、险峻吧。大家应该可以猜到steep在这里解释为昂贵,这句话的意思是这本字典要三百块钱,是不是贵了一点?
学习了这个惯用法,以后你要说那所房子要六百万元太贵了点,自然可以脱口而出:Six million dollars for that house is a bit steep.
再来看看以下这段对话:
某男子在车行看中了一辆名牌轿车,于是问推销员:How much does it cost?(这辆车多少钱?)
售货员答:It comes to $15,000.(一万五千块)
然后男子面带不悦之色说:Its a rip off.(贵得太离谱了。)
Rip off 本意是偷窃、欺骗,在口语中可表达类似于汉语中敲竹杠、宰客的意思。
后来,男子还是忍痛买了那车,他去接朋友时说:It cost me an arm and a leg.
大家一定猜到这句话是什么意思了吧。
Cost somebody an arm and a leg,要某人的一臂一腿。真要命,失去手脚那是多大的代价啊!所以引伸出来就是极其昂贵的意思,是不是非常形象化,活灵活现呢?
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