写在前面
每周一、四的固定栏目《英语地道说》又跟大家见面了,在这里,你将学到“学校不教,老师也不一定会”,但在英美国家却是地道又常用的英语表达,你们的支持就是对我最好的鼓励!也欢迎大家多多留言。跟孩子一起学习,我们都是认真的!加油!
第52期:Out of the Woods
这一天,Mike和常爸聊起了自己最近上的网课。
Mike
Oh my gosh! My last class was so hard! A student misbehaved all morning! I'm glad it's over!
(哦,天呐!我上节课可太难上了!有一个学生整节课都在捣乱。总算上完了!)
常爸
You are not out of the woods yet! You have another class in 30 minutes!
(你还没有out of the woods!半小时后你还有下一节课!)
小小常在一旁插嘴。
小小常
We are not in the woods, though! We are in the city. So there is no need to go out of the woods.
(可是,我们并没有在森林中啊!我们在城市里。所以没必要走出森林呀。)
Mike
Ha ha, no. Your dad means that I am not quite out of trouble yet. I wish I could just go home already!
(哈哈,不是这样,小小常。你爸爸的意思是我还没有摆脱麻烦。我真希望现在就能回家!)
小小常
Oh! Don't worry, you will be out of woods soon.
(别担心,一会儿上完课你就解脱了。)
Mike
You are right! Thanks!也对!谢谢小小常!
如果你是霉霉(Taylor Swift)的粉丝,可能听过她的一首歌“Out of the Woods”。
其中一句歌词是“Are we out of the woods?”她是问“我们在森林外吗?
并不是。
根据剑桥字典的解释,out of the woods是一个非正式用语,表示“to no longer be in danger of difficulty(不再处于危险中或者不再处于困境中)”。
只身一人在森林里迷了路,孤独又恐惧,既要警惕森林中野兽的袭击,又要努力分辨方向,每一步都战战兢兢。一旦找到了正确的方向,走出森林,那种舒畅、释然的感受就可以用out of the woods来形容。
例如:
生命脱离险境:
Michael drank too much at a party last night and smashed his car up on the way home.
麦克昨晚去参加一个聚会,酒喝太多了,在回家的路上撞了车。
He ended up in the hospital and was in a coma all night. But he's awake today and feeling much better.
结果他被送进医院,整夜昏迷不醒。不过,今天他已经清醒,感觉也好多了。
Thank God he seems to be out of the woods now!
他似乎渡过了危险期,真是谢天谢地!(严禁酒驾!)
Her surgery went as well as we could have hoped, but she's not out of the woods yet.
她的手术和预期一样成功,但她还没有脱离危险。
生意起死回生:
Our business has been terrible all year and I was afraid we might have to give up and close the shop.
整整一年来,我们的生意简直糟透了,我当时担心我们恐怕得放弃,关门大吉。
But the last two months we've made a profit and I think we're out of the woods at last.
但是,过去两个月我们赚了一些钱,我想我们总算是脱离险境了。
当想要表达“脱离困境”的状态时,out of the woods是一个很常用的口语用法。
回顾2020的这大半年,自然灾害频发,疫情肆虐,人心惶惶。如今在国内,我们的生活逐步重回正轨,终于可以说:
“We are out of the woods now.”
前方的路,让我们一起继续加油吧!
拓展阅读
英语地道说 | 别一听老外说sick就以为谁病了,sick竟还有这个意思……
英语地道说 | You are a brain. 这是夸你还是损你
英语地道说 | 如何优雅地婉拒别人的借钱请求?这篇文章能帮你省下一个亿英语地道说 | In hot water? in deep water?哪个表示“水深火热”“有麻烦了”!
参考链接:
https://www.51voa.com/Voa_English_Learning/Learn_A_Word_22846.html
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/zhs/%E8%AF%8D%E5%85%B8/%E8%8B%B1%E8%AF%AD/be-out-of-the-woods
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/not+out+of+the+wood
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