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76期:You Can't Make an Omelet Without Breaking Eggs.
周六小小常参加完足球队的集训,回到家里。
常爸
How was your training going today, Victor?小小常,今天的训练怎么样?
小小常
The training was going fine. But some of the boys were quite annoyed because they hated running!训练进展顺利。但有些队员不是很开心,因为他们讨厌跑步!
常爸
Well, I guess you can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs! Your team needs to practice running if you want to improve and win your games.喏,“不打碎几个鸡蛋是做不成蛋饼卷的。” 如果你们的球队想提高球技并赢得比赛,就需要练习跑步。
小小常
What do you mean? Why making an omelet?(你说什么呢?做什么蛋饼卷?)
常爸
“You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.” means that you have to do unpleasant things in order to complete a task or meet a goal.这句话的意思是为了完成任务或达到目标,你不得不做一些不开心的事情。
小小常
Okay, I guess you are right. Maybe they were unhappy today, but they will feel it worthy when we start winning all our games!(好吧,我想你是对的。也许今天跑步他们不高兴,但是当我们开始赢得所有比赛时,他们会感觉这是值得的!
常爸
That's right!没错!
omelet是一种西式蛋饼卷——把打好的鸡蛋放到平底锅里煎,可以根据个人喜好添加馅料(洋葱、青椒、番茄、火腿、培根等)。西式蛋卷饼起源于法国,在西方各国倍受喜爱。
“You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs!”这句话的字面意思是,想要做好煎蛋卷,你不得不打碎几个鸡蛋。
这个说法来自法国保皇派反革命分子沙雷特(François de Charette)原句是“On ne saurait faire d'omelette sans casser des œufs(不打破鸡蛋就做不好煎蛋卷)”。
现在这个说法可以理解为三个意思:
为了得到好的结果,不得不经历一些看起来不太好的事情(有失才有得)
为了得到令人满意的东西,忍受困难(舍不得孩子套不着狼)
为了得到美好的东西,付出努力(不入虎穴、焉得虎子)
大学改革:
The university took a desperate measure to merge three academic departments into one, in the belief that you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs.
这所大学本着“有失才有得”这一原则,铤而走险地把三个学院合并为一个。
公司裁员:
A: I really don't like telling people they have to go, but our company won't survive the economic downturn unless we cut costs.
我实在是不想让他们走,但如果不降低成本的话,咱们公司肯定顶不住经济衰退带来的影响。
B: You're right. It's never easy to fire people, but remember, you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs.
你说得对,裁员不是件易事。不过你也要记住,舍不得孩子套不着狼。
商业投资:
In case you were wondering, you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs. So don't be afraid of the risks and go for it.
如果你还在犹豫,不入虎穴,焉得虎子。所以别害怕风险,勇敢去做吧!
其实,与“eggs”相关的表达英语里还有不少,我们一起再来看几个吧。

To walk on eggshells 小心翼翼,如履薄冰
Whenever Lisa is around the house, everyone has to walk on eggshells around her in order not to get her annoyed.
每当丽莎在家里的时候,每个人都得小心翼翼的,以免惹她生气。
Don't put all your eggs in one basket. 不要孤注一掷。
It would be better if you applied to several companies instead of just one; Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
你要是多申请几家公司而不是一家会更好;不要把所有的鸡蛋放在一个篮子里。
To kill the goose that lays the golden egg 杀鸡取卵
By selling off his business, Alex killed the goose that lays the golden egg.
亚历克斯卖掉了他的生意,这无疑是杀鸡取卵。
今天我们学习的这几个说法虽然都比较长,但是却很形象。相信大家在需要的场合,很容易就脱口而出啦!
更多地道表达,可以加入我们的动画版《英语地道说亲子课学习:
习惯在天猫上下单的小伙伴,可以复制淘口令cuJ4Xd64JRU,打开手机淘宝/天猫购买。
拓展阅读
参考链接:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/chinese/features/todays-phrase/ep-170418
https://www.theidioms.com/you-cant-make-an-omelette-without-breaking-a-few-eggs/
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