今天我们要介绍给大家的两个习惯用语都有同一个关键的字。这个关键的字就是:Shoe. Shoe就是一只鞋子。要是多数的话,那就是在shoe后面加一个s,成为shoes。好。现在我们先来讲第一个以shoe这个字为主的习惯用语。 Goody two shoes. Goody就是在 good这个字后面加上一个y。但是,goody跟good没有什么关系。Goody可以解释为:假正经,伪善者。Two shoes按字面解释就是两只鞋子。可是,goody two shoes跟鞋子毫无关系。
Goody two shoes ,作为习惯用语,是指那种故意表现得比别人更高一等的人。这种人给别人的印象就好像他们在道德品行方面都要比别人强。也可以说是自命清高,或者是自命不凡的人。
例句1: I wonder how we can help Karen loosen up and be a little more tolerant of common human flaws. She's such a goody two shoes that all the men I know are afraid to ask her out on a date.
请大家要注意的一点是,尽管在goody two shoes这个习惯用语里是用的复数,但是,goody two shoes指的是一个人,因此前面需要用"a"。 要是你说:那个人是一个自命不凡的人。那你就应该说: That person is a goody two shoes。
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我们再来举一个例子。这个例子里说的人跟上面那个例子里的那位女士完全不同。她的朋友说:
例句2: It's true Eleanor isn't dating anybody steady right now. But don't get the idea she's a goody two shoes. She's not only smart and attractive - she's also a real fun person to be around.
在美国好莱坞,每个年轻演员都盼望哪一天能够一举成名。实现这一梦想的途径之一,就是在一个大明星突然生病的时候,被邀请去替代那位大明星来拍电影。“代替别人”就是我们在这次节目里要讲的第二个习惯用语。 To fill the shoes. 大家可能已经猜出来了,to fill the shoes的意思就是:代替某人,把某人的工作和责任接过来。
例句3: Are you sure you're ready to fill John's first wife's shoes? Remember, she was a full-time wife and mother. But you're a full-time career woman with no experience taking care of kids.
我们再给大家举一个例子来看看to fill the shoes在日常生活中是怎么用的。这是一个办公室的主任。他正在为找一位副手而感到头痛。这是办公室里的一名雇员在说话:
例句4: Nobody else wants to work as hard as Helen did without a lot higher salary. That's why the boss is having a tough time finding anybody to fill Helen's shoes for the same money.