VOA流行美語 Unit 51: GET CARRIED AWAY / TO CALL IT A DAY

to get carried away

to call it a day

今天Michael為李華油漆房子。李華學到了兩個新詞兒：to get carried away和to call it a day。

L: Hey Michael，我回來了。我的天哪，你連客廳都刷啦？你只要刷臥房就夠了，我沒想要你做這么多的。

M: That's O.K. The work was pretty easy. I guess I got carried away.

L: 什么？你怎么啦？你說你得到什么啦？

M: I said I got carried away. "Got" is the past tense of "get" and "carried" is the past tense of "carry".

L： 好了，那"got carried away"到底是什么意思？

M: "To get carried away" means to be so focused on doing something that you don't notice anything else, and lose track of time. It can also mean "to do something more than is necessary."

L: 噢，我懂了。這句話是說：因為你太專心做一件事上所以忘了其它的事，連不需要的也都做了。

M: You've got it. I was so absorbed in my work that I got carried away. I didn't notice how long I had been working. When I finished, I saw that it was already three o'clock!

L: 嗯，我真希望我能你這樣專心工作。我最恨刷油漆這種活了。對了，Michael, 這個"got carried away"除了用在工作上，我可不可以用在其它地方呢？

M: Sure! We can use it for a lot of things. For instance, the other day I went shopping for clothes. At first, I had only planned to spend 50 dollars to buy some pants and a shirt. But I got carried away and spent 250 dollars.

L: 噢，所以當你got carried away的時候，表示你已經忘乎所以了，對不對?

M: That's right. For instance, I was cooking spaghetti sauce the other day. I really like garlic, so I decided to put a lot in. But I got carried away, and put in way too much.

L: Phew, 我原來是不想說的，怪不得你嘴里一股大蒜味，真是嗆人哪。這樣說來，有的時候get carried away也有貶意啊，對不對？

M: Sure it can. Why don't you give me an example of how being carried away can be used negatively?

L: 那還不簡單，有一次我請我朋友幫我油漆臥房，結果他got carried away連客廳也一塊兒給我 刷了。

M: Well, that sounds right. But why is that a bad thing?

L: 他因為太got carried away，結果忘記我的起居室原來是要漆藍色，不是白色的。

M: D'oh!

音樂間隙

L: Michael, 你今天做的也真夠多的了，我真的很謝謝你啦。

M: No problem. I think you are right. Let's call it a day.

L: 啊，你說要我們做什么？今天你還想要做什么呢？

M: No no, I said "Let's call it a day". That means: let's stop working for today and go home.

L: 可是我已經在家了啊!

M: You know what I mean! To "call it a day" just means to decide it is time to quit working, and to relax or go home. Now I think we should call it a day and go get something to eat.

L: 我早就知道你一定會提到吃的。好吧，你想去那兒？

M: Hmm, why do you take me to your favorite restaurant in Chinatown.

L: 那真是好主意。我知道那里有個很好的飯店。我們可以叫只鴨子，然后呢，再來一些菜。這么樣？

M: Whoa, don't get carried away, Li Hua. You're not that rich.

今天Michael為李華油漆房子，李華學到了兩個新詞兒: to get carried away和to call it a day。 To get carried away意思是：因為做事太專心忽略了其它的事。To call it a day指的是一天工作到此為止。