評論
打印
Jen: Hi, I'm Jennifer and I'm on the lookout for Helen–someone said they saw her going into the basement earlier… Oh wait, there she is, with… a tool kit? What on earth are you doing? There are pipes all over the floor!
珍：大家好，我是珍妮弗，我正在找海倫，有人說他們看見她不久前進了地下室……哦，等等，她在那兒，她拿的是工具箱嗎？你到底在干什么？地板上全是管子！
Helen: Oh hi Jen! I'm quite busy down here trying to fix these pipes.
海倫：哦，你好，珍！我現在非常忙，我正在試圖修理這些管子。
Jen: Fix the pipes? But you're not a plumber, you don't know anything about pipes!
珍：修理管子？可是你不是管道工啊，你對管道一無所知。
Helen: I know, but the boss asked me to try and fix them.
海倫：我知道，可是老板讓我來試著修理這些管子。
Jen: Really? Are you sure that's what he said? It seems strange he'd ask you to turn your hand to plumbing.
珍：真的嗎？你確定他這么說過？他讓你學習管道的知識這看起來有點奇怪。
Helen: I knew you'd say that, so I printed off his email to show you. Look, it says "About the project - someone has thrown a spanner into the works, and I'd like you to sort it out"…
海倫：我就知道你會這么說，所以我把他的郵件打印出來給你看。你看，郵件里寫著“有關這個項目——有人在工作中存心搗亂，我想讓你來解決這個問題”……
Jen: But Helen…
珍：可是海倫……
Helen: ….so I'm looking for the spanner in the works!
海倫：所以我在找工作中的扳手！
Jen: Oh Helen, you shouldn't take it literally! In English, if someone throws a spanner into the works, it means they do something to spoil a plan or make it more complicated.
珍：海倫，你不應該按字面意思理解！在英語中，這個短語的意思是某些人會做破壞計劃或是讓計劃變得復雜的事情。
Helen: Oh… A spanner in the works… So there isn't a real spanner in here.
海倫：哦……在工作中搗亂……所以其實并沒有扳手。
Jen: I don't think so… Let's hear some examples to help explain the phrase.
珍：我想是的……我們來聽聽這個短語的一些例子。
This hospital appointment on the 15th has thrown a real spanner in the works for our holiday–we'll have to come back early.
醫院的預約時間是15號，這真的給我們的假期造成了很大的麻煩，我們不得不提前回來。
The budget cuts have thrown a real spanner in the works for the future of the project.
削減預算給這個項目的未來帶來了阻礙。
Helen: So this is a phrase we can use to describe something which has gone wrong. The boss said that someone had thrown a spanner in the works of our project…
海倫：所以我們可以用這個短語來形容某件事出了差錯。老板說有人在我們的項目上攪局……
Jen: He means that something has happened that will make the project more complicated. Perhaps you should talk to him to find out what the problem is before you start taking the building to pieces!
珍：他的意思是發生了某些事，使這個項目變得更復雜。也許你應該和老板談談，在你把這座大樓拆掉前弄清楚問題。
Helen: You're right. So I suppose we'd better clear up some of this mess… But I can't remember where all the pipes go!
海倫：你說得對。我想我們最好收拾一下這里的爛攤子……可是我不記得這些管子都是哪里的了！
Jen: Oh no! Well let's just try and fit them in as best we can.
珍：哦不！我們盡力把這些管子放回去吧。
V/O: Some time later…
話化音：一會兒之后……
Jen: Well the pipes are all in, but nothing's working. We're going to be in so much trouble.
珍：管子全放進去了，可是卻不能正常工作。我們要有大麻煩了。
Helen: We're not defeated yet. Stand back…
海倫：我們還沒有失敗呢。往后站……
Jen: Helen… what are you doing with that huge spanner….
珍：海倫……你要用那個大扳手做什么……
Helen: I'm throwing… it… into… the… works…
海倫：我要用它來讓管道工作……
Helen: It works! I did it!
海倫：它正常工作了！我做到了！
Jen: You did! With a real life spanner in the works!
珍：你做到了！你用真的扳手修好了管道！
