評論
打印
A: 所以說嘛，if I ever won the lottery, I could stop window shopping and go on a real shopping spree!
B: You know what, I remember seeing something about this. There was an interview with this guy who won the lottery and he said he wished he had never won it! 有錢了以后，好多人來跟他借錢，弄得親情友情都變了味!
A: 這倒也是! 不過就算沒有朋友和親人，你還是可以買個豪宅，置辦個游艇什么的嘛!
B: Well, if you have all the nice things in the world but nobody to share them with, I would say those things are just cold comforts. 趕快來聽聽下面的Words and Idioms 你就明白了!
Words and Idioms
女: 各位聽眾，現在播送<美國習慣用語>第 961講。我是楊琳。
M: 我是 Steve Baragona.
女: 今天報紙頭版刊登了本地棒球隊比賽的一張照片。比賽進行到第三局時，球賽解說專門提到在場的受傷軍人，觀眾紛紛起立為他們喝彩。可我覺得，對一個在戰爭中失去雙腿的士兵，別人的喝彩固然令人欣慰，但他可能更希望自己有一天能再站起來。這讓我想到了一句習慣用語，那就是:
M: Cold comfort. Cold is spelled c-o-l-d, and comfort; c-o-m-f-o-r-t. Cold-comfort.
女: 大家都知道，Cold 是冷的意思，comfort是安慰，連起來，cold comfort, 意思是“不起作用的安慰”。就像上面的例子里，一位失去雙腿的士兵當然很高興大家記得他為國家做出的犧牲，但是He may also felt it was COLD COMFORT since he could no longer walk. 畢竟他再也不能走路了，別人的喝彩可能只是“不起作用的安慰”。在下面例子里，一名員工談到了大家是怎樣認同他的工作成績的，我們來聽一聽：
M: "Two weeks ago, I got the news that my factory would be relocating overseas. As I sat at home wondering what I was going to do for work, I glanced up. There on the wall was the award I had received for "Employee of the Year." It seems COLD COMFORT for what I have to deal with now."
這段話意思是說：“兩個星期前，我得知我工作的工廠要整個搬到海外去作業。我坐在家里，想著以后要怎么辦的時候，抬頭正好看到墻上掛的‘年度優秀員工獎’的獎狀。這張獎狀對于目前身處困境的我來說，絲毫起不到安慰的效果。”
女: 真是的！飯碗都要丟了，看到曾經得的獎狀恐怕只是徒增煩惱。我想起上次我朋友的女兒在數學競賽里得了第二名，雖然評委不停說她也很出色，可是她看起來還是十分沮喪。To her, it was COLD COMFORT. 對她來說，這一點也無法讓她高興起來。好了，我們再來聽聽剛才那段話：
M: "Two weeks ago, I got the news that my factory would be relocating overseas. As I sat at home wondering what I was going to do for work, I glanced up. There on the wall was the award I had received for "Employee of the Year." It seems COLD COMFORT for what I have to deal with now."
女: 上面我們講了cold comfort 不起作用的安慰。下面的例子里，歷史學家要告訴我們一場慘劇的一些不為人知的細節。我們一起來聽一下：
M: "In 1963, members of an African-American church in Alabama were attending Sunday church services. Suddenly, a bomb exploded, killing four young girls. The tragedy shocked the nation. And it helped create new laws to end discrimination. For the parents who lost their children, though, that was COLD COMFORT."
這段話是說：“1963年，阿拉巴馬一個非洲裔美國人教堂里，人們正在進行周日禱告。忽然，一個炸彈爆炸，四名女孩被炸死。這場悲劇震驚了全國，并最終推動美國確立了禁止歧視的法律。但是對于那些失去了孩子的家長來說，這并不能解決什么問題。”
女: 真是太可憐了。我無法想像失去孩子，將要如何去面對。說到非洲裔美國人，我想大家最熟悉的就是Martin Luther King 馬丁.路德.金了。華盛頓剛剛建成馬丁.路德.金的雕像，奧巴馬總統也到場祝賀。奧巴馬當選本身，就證明了美國在民權上的長足進步。好的，我們再來聽聽剛才那段話：
M: "In 1963, members of an African-American church in Alabama were attending Sunday church services. Suddenly, a bomb exploded, killing four young girls. The tragedy shocked the nation. And it helped create new laws to end discrimination. For the parents who lost their children, though, that was COLD COMFORT."
女: 各位聽眾，今天我們學習的習慣用語是COLD COMFORT，意思是“不起作用的安慰”。好的，這次[美國習慣用語]就到此結束，我是楊琳，我是 Steve Baragona。謝謝各位的收聽。
A: 我也來造個句，美國每年4月15號是交稅截止期. I have to pay a huge amount in taxes, so my boyfriend took me out for dinner last night! But still, compared to what I had to pay, that free dinner was a cold comfort.
B: 哈哈， I feel you, 楊琳! But think of it this way, you are paying taxes because you have a job. 想想那些沒工作的人吧! 是不是覺得自己幸福多啦?
A: 嗯，這么一說我就舒服多了! 說起找工作，今天的美語三級跳里面，懶惰的Toby 竟然得到了面試的機會! 咱們趕快來聽一聽!
