評論
打印
I've found the length of my feet, so I'd better nip it in the bud!
我知道自己有個壞毛病，所以要趁早改掉這個壞毛病！
【Andrew's Note】To nip something in the bud is to stop it just as it is starting. The phrase comes, of course, from gardening, where one often has to remove a few buds so that a plant will produce more beautiful flowers."To nip something in the bud" 指某事剛剛開始就要阻止它。當然，這個短語與園藝有關，因為人們常常要剪掉多余的花蕾，這樣整株植物就可以開出更美麗的花朵兒。[1] I hold Marston in high esteem. To tell you the truth, I learn a lot from our daily conversations. He helps me not merely in English but also in something more important that I will never forget until I go to meet Karl Marx.
[1] 我非常敬重馬斯頓。說實說，我從我們之間的日常對話中學到了不少的東西。他不僅在英語方面幫我，而且還在其他更重要的方面幫助我，去見馬克思之前，我將永遠也不會忘記這些。
[2] Marston invited me for dinner only a few days after he came to our college. We talked about a world of things.
[2] 馬斯頓來我們學院才幾天就請我共進晚餐。我們真是無話不談。
[3] We could enter into smooth conversations and communicate with each other with ease. However, my speech left something to be desired, which drew Marston's attention. God knows why I peppered my conversations with so many "perhaps". I must have gone so far that he decided to put me right.
[3] 我們談話順暢，交流輕松愉快。然而，我一說話總是會留下一點點缺憾, 這引起了馬斯頓的關注。誰知道怎么搞的，那天我在談話中夾雜著那樣多的“或許（可能）”之類的詞語。我一定是用得太多了，所以他決定幫我糾正過來。
[4] So in the middle of the dinner, he toasted to me again, "To our friendship forever! I can't find it in my heart to find fault with you today. But I'd like to point out your Achilles' heel, bro. You use 'perhaps' more than I have heard in the past ten years. It strikes me that you show your uncertainty and lack of confidence all along. So I hope you can delete that word from your vocabulary. I am sure you can understand what I mean here. OK, from today on, each time when I find you revert to （回復；回到） that silly word again, I will give you a hint. I bet you can nip it in the bud, and the sooner, the better."
[4] 所以，在吃飯的中間，他再次向我祝酒：“ 祝我們之間的友誼萬古長青！今天我不忍心要挑你的毛病。但是，兄弟，我得指出你的一個致命弱點。你用的“或許”比我在過去十年間所聽到的還要多。你給我的印象總是不確定或缺少自信。所以，我希望你能從你的詞匯里把這個詞刪除掉。我確信你理解我的用意。好了，從現在起，每當我發現你再用那個詞，我就給你暗示。我確信你能趁早改掉這個壞毛病，改得越快越好。”
[5] Ever since then, I almost have given up the word in my daily conversations. If I really want to show my uncertainty or doubts, I just avail myself of another word, i.e. "probably".
[5] 自那時起，我幾乎在日常交流禁用這個詞。真要表達不確定或疑慮的意思，我會用別的詞，即"probably"。
[6] I was so fortunate in having a friend like Marston who could know me like he knows himself.
[6] 我非常幸運有像馬斯頓這樣的朋友，他知我如知己也！
。你自己定奪：質量還是垃圾？董先生，心急吃不了熱豆腐。”
