I'm really in a flap about the interview.
一想到面试我就心慌。
flap n. 慌乱(状态)
I'm on tenterhooks.
= I'm on Dins and needles.
我感觉如坐针毡。
tenterhook n. 张布钩
on tenterhooks=on pins and needles“焦虑不安”
Worrying kept me awake.
我愁得睡不着觉。
awake a. 醒着的
I'm a bundle of nerves.
我心乱如麻。
a bundle of nerves“神经极度紧张的人”
I wonder what it could be.
我在想会是什么事。
I guess something came up.
我猜肯定发生什么事了。
I'm really anxious.
= I'm very worried.
我很担忧。
anxious a. 忧虑的,担心的
I can't take it anymore.
= I can't bear it anymore.
= I can't deal with this anymore.
= l can't take another problem.
我再也受不了了。
I'm anxious about what you did.
= What you did makes me anxious.
= I feel great anxiety about what you did.
你的所作所为让我很担心。
anxiety n. 忧虑,焦虑,担心(其形容词为anxious)
I can't calm down.
我静不下心来。
I can't control myself.
我控制不住自己。
I can't relax.
我放松不下来,,
control v. 控制
I'm going nuts.
= I'm going crazy.
我快要疯了。
nuts a. 发狂的,发疯的
2.实用对话
Worry担忧
Rose: Has Alan shown up yet?
罗丝:艾伦露面了吗?
Jack: No, not yet. I guess something came up. He'll call soon enough to let us know what's going on. He's good that way.
杰克:没有.还没露面。我猜肯定发生什么事了。他应该会打电话告诉我们的。要是那样就好了。
Rose: I wonder what it could be.
罗丝:我在想会是什么事。
Jack: I don't know. I hope it's nothing serious.
杰克:我也不知道。希望不是什么严重的事情。
Rose: Last week his sister was admitted to the hospital.
罗丝:上星期他姐姐住院了。
Jack: What happened?
杰克:怎么回事啊?
Rose: She was in a serious car accident. She was hurt pretty badly. They thought she was going to die.
罗丝:他姐姐出了车祸,伤得很严重。他们都觉得她快不行了。
Jack: How is she now?
杰克:那她现在怎么样?
Rose: She fell into a coma... The doctors aren't too hopeful. But I hope they're wrong.
罗丝:她已经昏迷了。医生觉得没有太大希望了。不过我希望他们的判断是错的。
Jack: Poor Alan. He's going nuts. His sister is all he has left; his parents died last year.
杰克:可怜的艾伦。他都快要发疯了。他姐姐可是他惟一的亲人了,他父母去年刚去世。
Rose: Yes, he has been through a lot in the last year. I hope his luck changes soon. Maybe his sister will pull through.
罗丝:是啊,他去年经历得太多了。我希望他能时来运转。也许他姐姐能挺过来呢。
3.详细解说
1.“show up”的意思是“露面,出席”,例如:Uncle George didn't show up for our wedding because he forgot.(乔治叔叔没有来参加我们的婚礼,因为他忘了。)
2.“come up”的意思是“发生”,例如:I'll let him know if anything comes up.(如果发生什么事,我会告诉他的。)
3.“fall into a coma”意为“陷入昏迷状态”。
4.单词“poor”在对话中的意思是“可怜的”,例如:How's your poor father?(你可怜的父亲怎么样了?)另外“poor”还可以表示“贫穷的”,例如:My family used to be poor.(我家过去很穷。)“pull through”的意思是“度过难关,恢复健康”。
4.文化洗礼
“worry”的由来
The dog is worrying the rat.
如果你看到这句英文,并尝试着将它翻译成中文:“那条狗正在烦那只老鼠”时,恐怕就要贻笑大方了。这句话正确的翻译应该是:那条狗正在撕咬那只老鼠。你可能会一头雾水,“worry一是烦扰的意思,怎么会和“撕咬”( tear up)联系起来了呢?
事实上,“worry”一词来源于古英语“wyrgan",有“扼杀”之意,上面这句话中的“worry”即取此意,是指动物“撕咬”它的猎物。后来“wyrgan”又渐渐发展成中世纪英语的“worien”,意思也演变为“strangle(抑制,束缚)”。
随着历史的变迁,“worry”这个词“攻击性”的意味大大削弱了。在中世纪英语中的“worien”保留了其前身“wyrgan扼杀”的意思,并衍生出一个新意思“用牙齿咬住喉咙并且撕裂”或“咬住并来回甩动以杀死或伤害”。到16世纪,“worry”开始含有“以粗暴手段或袭击方式来骚扰”、“口头攻击”的意思。到了17世纪,这个词产生了“干扰、使焦虑和烦扰”的意思。19世纪时,这个词义又向前发展了一点,也就是我们现在经常见到的“使感到焦虑或痛苦”和“感到烦恼或不安”。