PETS-2語法講解(329)

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I can't carry a tune in a bucket.
    我們會用‘黃鶯出谷’來贊美某人的歌聲悅耳動(dòng)聽,相反,如果你五音不全,沒有音樂細(xì)胞,可自我形容說說:I can't carry a tune in a bucket. 直譯是‘我不能盛載一粒音符在桶子內(nèi)’,寓意是‘我不會唱歌’。也有別的說法,例如:I'm a lousy singer.(我是非常糟糕的歌手/I'm tone-deaf.(我不會辨別音調(diào))。有些女生唱歌像尖叫一樣不堪入耳,英文可形容說:She sounds like a cat screeching(她唱歌像貓尖叫一樣)。
    對話   Adrian: Are you busy? We need one more person for our karaoke night.
    Brian:I'm free but I must warn you I can't carry a tune in a bucket.
    Adrian: That's fine. We know that and we don't need you to sing.
    Brian:Then why do you need me?
    Adrian:To pay for it. You're loaded and you've got no friends, so…
    Brian:Alright. Let's go.
    阿德里恩:你有空嗎?我們想多找一個(gè)人今晚去唱卡拉OK。
    布萊恩:我有空,但我必須警告你我不會唱歌的。
    阿德里恩:沒關(guān)系,我們知道,我們不用你唱歌。
    布萊恩:那為什么你找我?
    阿德里恩:去付賬嘛,你有錢而且沒有什么朋友,所以......
    布萊恩:沒問題,一齊去吧。
    阿德里恩邀布萊恩去唱卡拉OK,布萊恩說自己不會唱歌:I can't carry a tune in a bucket。阿德里恩說他只要付帳就行了:You're loaded(你有錢嘛)。
    Loaded本義是‘裝了貨的’,例如a loaded truck是‘載了貨的卡車’。Loaded解作‘富有’,是俚語用法,例如:That man is loaded. His father died and left him a fortune.(那人很富有。他父親死后留下大筆財(cái)產(chǎn)給他)。
    Tune是‘調(diào)子’,carry a tune即‘合調(diào)地唱歌’,例如:(1) His voice may be hoarse, but he can carry a tune.(他雖然聲音沙啞,唱歌卻合調(diào))。(2) He can't carry a tune, and his singing grates on the ear.(他唱歌不合調(diào),十分刺耳)。Grate是‘摩擦’,to grate one's teeth即‘咬牙切齒’,to grate on the ear即‘刺耳’。Carry a tune in a bucket無非carry a tune的意思,只是取carry的‘?dāng)y帶’含義而戲加in a bucket(裝在桶子里)三字。
    要表示自己不會唱歌,你還可以說:My singing is out of tune.(我唱歌會走音)。要表示不懂分辨音調(diào),可以說:I am tone-deaf。‘我沒勇氣在人前唱歌’英文則是:I don’t have the nerve/the guts to sing in front of people。Nerve、guts都是‘勇氣’。
    提議去唱卡拉OK,英文可以說Let's go to a karaoke bar/club或Let's go to karaoke。問人家一般唱什么歌,可以說:What do you sing when you do karaoke?假如要問‘你哪首歌唱得?’,則可以說:Which song do you sing the best?