to play by ear
今天我们要讲两个和耳朵,也就是ear有关的成语。中国人经常说那些不听劝告的人对别人的话总是"一个耳朵进一个耳朵出",把它们当作"耳边风"。美国也有完全相同的说法。他们是这样说的: "It goes in one ear and out the other."
下面是一个父亲在说他的女儿:
例句-1:"I told Sally it was foolish to marry that man, but it went in one ear and out the other. Now she wishes she&39;d listened to me. He drinks and gambles and she wants to leave him."
这位爸爸说:"我早就告诉沙利不要那么笨,去和那个人结婚。可是,对于我的话,她是一个耳朵进一个耳朵出。结了婚她才知道那人又喝酒又赌钱。现在她后悔当初没听我的话,想要和他分手啦。"
下面这个例子是一个老板在对他的秘书说话:
例句-2:"How many times have I told you to get to work on time. But my words just go in one ear and out the other. So I don&39;t have any choice but to fire you."
他说:"我告诉了你多少次上班要准时。可是,你对我的话老是一个耳朵进一个耳朵出。现在,我没有办法了,只好解雇你了。"
下面我们要讲的一个习惯用语是:play by ear. Play就是玩的意思。可是,play by ear的意思并不是"玩耳朵"。这个词汇的来源和音乐有关系。它原来指的是那些会弹钢琴或某种乐器,但是却不会看五线谱的人。每当他们要弹奏某个曲调时,他们只能凭着上一回听到的记忆来弹。可是play by ear现在已经成为日常用语了,意思是做一件事不是事先有计划的,而是走着瞧,临时决定。例如,你被请到某处去讲话,可是又没有时间准备。你就可以对听众说:
例句-3:"I haven&39;t had a chance to prepare any notes so all I can do is start talking and play it by ear."
这话的意思是:"我今天没有什么准备,所以就只好讲到那儿就算那儿了。"
下面一个例子是一个人在和朋友约会:
例句-4:"I am not sure if my wife wants me to go shopping with her on Sunday. If she decides to go with her sister instead, then I can play tennis with you. Let&39;s just play it by ear."
他说:"我还不知道星期天我太太是否要我陪她去买东西。要是她决定和她姐姐一起出去,那我就能和你去打网球。我们就瞧着办吧!"