【在生活中學習語言】Snake Oil 誇大不實的藥物＠☆★風吹向落葉。隨風飄落的楓葉。學習的園地-落葉之楓的新聞台★☆

2008-02-24 23:18:02 | 人氣15| 回應0 | 上一篇 | 下一篇

【在生活中學習語言】Snake Oil 誇大不實的藥物

Snake Oil

誇大不實的藥物

對話
Ryan：I've noticed that you're getting kind of fat.
萊恩：我注意到你變胖了。
Dave：Well, you're pretty rude!
戴夫：哼，真沒禮貌！
Ryan：Hey, I'm an honest guy. I tell it like it is.
萊恩：嘿，我是個誠實的人。我說的都是實話。
Dave：Anyway, I won't be fat for long. Check this out.
戴夫：算了，反正我不會胖太久。瞧瞧這個。
Ryan：What is it?
萊恩：這是啥？
Dave：It's a new drink that helps you lose weight.
戴夫：一種新型減肥飲料。
Ryan：Sounds like snake oil to me. Ugh, and it smells terrible.
萊恩：就我聽起來像是誇大不實的藥品嘛。噁，聞起來好臭。
Dave：Yeah, it tastes terrible, too. But it works like magic.
戴夫：對啊，而且也很難喝。但是它的藥效非常神奇。
Ryan：How?
萊恩：怎麼說？
Dave：You drink a bit, and it tastes so bad you don't want to eat anything else all day.
戴夫：你喝一點點之後，因為實在太難喝了，接下來一整天你啥都不想吃。

延伸學習
俚語精解 snake oil
snake oil字面意思是「蛇油」，指廣告說得天花亂墜，號稱具有神奇療效，實則無多大用處的藥物。

a snake-oil salesman/peddler 假貨推銷員
由於snake oil一詞所具有的負面含意，我們也可以用 a snake-oil salesman/peddler 指使用欺騙的伎倆，強力推銷假貨或不實理念的推銷員。
The hairdryer broke the first time I used it. I felt like I had bought it from a snake-oil salesman.（這把吹風機在我第一次使用時就壞掉。我覺得我是跟假貨推銷員買的。）

關鍵字詞
notice vt. 注意到/察覺
kind of 有點/些微
= a little bit
例：John was kind of upset when he learned that Mary already has a boyfriend.（約翰知道瑪莉已經有男朋友後，心情有點沮喪。）

rude a. 粗魯的/無禮的
例：It is rude to ask a woman's age.（問女人年齡很無禮。）

lose weight 減重
gain weight　　變胖

smell vt. 聞 & n. 味道
work like magic非常有效
= work like a charm
例：This carpet cleaner works like magic on stains.（這款地毯清潔劑對污漬超有效。）