The english we speak(BBC教學)第82期:Sheepish 窘迫

Neil: Hi, I'm Neil and this is Helen!

尼爾：大家好，我是尼爾，這是海倫！

Helen: Hello.

海倫：大家好。

Neil: What's wrong Helen? You're looking rather sheepish.

尼爾：海倫，出什麼事了？你看起來非常窘迫。

Helen: Sheepish? Like a sheep? I know my jumper is quite woolly.

海倫：Sheepish？像羊一樣？我知道我的毛衣是毛絨絨的。

Neil: I don't mean you look like a sheep. I mean you look sheepish, which is quite different!

尼爾：我並不是說你看起來像只羊。我的意思是，你看上去很窘迫，意思完全不同！

Helen: Of course, looking like a sheep and looking sheepish are two totally different things, obviously!

海倫：當然，看上去像只羊，和像羊一樣是完全不同的意思！

Neil: Yes. If I say you look like a sheep, it means, well, you look like a sheep. But if I say you look sheepish, it means you look embarrassed or ashamed about something.

尼爾：是的。如果我說你看上去像只羊，意思就是你看起來像羊。但是如果我說你看上去很窘迫，意思是你看上去對某件事感到尷尬或是難爲情。

Helen: To look sheepish means you look embarrassed or ashamed–like you've done something wrong or silly?

海倫：看上去sheepish的意思是看起來很尷尬或難爲情，就像你做了某件錯事或傻事？

Neil: Yes!

尼爾：對！

Helen: Ah, yes.

海倫：好。

Neil: Listen to some examples:

尼爾：來看看這些例句：

Tom walked into the room looking sheepish.

湯姆尷尬地走進房間。

Emily grinned sheepishly as she closed the door behind her.

艾米莉在關上身後的門時不好意思地咧嘴笑了。

James gave her a sheepish look.

詹姆斯難爲情地看着她。

Neil: So, come on Helen, why are you looking sheepish today?

尼爾：好了，海倫，你今天爲什麼看上去這麼不安？

Helen: Ah, well...

海倫：嗯……

Neil: Yes?

尼爾：怎麼了？

Helen: Well, you know that book you lent me?

海倫：嗯，就是那本你借給我的書，你記得吧？

Neil: My favourite book of all time–the original edition of The Private lives of the Greatest Cats in History?

尼爾：我最喜歡的書，那本原版《歷史上最偉大的貓的私生活》？

Helen: Yes.

海倫：對。

Neil: OK Helen, now you're looking very sheepish indeed, so you'd better hurry up and tell me what happened to it.

尼爾：海倫，現在你看起來真的非常不安，你最好快點告訴我那本書到底怎麼了。

Helen: I dropped it.

海倫：我弄掉了。

Neil: You dropped it? Well I hope it's not damaged, otherwise I'll have to -

尼爾：弄掉了？希望並沒有破損，要不然我就要……

Helen: the river.

海倫：掉在了河裏。

Neil: In the river! You dropped it in the river!

尼爾：掉進了河裏！你把書掉進了河裏！

Helen: It was carried away, I couldn't get it out.

海倫：它被河水沖走了，我沒能撈出來。

Neil: Oh no!

尼爾：哦不！

Helen: I'm so sorry. That's why I am looking sheepish.

海倫：很抱歉。這就是我看上去窘迫的原因。

Neil: You should be looking even More sheepish than that. In fact, I expect you to look sheepish for several days. It was the best book in the world! 'Sheepish' doesn't do it justice...

尼爾：你應該看上去更不安纔對。實際上，我希望你能不安幾天的時間。那是世界上最棒的書！“不安”也不能挽回那本書了……

重點講解：
1. had better do sth.
（用於建議、警告、威脅、發表意見等）最好做某事；
eg. He'd better not try to fool me.
他最好不要愚弄我。
eg. Even a worm will turn. You had better give her a way out.
弱者被逼太甚，也會進行抗爭，你最好還是給她一條出路。
2. hurry up
趕緊；趕快；
eg. Franklin told Howe to hurry up and take his bath; otherwise, they'd miss their train.
富蘭克林告訴豪趕快去洗澡；否則他們會趕不上火車。
eg. Hurry up with that coffee, will you.
請你快點把咖啡端上來。
3. do justice
準確地再現；逼真地重現；
eg. The photograph I had seen didn't do her justice.
我看到的那張照片把她拍得走樣了。
eg. Most TV sets don't have the sound quality to do justice to the music.
大多數電視機的音質不好，無法播出原來的音樂效果。