字神帝國英語天地

今日主題：The last/final straw / 最後一根稻草

凱妃老師&派老師共同推薦：雅思聽力最好的課外教材：BBC
康康精選雅思會考的主題，堅持每天精聽一定會進步的哦!!

建議方法：
1. 先聽兩三遍 (不看文稿)
2. 再一句一句聽寫 (每句都要聽寫數遍，直到寫出85%以上的字)
3. 最後check文稿，看哪聽不出來，單字沒背過，還是發音不熟。
4. 堅持天天聽，就能每天進步哦。
‪#‎BBC 地道英語 
MP3音檔 (按右鍵可下載聽)：喜歡的同學，幫忙推或按讚哦~~
http://static.iyuba.com/sounds/minutes/602.mp3

只有音檔怎夠，聽不懂地方，不用怕，康康幫你準備好中英文稿了：

中英文稿：
Hello and welcome to The English We Speak from BBC Learning English. I’m Neil.
大家好，歡迎收聽BBC英語教學的地道英語。我是尼爾。

Hello, I’m Helen. Neil, can I ask you about something?
大家好，我是海倫。尼爾，我能問你一些事情嗎？

Yeah, sure. What’s on your mind?
嗯，當然。你心裡在想什麼呢？

Well, Theodora and Alma are my best friends, but they are not talking to each other because of a straw.
嗯，希歐多爾拉和阿爾瑪是我最好的朋友，但卻因為一根稻草不跟彼此說話了。

They are not getting on because of a straw? Are you sure you heard it right?
她們因為一根稻草不相處了？你確定你聽的對嗎？

Yes, Alma said to me when Theodora didn’t come to her party, it was the last straw. I don’t understand. What could a straw do?
是的，阿爾瑪對我說，當希歐多爾拉沒有來她的聚會時，這就是最後一根稻草了。我不理解。一根稻草能做什麼呢？

Oh, Alma was just using an expression. What she really meant was, things were not going well between them because of things that had happened in the past.
噢，阿爾瑪只是用了一個短語。她真正的意思是，她們兩人之間的事情進展得不順利是因為過去已經發生的事情。

Well Theodora did miss quite a few of our gatherings.
希歐多爾拉確實錯過了我們的不少聚會。

When Theodora didn’t come to Alma’s party, that was the final thing that made Alma really angry, giving up on their friendship.
希歐多爾拉不來阿爾瑪聚會的時候，是使阿爾瑪真正生氣的最後一件事情，放棄了她們之間的友誼。

Oh, I see, so the last straw means the last thing or event that caused the total melt down.
噢，我懂了，因此最後一根稻草的意思是說使得徹底垮臺的最後一件事情或事件。

That’s right, we often hear the phrase ’the last straw’, when people are talking about repeated problems or issues that aren’t getting better, then the smallest thing happens, people finally lose their composure and explode.
對，我們經常聽到“最後一根稻草”這個短語，當人們再三談論一些沒有好轉的問題和事情時，發生了一件微不足道的事情，人們最終也會不再沉著冷靜，而是爆發了。

I see.
我明白了。

Let’s hear how it’s used.
讓我們來聽聽這個短語是怎麼用的吧。

I’ve never seen you so angry.
我從沒見過你這麼生氣。

I have had such a bad day. I woke up late and rushed out of the house, then missed my bus by seconds, got in to work and was told there would be no pay rise this year. When the dinner lady said I put too much salad on my plate, it was the last straw.
我這一天過得太不順利了。我起晚了，從家裡衝出去，卻晚了幾秒錯過了公車，工作的時候被告知今年不會有任何加薪。當餐廳女服務員說我往碟子裡放了太多沙拉的時候，這就是使我無法忍受的最後一擊了。

The paper factory has struggled to stay open in the last few years; the new tax charge was the last straw, forcing it to shut down after 30 years in business.
在過去幾年裡，造紙廠努力開門營業，但新稅費是最終導致其失敗的原因，使得造紙廠在營業30年後被迫關閉。

Just so you know. Some people also say ‘the final straw’, and it means the same as ‘the last straw’.
只是想要你知道。一些人也會說“最終的一根稻草”，意思和“最後一根稻草”是一樣的。

Thanks for the clarification. I do hope my friends can resolve their differences. Friendship is worth saving.
謝謝說明。我確實很希望我朋友能解決她們之間的分歧。友誼值得挽回。

Absolutely.
沒錯。

Bye.
再見。