內容簡介

“Eat your heart out” 這個表達是不是聽起來既嚇人又荒唐？人怎么能 “eat your heart out” 呢？這個表達和 “吃” 有關系嗎？聽菲菲和 Rob 的對話，學習使用這個夸張的表達。

文字稿

Feifei
大家好，歡迎來到 BBC英語教學的 “地道英語” 節目。我是馮菲菲。

Rob
And hello, I'm Rob. In this programme, as you know, we like to add a little humour while teaching our phrases.

Feifei
是的，在這檔節目里，我們喜歡在講解一個地道表達的過程中制造些誤會，加點幽默。比如，我們當中的一個人經常假裝不理解所教表達的實際意思，故意通過表達的字面意思來鬧個笑話。

Rob
Yes, we take it too literally: we only understand its word-for-word meaning.

Feifei
But with this phrase, that would just be too horrible.

Rob
And disgusting.

Feifei
And not to mention… physically impossible.

Rob
So let’s not go there. Today’s phrase is: eat your heart out.

Feifei
“Eat your heart out”！聽起來很恐怖，是不是？不過，請放心，“eat your heart out” 和要吃掉人體的一個重要器官沒有關系。

Rob
It’s an unusual expression. When people say it, they often follow it with the name of a famous or successful person that they want to be compared to.

Feifei
聽起來很奇怪，人們通常會在 “eat your heart out” 后面加上一個名人或成功人士的名字，把自己和這位名人來做比較。這是為什么呢？我們舉個例子來幫助大家理解。假設你在畫一幅畫，當你畫完了的時候，你說：“Eat your heart out, Picasso! 我比你強多了，畢加索！”

Rob
What you’re saying is that your painting is better than Picasso’s.

Feifei
但因為畢加索是一位真正的大師，而你畫的畫與大師的作品無法同臺競技，所以你是以開玩笑的口氣來說這句話的——“Eat your heart out, Picasso!”。

Rob
And that’s how people often use it: as a joke. After doing something impressive, they say ‘eat your heart out’ followed by someone who is famous for doing that thing.

Feifei
我們大多在做了一件讓自己感到自豪或給人留下深刻印象的事情后用這個表達。For example, after cooking a fantastic meal, you might say ‘eat your heart out’, and the name of a celebrity chef – even if you don’t really think your cooking is better than the chef’s.

Rob
It’s almost like a fun way of expressing pride in your work, without sounding too arrogant. I think it’s best if we hear a few more examples.

Examples
A: What a goal! How did you score that?!
B: Not bad, eh? Eat your heart out, Ronaldo!

I’ve been practising all month and I think I’m getting pretty good. Want to hear me sing? OK, here goes… Eat your heart out, Beyonce!

A: Would you mind helping me lift this table?
B: No problem, I’ll do it. Eat your heart out, Hulk!
A: Err, it’s just a table. You’re not an Avenger!

Feifei
這里是 BBC英語教學的 “地道英語” 節目。

Rob
So there we are – humorously comparing someone’s football skills to Ronaldo’s, their singing ability to Beyonce’s and their strength to Hulk from the movies. And we’ve resisted all temptation to create a situation where we ask Feifei to actually eat a heart.

Feifei
Thank goodness. I really don’t feel hungry in any case.

Rob
Neither do I. Bye!