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內容簡介

在漢語日常交流對話中，當別人問的問題需要一個很長的解釋時，我們可能會以 “說來話長” 作答。在這期節目中，主持人 Neil 和菲菲教你 “說來話長” 的英文表達方式和具體用法。聽他們的對話。

文字稿

（關于臺詞的備注: 請注意這不是廣播節目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能沒有體現錄制、編輯過程中對節目做出的改變。）

Feifei
Hello! 大家好。Welcome to Authentic Real English from BBC Learning English. 我是馮菲菲。

Neil
… and hello, I’m Neil. Err, sorry to mention it, Feifei, but why is there a big coffee stain on your top?

Feifei
Because I spilt coffee all over me!

Neil
Oh, that was silly… and did I notice when you arrived that you were limping?

Feifei
哎，別提了! Thereby hangs a tale.

Neil
What? Did you trip over a tail?

Feifei
No, no. I mean there’s more to tell you. 在英語里，表達 “thereby hangs a tale” 的意思是 “說來話長，其中大有文章”。當別人問的問題需要一個很長的解釋時，我們就可以用 “thereby hangs a tale” 來告訴他們你的回答會很長，因為有很多要解釋的東西。“Thereby hangs a tale” 這個表達出自莎士比亞的喜劇《皆大歡喜》。Now, let me explain why I have a coffee stain and a limp.

Neil
If it involves me, then no!

Feifei
It does.

Neil
Oh, well. Shall we have some examples of ‘thereby hangs a tale’?

Examples
A: Why are you covered in mud?
B: Well, thereby hangs a tale.

I won that medal for bravery – and thereby hangs a tale.

What a journey! All the main roads were closed so we had to drive cross-country – and thereby hangs a tale.

Feifei
你正在收聽的是 BBC英語教學的 “地道英語” 節目。這期節目中，我們給大家介紹如何用表達 “thereby hangs a tale” 來告訴別人一個問題的回答有一個很長的解釋，也就是我們常說的 “說來話長”。Neil, can you guess what’s happened?

Neil
Hmm, so you have a limp, and you have a coffee stain on your top – were you dancing with a full cup of coffee?

Feifei
I wasn’t. In fact, I was walking to the studio, carefully carrying my coffee, when I tripped over a bag of potatoes in the corridor.

Neil
Ah, that’s my bag of potatoes!

Feifei
I thought so, but why is there a bag of potatoes in the corridor?

Neil
Ah, well, thereby hangs a tale!

Feifei
I’m all ears.

Neil
I’ll tell you later. It’s time to go now. Bye.

Feifei
Bye!