前些日子我在電視購(gòu)物頻道上看到一種面霜,號(hào)稱美白效果特別好。我趕緊買了一瓶。結(jié)果用了快3個(gè)月了,一點(diǎn)效果也沒(méi)有。而且看起來(lái)挺大一瓶,實(shí)際上里面的面霜就那么一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)! 唉,我對(duì)這個(gè)產(chǎn)品失望透頂,不過(guò)這也讓我想到一個(gè)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ):at face value.
At face value 的意思是“根據(jù)外表,從表面上看”。電視購(gòu)物頻道播廣告賣面霜,I accepted all those claims about its effectiveness at face value, 我把面霜功效的廣告詞當(dāng)真了。
下面這段話就談到了一個(gè)很多人喜歡的消遣--打電玩,到底這是不是一個(gè)健康的活動(dòng)呢?我們來(lái)聽(tīng)一聽(tīng):
例句-1:At face value, playing video games seems like harmless fun. Yet psychologists recognize that it can be a real problem. About 8.5% of boys play for more than two hours a day. They often lose interest in other activities and people, gain weight and lose sleep. Their overuse of video games might require professional help.
這段話是說(shuō):從表面上看,打電玩似乎是一種完全無(wú)害的娛樂(lè)活動(dòng)。不過(guò),心理學(xué)家們發(fā)現(xiàn),打電玩可以帶來(lái)真正的問(wèn)題。大約百分之8點(diǎn)5的男孩子每天打電玩超過(guò)兩小時(shí),他們經(jīng)常會(huì)對(duì)其它的活動(dòng)和人失去興趣,還會(huì)長(zhǎng)胖,缺少睡眠。他們過(guò)分沉溺在電玩中,可能需要專業(yè)人士幫助才能脫癮。
聽(tīng)說(shuō)現(xiàn)在有專門的治療中心,幫助這些打電玩成癮的人。
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英語(yǔ)里有個(gè)諺語(yǔ),叫l(wèi)ooks can be deceiving, 意思是“外表可能會(huì)騙人”。這讓我想到2008年美國(guó)總統(tǒng)大選共和黨的副總統(tǒng)候選人佩林。她現(xiàn)在雖然不當(dāng)州長(zhǎng)了,但寫書、上電視,忙得很。從表面上看,她人氣很旺,可是最近一個(gè)民調(diào)結(jié)果卻顯示,美國(guó)人對(duì)她并不怎么喜歡,就連她老家阿拉斯加的民眾對(duì)她也并不熱情。這也許又證明了,凡事不能看表面。我們來(lái)聽(tīng)一聽(tīng)下面這個(gè)句子:
例句-2: We were shocked when Ms. Rogers suddenly retired. The new CEO claimed that she had decided to spend more time with her family. But I didn't take that explanation at face value. Before long, we discovered the truth: Ms. Rogers had been forced out of her position by her successor.
這段話意思是:羅杰斯女士突然宣布退休時(shí),我們都吃了一驚。新的行政總裁說(shuō),羅杰斯女士退休是想花更多的時(shí)間陪家里人。不過(guò),我可沒(méi)把這種說(shuō)法當(dāng)真。不久,我們就發(fā)現(xiàn)了真相,羅杰斯女士是被她的繼任者擠兌走的。
辦公室里常有這樣的爭(zhēng)斗和勾心斗角,還好,我和我老板關(guān)系很不。