The english we speak(BBC教学)第340期:No great shakes 不怎么样
Rob's not impressed with a new cafe that's opened near the office. Feifei thinks he's just not happy with the quality of the milkshakes but as you'll hear, there's something else about the place he's not happy with. Learn a great new expression in The English We Speak.
罗布认为办公室附近新开的咖啡厅不怎么样。菲菲认为他只是不满意奶昔的质量，不过大家会听到罗布说他其实是对其他的事情不满意。本期地道英语节目将教大家一个很棒的新短语。Rob: Hello, I'm Rob...
罗布：大家好，我是罗布。Feifei: I'm Feifei and this is The English We Speak.
菲菲：我是菲菲，欢迎大家收听地道英语节目。
Rob: Now Feifei, did you try out that new cafe on the way to work today?
罗布：菲菲，你今天在上班路上有没有去那家新开的咖啡厅？Feifei: Yes, I did – I was really impressed – the new cafe has a great range of food and friendly staff. So have you tried it Rob?
菲菲：我去了，那家新开的咖啡厅令我印象深刻，他们有很多种食物，而且员工也很友好。罗布，你去过那家咖啡厅吗？Rob: Yeah, I've been there twice now – but, well, it's no great shakes.
罗布：去过，我去过两次，不过我觉得那里不怎么样。Feifei: No great shakes?! That's the best thing about it, they sell amazing banana milkshakes... mmmm
菲菲：没有很好的奶昔？那家咖啡厅的奶昔是最棒的，他们卖的香蕉奶昔非常美味……嗯。Rob: No, no, no. I wasn't talking about the shakes – I was referring to the cafe generally – there's nowhere to sit, the queues are long, and they didn't put enough froth on my skinny cappuccino – so it's no great shakes – in other words, it's not very good.
罗布：不是，我不是这个意思。我说的并不是奶昔，我指的是那家咖啡厅，那里没有地方坐，要排很长的队，他们在我的低脂卡布奇诺咖啡里放的泡沫也不够，所以那家咖啡厅不怎么样，换句话说，那里不太好。Feifei: Oh so no great shakes is an expression that means it's not very good. So you're not impressed?
菲菲：哦，所以no great shakes这个表达方式的意思是“不太好”。所以你对那家餐厅没什么好感？Rob: I'm afraid not. And no great shakes also means 'ordinary' which describes this cafe. Let's hear some more examples of this phrase in action...
罗布：恐怕是这样的。这个短语也有“普通”的意思，可以用来描述这家咖啡厅。我们来听些例句，看这个短语如何应用。Examples
例句My sister puts on a good dinner party but she's no great shakes when it comes to cooking!
我姐姐举办了一场很棒的晚宴，但要说到厨艺，她就不怎么样了！That new singer has a great voice but he's no great shakes at playing the guitar.
那位刚出道歌手的嗓音很好听，但是他吉他弹得不太好。The film sequel is no great shakes compared with the first one – there was no story and the special effects were awful!
和第一部相比，这部电影的续集不怎么样，没有什么剧情，特效也很糟糕！Feifei: So that's the expression no great shakes which means not very good or not very impressive. But Rob, maybe if you did try the banana milkshake it might change your opinion about the cafe? Look, I've got one here...
菲菲：所以这个表达方式的意思就是不太好或是令人印象不太深刻。不过罗布，也许你尝试了他们家的香蕉奶昔以后，你会改变对那家咖啡厅的看法。看，我这里有一杯……Rob: Mmmm, thanks, yeah... It's not bad, actually. This is a great shake. OK, well, perhaps I'll give it a second chance...
罗布：嗯，谢谢，嗯，味道还不错。这杯奶昔很好喝。好，也许我应该再给那家咖啡厅一次机会。Feifei: Where are you going?
菲菲：你要去哪儿？Rob: To buy a milkshake!
罗布：去买杯奶昔！Feifei: You do know they cost four pounds?
菲菲：你知道一杯奶昔要4英镑吗？Rob: What? Four pounds! Yes well, as I was saying, that cafe really is no great shakes.
罗布：什么？4英镑！好吧，正如我之前所说，那家咖啡厅真不怎么样。Feifei: If you say so Rob. Bye.
菲菲：你说是就是吧，罗布。再见。Rob: Bye.
罗布：再见。
译文属仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载
重点讲解：
1. try out 试验；测验；
例句：London Transport hopes to try out the system in September.
伦敦交通系统有望在 9 月份对该系统进行试运营。
2. no great shakes 技术不高的；不出色的；无效的；
例句：I'm no great shakes as a detective.
作为一名侦探我并不出色。
3. in other words 换言之；换句话说；也就是说；
例句：In other words, this kind of question is often a lead-in to a suggestion or invitation.
换言之，这种问题通常是建议或邀请的开场白。
4. when it comes to 谈到；涉及；
例句：However, when it comes to somebody that they know, they have a different feeling.
然而，涉及他们认识的人，他们的感觉就不同了。
5. compared with 与…相比；和…比起来；
例句：The room was light and lofty compared with our Tudor ones.
跟我们都铎风格的房间比起来，这个房间显得素雅而大气。
