【在生活中學習語言】〈 職人英語通〉 每況愈下Out of the frying pan and into the fire!

文／Dr.J.J. 圖／老唐

雖然有時候我們會抱怨情況很糟，但萬萬沒想到接踵而來的事情卻更為棘手。舉個例子來說，如果今天你「剛從一個煎鍋裡逃出來，卻又一頭栽進火堆中──out of the frying pan and into the fire.」，這番景象是豈不更為淒涼、更為悲慘呢？！而這句話，用來表達中文裡常說的「每況愈下」，似乎也十分貼切呢！

Dick：Hey, it’s me, Dick. I’m just calling to see if you wanna go for a drink? We can go to the bar and have some beer before heading back for a good night’s sleep.

Dick：嘿，是我，Dick。我打電話來問你要不要一起去喝一杯？我們可以去那家酒吧喝點啤酒，再回家好好睡一覺。

Kevin：Can you wait for me for another 30 minutes? I really need to finish up this proposal and send it out today.

Kevin：可以等我30分鐘嗎？我要先趕完這份提案，今天要送出去。

Dick：I can’t believe it! You’re still at the office?

Dick：我無法相信！你還在辦公室啊？

Kevin：Yes, and I haven’t even eaten yet. I’m starving.

Kevin：是啊，我還沒吃飯呢。都快餓死了。

Dick：My God! It’s almost 11 PM and you still haven’t had dinner yet?

Dick：天啊！都快11點了，你還沒吃晚餐？

Kevin：I’ve been working like this for a month already. I really don’t like my life at all.

Kevin：我已經這樣工作快一個月了。我真討厭我自己的生活。

Dick：Ha, stop moaning and whining about life again. We should be grateful that at least we’ve got a job. So many people are unemployed.

Dick：好啦，不要再這樣怨天尤人了。至少我們得慶幸自己還有工作。很多人還在失業呢。

Kevin：That’s true.

Kevin：也對啦。

Dick：Wait a second! Didn’t you just change job?

Dick：等等！你不是才剛換工作？

Kevin：Yes, I wasn’t even given a honeymoon period. In fact, I was working till midnight on my 2nd day at the new job.

Kevin：對啊，連蜜月期都沒有呢。事實上，剛報到的第二天晚上，我就加班到半夜了。

自由時報-971120

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