【在生活中學習語言】〈 職人英語通〉澆人冷水 To rain on someone’s parade! 

文／Dr.J.J. 圖／老唐

當你興高采烈的跟別人分享某個想法，如果對方非但不支持，反而還說出很令人沮喪的評論之語時，那種感覺就好像突然被人從頭上澆了一盆冷水，說有多掃興就有多掃興！

遇上這種情況，英語會用”to rain on someone’s parade”這句話來表示。parade是遊行的意思，試著想像一下，假如在遊行中卻突如其來碰上一陣大雨，不是沒戲唱且全身都濕透了嗎？所以，「在某人的遊行隊伍上頭下起雨來」也就是中文裡「掃興」或是「澆人冷水」的意思了。

Grace：I need to run, see you tomorrow!

Grace：我要閃了，明天見！

Patty：What’s the hurry for? You are seeing someone now?

Patty：幹嘛這麼急？你是談戀愛了喔？

Grace：No, you know I want to take a long break from relationship. My past experiences have been too traumatic…

Grace：不是啦，你明知道我短時間內是不會碰感情的。過去幾次經驗太慘痛了…

Patty：Then I don’t understand. You always asked around to see if anyone wanted to have dinner with you after work.

Patty：那麼我就不懂了。你之前每次下班都到處問有沒有人要跟你一起吃晚餐的。

Grace：I’m actually looking around for a store to start up my own business.

Grace：我現在正到處找有沒有店面可以開業。

Patty：What? You mean you are serious about that idea of quitting and having your own clothing store?

Patty：什麼？你是當真要辭職，然後開自己的服飾店？

Grace：Yes, I’ve made up my mind. I am tired of working for others. I want to work for myself! I’ve got some savings and I know how to get those really cheap but fashionable Korean stuff.

Grace：是啊，我已經下定決心了。我厭倦替別人工作了。我要做自己的老闆！我存了點錢，而且也知道哪裡可以弄到又便宜又流行的韓國貨。

Patty：I think it’s too risky. There are so many stores doing this already plus you know how high rental has gone up

……

Patty：我覺得風險太大了。現在有太多店在賣這一類的商品，而且你也知道店租已經飆多高了。

Grace：Hey, don’t rain on my parade before I even start. You know this is something I’ve always wanted to do. At least you can give me some moral support!

Grace：嘿，不要這樣澆我冷水啦。你知道這是我一直以來想要做的事情。至少也該給我一些精神上的支持吧！

Patty：Hey, don’t get me wrong! I just want you to be more careful. Right! Do I have the pleasure to go check out those places with you together?

Patty：不要誤解我的意思！我只是要你小心點嘛。好吧，我有這個榮幸陪你一起去看看那些店面嗎？

自由時報-970807
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