"布朗尼加分"口语课堂第2期:"腹痛"之谜

Hi, 我是Rose, 欢迎光临“布朗尼加分”口语课堂。希望通过在这里的积累，能够给您未来的表现增加更多的“Brownie Points”印象分。今天开始，Rose 要和大家一起，先读故事，再学习语。在开始学习之前，Rose 有一个小小的要求，遇到不是太熟悉的短语或习语请大家先不要着急去后面找解释，而是通过上下文意思先自行判断。这样能够帮助大家更扎实地记忆想要掌握的知识。好了，我们马上开始今天的故事旅程。

One day, an old lady isn't feeling well. She goes to see the doctor in her small town. "What's the matter?"the doctor asks. "I have a stomachache. And I'm running a fever,"she tells him. The doctor takes an X-ray. He's shocked when he looks at it. There's a 12-inch piece of metal in her stomach. "That takes the cake!" he thinks. "No wonder she has a stomachache!" The old lady then remembers an operation she has 25 years ago. Apparently, the surgeon made a big mistake and left a medical instrument inside her. "We need to get rid of it," says the doctor. "You need an operation." The old lady has cold feet and wants to put it off. But her doctor wants her to have the operation right away. Now the medical instrument is gone and the old lady is recovering.

1. That takes the cake! 在这个故事当中意思相当于“That's really strange, that's the worst!”简直太奇怪了！糟糕透了！something takes the cake意思就是something is the most extreme, 也就是“最……”的一个表达法。
比如这个例子：I've known some jerks but you take the cake. 我认识的蠢人是不少，但你绝对是其中翘楚。

2. 再来看No wonder的用法。No wonder意思是“It's not surprising!”汉语翻译为“难怪……”
No wonder people say computers are taking over the world. 难怪有人说计算机正渐渐接管世界。
No wonder the firm makes a loss; the office is terribly overstaffed. 难怪公司亏损，办公室严重超编。

3. have cold feet 表达的是“be afraid to do something” 害怕做某件事的意思。有的时候也翻译为“临阵退缩”。
来看例句：A: What's wrong? Would you like to tell me?
B: Just got cold feet about meeting myself face to face. 原来问题是“不敢面对自己。”

今天我们的故事就讲到这里。尝试使用一下已经了解的习惯表达法。 Practice makes perfect. 我们下期“布朗尼加分”口语课堂见。