评论
打印
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Neil. And I’m Beth.
你好。这里是BBC英语六分钟。我是尼尔。我是贝丝。
There are many ways of saying sorry in English, and they all have a slightly different meaning.
英语中的对不起有很多种表达方式，它们的意思都略有不同。
If you tell me you’re ill, and I say, “Oh, I'm sorry”, that means: I sympathise, and I hope you get better soon.
如果你告诉我你病了，我说:“哦，对不起”，意思是:我同情你，希望你很快好起来。
If you step on my toes by mistake, and say, “I’m so sorry”, you mean: oops that was my fault and I didn't mean to do it.
如果你不小心踩到我的脚趾，然后说:“我很抱歉”，你的意思是: 哎呀，那是我的错，我不是故意的。
And if you don’t really feel sorry, you might be sarcastic, “Oh, I’m soooo sorry! ” meaning exactly the opposite—that you’re not sorry at all.
如果你不是真的感到抱歉，你可能会讽刺地说:“哦，我太抱歉了！ ”，意思恰恰相反——你一点也不后悔。
Saying sorry for something you’ve done in English can be quite confusing, and to make things worse, the British are world champions at apologising.
用英语为你做过的事道歉会很容易让人混淆，更糟糕的是，英国人是喜欢道歉的世界冠军。
In this programme we'll discuss ways of saying sorry, and as usual we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.
在本期节目中，我们将讨论说对不起的方式，并且像往常一样，我们也会学习一些有用的新词汇。
Sorry! but I'm going to have to stop you there, Beth, because first I have a question to ask.
对不起！ 但我得打断你了，贝丝，因为首先我有个问题要问你。
We know that the British love to say sorry.
我们都知道英国人喜欢说对不起。
In fact a recent survey found that some Brits apologise up to twenty times a day.
事实上，最近的一项调查发现，一些英国人一天道歉多达20次。
So according to the same survey, how many times per day does the average Brit say sorry?
那么根据同一项调查，英国人平均每天说几次对不起呢?
Is it: a) four times per day? b) six times per day? or, c) eight times per day?
是a)每天四次?B)每天六次? 还是c)每天8次?
I'm going to guess it’s six times a day.
我猜是一天六次。
OK, Beth, I’ll reveal the answer later in the programme.
好的，贝丝，稍后我会在节目中揭晓答案。
Since the British are famous for apologising it’s no surprise that Louise Mullany started researching the language of apologising in Britain, at the University of Nottingham.
英国人以道歉著称，难怪露易丝·穆兰尼在诺丁汉大学已经开始研究英国的道歉语言。
Now a professor of sociolinguistics, Louise spoke with BBC Radio 4 programme, Word of Mouth:
露易丝现在是一名社会语言学教授，她在接受BBC广播4频道的《口碑》节目采访时说:
And I was really interested in looking at how people apologise, particularly public figures so I did a lot of research in the workplace and looking at the media, and looking at politicians in particular,
我对人们如何道歉很感兴趣，尤其是公众人物，所以我在工作场所做了很多研究，研究了媒体，尤其是政治家，
and one of the things that really interested me at the time was a lot of writers were talking about us entering an age of an apology, and there's a real sense that public figures in particular are called upon to apologise for multiple different things, and if they don't apologise then that's a big faux pas.
当时我很感兴趣的一件事是，很多作家都在谈论我们进入了一个道歉的时代，人们真心觉得，公众人物尤其要为很多不同的事情道歉，如果他们不道歉，那就是一个很大的失礼。
Saying sorry is especially important in politics, and Professor Mullany studied the apologies of public figures—famous people, including politicians, who are often discussed in newspapers and seen on radio and television.
道歉在政治中尤其重要，穆兰尼教授研究了公众人物的道歉——包括政治家在内的名人，他们经常在报纸上被讨论，在广播和电视上被播报。
When politicians make mistakes they are expected to apologise, and failing to say sorry is a faux pas—a remark made in a social situation that causes embarrassment or offence.
当政治家犯错时，他们应该道歉，而不道歉是一种失礼——在社交场合说的会引起尴尬或冒犯的话。
Most politicians hate apologising and with good reason.
大多数政客讨厌道歉，而且有充分的理由。
Saying sorry means taking responsibility, and the apology needs to be sincere.
道歉意味着承担责任，道歉必须真诚。
A good example of this is the apology Boris Johnson made to the House of Commons during the 'Partygate' scandal in the UK when he broke COVID lockdown rules and had to pay a fine - a sum of money paid as a punishment for breaking the rules.
一个很好的例子是，鲍里斯·约翰逊在英国“派对门”丑闻期间向下议院道歉，当时他违反了新冠肺炎的封锁规定，不得不支付罚款——这是对违反规定的惩罚。
Here, Professor Louise Mullany, analyses the apology for BBC Radio 4 programme, Word of Mouth:
下面，露易丝·穆兰尼教授在BBC广播4台节目《口碑》中分析了这次道歉:
It's very unusual in a political apology because he comes out and says, ‘I am responsible’, but there is the caveat that he wasn't certain that he was breaking the rules, he didn't realise which he continues to say in his apology that came out after the fine, so he repeats the apology, and he caveats it around other political events...
这在政治道歉中是非常不寻常的，因为他站出来说，‘我有责任’，但有一点需要注意，他不确定自己是否违反了规定，他没有意识到他在罚款后的道歉中继续说了什么，所以他重复了道歉，并在其他政治事件中提出了警告……
and he uses humility when he was in the House the day after he paid his fine, and was very quick to say, ‘I've paid the fine, I’ve given the reparation, I’ve paid the money, let's draw a line under the whole business now’.
在缴纳罚款的第二天，他在众议院表现得很谦虚，他很快就说，‘我已经缴纳了罚款，我已经赔偿了，我已经付了钱，让我们现在就把整个事情划个句号吧。’
Boris Johnson claimed he didn’t know he was breaking the rules.
鲍里斯·约翰逊声称他不知道自己违反了规定。
His apology contained a caveat—a warning that what he said was limited, or not completely true.
他的道歉包含了一个警告——警告说他的发言是有限的，或者不完全正确。
Eventually, Boris Johnson did apologise, but many people didn’t trust him and he couldn’t draw a line under the 'Partygate' scandal.
最终，鲍里斯·约翰逊确实道歉了，但很多人不信任他，他也无法与“党派门”丑闻划清界限。
If you draw a line under something, you try to move on from a bad situation and make a fresh start.
如果你与某事划清界限，意味着你试图从糟糕的情况中走出来，重新开始。
Apologising is hard work—the apology must be sincere, and often the person does something to show they mean it.
道歉是件很困难的事——道歉必须是真诚的，而且通常人们会做一些事情来表明他们是认真的。
Which reminds me that it’s time to reveal the answer to my question, Beth.
这提醒了我是时候揭晓问题的答案了，贝丝。
Yes. You asked me how many times a day the average Brit says sorry, and I guessed it was six. Was I right?
是的。你问我英国人平均每天说几次对不起，我猜是6次。我说的对吗?
Well, I’m very sorry, but that was… the wrong answer.
我很抱歉，但你答错了。
The average Brit says sorry around eight times a day, making it probably the most over-used word in the English language.
英国人平均每天说8次对不起，这可能是英语中被滥用最多的单词。
Sorry about that!
不好意思了！
Right, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned from this programme about saying sorry, starting with sarcastic, doing or saying the opposite of what you really mean, for example saying ‘I’m reeeally sorry! ’, when you aren’t.
好的，让我们回顾一下本期节目中学到的关于道歉的词汇，讽刺是做或说与你真正想法相反的事情，例如说“我真的很抱歉！”，而你却没有感到抱歉。
A public figure is a famous person whose life and behaviour is often discussed in the media and in public.
公众人物是指其生活和行为经常在媒体和公众场合被讨论的名人。
A faux pas is a socially embarrassing remark or action.
失礼是指在社交场合发生的令人尴尬的言论或行为。
A fine is a sum of money paid as a punishment for doing something illegal or breaking a rule.
罚款是因违法行为或违反规定而支付的一笔钱。
If you say something with a caveat, it contains a warning that what you have said may not be completely true or is limited in some way.
如果你带着警告说某事，它会包含一个警告，你所说的可能不完全正确或在某种程度上是有限的。
And finally, if you draw a line under something you consider it finished in order to move on and make a fresh start.
最后，如果你和某事划清界限，意味着你认为它已经完成了，以便继续前进，重新开始。
I’m sorry to say that, once again, our six minutes are up and it’s time to draw a line under this programme! Goodbye for now! Bye!
我很抱歉地说，我们的六分钟又到了，是时候结束本期节目了！ 再见了！ 拜拜！
