今天的这段对话，在讨论短语，
聊聊一个关于花卉和园艺的短语
来听今天的讲解:
A: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak. I'm Helen.
大家好，欢迎收看《我们说英语》。我是海伦。
B: Hi, I'm William. Today Hampton Court Palace Flower Show is opening.
嗨，我是威廉。今天汉普顿宫花展开幕。
Music, birdsong
音乐，鸟鸣
A: Oh, Hampton Court Palace Flower Show – the world's largest flower show! I've seen it on the news before. If only I had a garden!
哦，汉普顿宫花展——世界上最大的花展！我以前在新闻上看到过。如果我有一个花园就好了！
B: Ah yes, you live in an apartment, don't you Helen?
啊，是的，你住在公寓里，是不是海伦？
A: Yeah. So William, let me guess, today we are going to do a phrase relating to flowers and gardening?
是的。那么威廉，让我猜一猜，今天我们要做一个关于花卉和园艺的短语？
B: Exactly.
完全正确。
A: So...? What's the phrase?
所以短语是什么？
B: Er... Well, how about... how about... er. No, it's gone. It's no good. I can't think of a phrase right now.
呃…嗯，怎么样…怎么样…呃。不，它不见了。这不好。我现在想不出一个短语了。
A: Oh well. Let's just have a chat instead. I'm tired of learning new phrases anyway.
哦，好吧。我们还是聊聊吧。反正我已经厌倦了学习新短语了。
B: OK. Well, how are you Helen? How are the kids?
好的。海伦，你好吗？孩子们好吗？
A: Oh they are both really well. My little boy eats too much chocolate though!
哦，他们俩都很好。不过我的小男孩吃巧克力太多了！
B: Oh really? Well, you want to nip that in the bud.
哦，真的吗？好吧，你想把它扼杀在萌芽状态。
A: Eh? Nip it in the bud?
呃？把它扼杀在萌芽状态？
B: Nip it in the bud. If you nip something in the bud, you stop it before it becomes a problem. Listen to this example from a business context:
防患于未然。如果你把某件事防患于萌芽，你就会在它成为问题之前停止它。从商业环境中听这个例子：
Man: The last few deliveries we've had from this company have all had broken parts in them.
我们从这家公司收到的最后几批货都有坏零件。
Woman: Well, we need to nip that in the bud. Tell them that unless their service improves, we're going to look for another supplier.
好吧，我们需要把它扼杀在萌芽状态。告诉他们，除非他们的服务有所改善，否则我们将寻找另一家供应商。
A: So in that example, the man was complaining about poor service from a supplier. The woman wanted to nip it in the bud.
所以在那个例子中，那个男人抱怨供应商的服务不好。那个女人想把它扼杀在萌芽状态。
B: That's right. She wanted to take steps to improve the service before it got even worse.
没错。她想在情况变得更糟之前采取措施改善服务。
A: So where does this phrase come from William – to nip something in the bud?
那么，这句话是从哪里来的呢——把一些事情扼杀在萌芽状态？
Birdsong and music
鸟鸣与音乐
B: Well, it comes from gardening, actually. A bud is the part of a plant that becomes a flower, a leaf or stem. If you nip something in the bud, you cut the bud off the plant before it has time to grow.
事实上，它来自园艺。芽是植物变成花朵、叶子或茎的部分。如果你把一些东西夹在芽中，你会在植物生长之前把芽剪掉。
A: Oh. That's not very nice.
哦，那不太好。
B: Well, gardening is a tough game, Helen. You have to nip things in the bud sometimes. You also have to kill slugs and snails.
嗯，园艺是一项艰巨的任务，海伦。有时你必须防患于未然。你还必须杀死蛞蝓和蜗牛。
A: Eugh! I'm glad I don't have a garden.
啊！我很高兴我没有花园。
B: Bye!
再见！
A: Bye!
再见！
聊聊一个关于花卉和园艺的短语
来听今天的讲解:
A: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak. I'm Helen.
大家好，欢迎收看《我们说英语》。我是海伦。
B: Hi, I'm William. Today Hampton Court Palace Flower Show is opening.
嗨，我是威廉。今天汉普顿宫花展开幕。
Music, birdsong
音乐，鸟鸣
A: Oh, Hampton Court Palace Flower Show – the world's largest flower show! I've seen it on the news before. If only I had a garden!
哦，汉普顿宫花展——世界上最大的花展！我以前在新闻上看到过。如果我有一个花园就好了！
B: Ah yes, you live in an apartment, don't you Helen?
啊，是的，你住在公寓里，是不是海伦？
A: Yeah. So William, let me guess, today we are going to do a phrase relating to flowers and gardening?
是的。那么威廉，让我猜一猜，今天我们要做一个关于花卉和园艺的短语？
B: Exactly.
完全正确。
A: So...? What's the phrase?
所以短语是什么？
B: Er... Well, how about... how about... er. No, it's gone. It's no good. I can't think of a phrase right now.
呃…嗯，怎么样…怎么样…呃。不，它不见了。这不好。我现在想不出一个短语了。
A: Oh well. Let's just have a chat instead. I'm tired of learning new phrases anyway.
哦，好吧。我们还是聊聊吧。反正我已经厌倦了学习新短语了。
B: OK. Well, how are you Helen? How are the kids?
好的。海伦，你好吗？孩子们好吗？
A: Oh they are both really well. My little boy eats too much chocolate though!
哦，他们俩都很好。不过我的小男孩吃巧克力太多了！
B: Oh really? Well, you want to nip that in the bud.
哦，真的吗？好吧，你想把它扼杀在萌芽状态。
A: Eh? Nip it in the bud?
呃？把它扼杀在萌芽状态？
B: Nip it in the bud. If you nip something in the bud, you stop it before it becomes a problem. Listen to this example from a business context:
防患于未然。如果你把某件事防患于萌芽，你就会在它成为问题之前停止它。从商业环境中听这个例子：
Man: The last few deliveries we've had from this company have all had broken parts in them.
我们从这家公司收到的最后几批货都有坏零件。
Woman: Well, we need to nip that in the bud. Tell them that unless their service improves, we're going to look for another supplier.
好吧，我们需要把它扼杀在萌芽状态。告诉他们，除非他们的服务有所改善，否则我们将寻找另一家供应商。
A: So in that example, the man was complaining about poor service from a supplier. The woman wanted to nip it in the bud.
所以在那个例子中，那个男人抱怨供应商的服务不好。那个女人想把它扼杀在萌芽状态。
B: That's right. She wanted to take steps to improve the service before it got even worse.
没错。她想在情况变得更糟之前采取措施改善服务。
A: So where does this phrase come from William – to nip something in the bud?
那么，这句话是从哪里来的呢——把一些事情扼杀在萌芽状态？
Birdsong and music
鸟鸣与音乐
B: Well, it comes from gardening, actually. A bud is the part of a plant that becomes a flower, a leaf or stem. If you nip something in the bud, you cut the bud off the plant before it has time to grow.
事实上，它来自园艺。芽是植物变成花朵、叶子或茎的部分。如果你把一些东西夹在芽中，你会在植物生长之前把芽剪掉。
A: Oh. That's not very nice.
哦，那不太好。
B: Well, gardening is a tough game, Helen. You have to nip things in the bud sometimes. You also have to kill slugs and snails.
嗯，园艺是一项艰巨的任务，海伦。有时你必须防患于未然。你还必须杀死蛞蝓和蜗牛。
A: Eugh! I'm glad I don't have a garden.
啊！我很高兴我没有花园。
B: Bye!
再见！
A: Bye!
再见！
