英语早间课堂:A Fly in the Ointment

【直击主题】

There's a phrase which expresses that "a bad person or a poor thing in a group would do harm to others or take abjective influence to the members in the whole group , or even the worst is that it or he would ruin the entire group." What's it? Let's listen to a simple situational dialogue and find it .

【对话原声 美语发音】

A : I'm so bored. I don't like my new job.

B : What did you say? You're not satisfied with your new job.

A : Yeah, I do.

B : What do you want? Your new job sounds too good to be true- interesting work, high pay, short hours. Is there any fly in the ointment?

A : But I have no freedom.

【答疑解惑】

With the development of language, in modern English it's used to express " an unpleasant thing of a pleasant thing" 表示美中不足的意思，or express " something small spoils your fun" 表示使人扫兴的事情，and refers to " the flaw , inconvenience ,or impediment in an arrangement", 表示事情中的麻烦，缺陷或是障碍。However, all of the above meanings come from it's original meaning I've mentioned. And now listen again and try to hunt it. A : I'm so boring. I don't like my new job.

B : What did you say? You're not satisfied with your new job.

A : Yeah, I do.

B : What do you want? Your new job sounds too good to be true- interesting work, high pay, short hours. Is there any fly in the ointment?

A : But I have no freedom.

All right, this time have you found it? [There is a silence.] Come on , have a shot! It doesn't matter if you are right or wrong and what I would like is your active participation. [Juliet, it seems that it's a fly in the ointment. ] Yeah, dead right. It is "a fly in the ointment ". This phrase comes from 【圣经：旧约】《传道书》第十章. The original sentence is " Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary and send forth a stinking savour ;so doth a little folly him that is in reputation and honor ." "Fly " 是苍蝇的意思, "ointment " 是药膏，油膏的意思， a fly in the ointment 字面上的意思就是“药膏里的苍蝇”， the front part of sentence above in the Bible意思是说: 一只死苍蝇使得做香的油膏发出臭气， 本来做香的油膏是有香气的，由于一只死苍蝇而使全部的油膏发臭，这就是有点像我们中文里说的：一颗老鼠屎搅坏一锅汤。Something like " a black sheep" which is a slang , 这有点儿像这个俚语的意思：a black sheep , 意思是：害群之马，败家子，败类，可不要把它认为是一只黑色的绵羊。Let's look at another part part of the above sentence from the Bible, 后面的意思是：这样，一点愚昧，也能败坏他的智慧和荣誉。可见 the Bible 都是 perfectionism 的说教。可是现实生活中，人无完人，物无完物，everything has one more face. 因此, a fly in the ointment 就有了“美中不足，”“使人扫兴的事”，“事情中的缺陷，麻烦，或障碍等”的意思。

【学以致用】

Let's look at more example sentences with the phrase "a fly in the ointment " . Another fly in the ointment was that Xiangzi had nearly got into a fight that morning when the rickshaw pullers were having their feast.还有点美中不足的地方,早晨给车夫们摆饭的时节,祥子几乎和人打起来。 This is the sentence from a well-known literature called《骆驼祥子》written by Laoshe, a Chinese famous writer. It was a very good party. The only fly in the ointment was that the host got drunk and started abusing everybody!那是一个非常好的聚会,美中不足的是,主人喝醉了,并开始辱骂每一个人。

【视野拓展】

Talking of " a fly in the ointment " which means " an unpleasant of a pleasant thing " , we have more expressions which are as follows: to spoil the fun; to be a wet blanker ( this is slang ); to kill joy; to dampen interest.

【小题大作】

Next let's study the dialogue. Please write down the key phrases while listening to the recording. A : I'm so bored. I don't like my new job.

B : What did you say? You're not satisfied with your new job.

A : Yeah, I do.

B : What do you want? Your new job sounds too good to be true- interesting work, high pay, short hours. Is there any fly in the ointment?

A : But I have no freedom.

【日积月累】

I think these phrases should be beared in our mind. 1 not at all 一点也不2 be satisfied with 对......满意3 too......to 太.......而不.......

4 high pay 高薪水5 short hours 工作的时间短6 have ( no ) freedom 有(没有)自由【译文参考】

The translation of the whole dialogue is :

A : 真无聊。我一点儿都不喜欢我的新工作。

B : 你说什么? 你对自己的工作不满意?

A : 对呀，我就是不满意。

B : 那你想干什么?你的新工作真是太好了：有趣味，薪水高，工作时间短。还有什么不足之处吗?

A : 但是我没有自由。

【详说关键句子】

Let's learn the key sentences in the dialogue. 1 I am so board . 【翻译】真是无聊。

【要点】bored 是动词bore 的过去分词，意思是: 无聊的，厌烦的，作为形容词用了，但是它有个过去分词boring , 意思是令人厌烦的，无聊的，乏味的。那我们如何运用呢?如果主语是指物，就用boring, 主语是人,就是bored. Let's look at some more example sentence s : He rattled on about his job, not noticing how bored she was. 他只顾喋喋不休地说自己工作上的事，没注意到她有多麽腻烦。I'm rather bored by the rumor. 这谣传我真听厌烦了。This is one of the few gratifications of an otherwise boring job. 这是枯燥的工作中少有的一项乐趣。

2 You're not satisfied with your new job.

【翻译】你对你的工作不满意。

【要点】be satisfied with is a set phrase. Satisfied 是动词 satisfy 的过去分词，意思是：感到满意的, satisfying是 satisfy的现在分词, 意思是：令人满意的, 两个都是形容词。那我们怎么用呢?道理同上面所说到的boring 和 bored是一样的. 主语是物，用现在分词。主语是人，就用过去分词。For example: I am not at all satisfied with the present situation. 我对现状根本不满意。Let me reassure you( that) your service is quite satisfying. 让我向您保证，您的服务是很令人满意的。

3 Your new job sounds too good to be true- interesting work, high pay, short hours. Is there any fly in the ointment?

【翻译】你的新工作真是太好了：有趣味，薪水高，工作时间短。还有什么不足之处吗?

【要点】

1 too...to 是太......以至于不能做某事的意思。我认为文中的句子直译还不准确，确切的翻译我觉得是：你的新工作真是好，好得让人简直不敢相信是真的。For example : The boy is still too young to go to school. 小男孩还不到上学年龄。 2 a fly in the ointment 用于疑问句中，a 就要改为any. A在肯定句中也可以为the, 这个短语fly钱的冠词不是一层不变的。For example: The only fly in the ointment was the bad weather.唯一美中不足之处是恶劣的天气。 3 interesting work, high pay, short hours在句子中做的是主语job的补足语。

3 But I have no freedom.

【翻译】可是我没有自由。

【要点】这句可以这样说： I don't have any freedom.

【小编的喇叭】

Well , so much to absorb today. It's suggested that you should absorb them with a quiet state of your heart so that what we've learnt can be brought into right practice and it's unforgettable. It's time to say goodbye to you, have a nice day. Remember to review what you've learnt in the morning after work. May you have a nice day . Thank you for your listening this time , see you next time .今天讲的可不少呀，我们需要有一种安静的心态去消化知识，这样才能真正正确的运用到实际中来，而且不容易忘记。又该跟大家暂时在空中告别了，祝你工作顺利。可不要忘记下班后再温习功课。感谢您的这次收听，下次再会。

【温故知新】

【翻译练习】

1 Please translate the following sentences into English.

当我们正在举行野餐的时候,忽然大雨倾盆,未免大煞风景。

那天外出真好,美中不足的是天气很阴。

我喜欢那套房子,但美中不足的是离上班的地方太远美中不足的是中间有一个双塔的旅馆挡住了部分海洋的美丽的景色。

我让历史科给烦透了--那些日期，战争之类的事。

太叫人厌烦了。

这是一顿很使人满足的饭。

我对现状根本不满意。

参考答案：

We were having a picnic, when suddenly there came a downpour, which was rather a fly in the ointment.

It was nice to go out for the day; the only fly in the ointment was the dull weather.

I like the house, But there's a fly in the ointment: I have to commute so far to workAnother hotel of two buildings seems to be a fly in the ointment, blocking part of the beautiful ocean view. I'm bored by history dates and battles and all that stuff.

It is awfully boring.

It's a most satisfying meal.

I am not at all satisfied with the present situation.

【口语练习】

1 Please translate the following dialogue into English orally. A : 真无聊。我一点儿都不喜欢我的新工作。

B : 你说什么? 你对自己的工作不满意?

A : 对呀，我就是不满意。

B : 那你想干什么?你的新工作真是太好了：有趣味，薪水高，工作时间短。还有什么不足之处吗?

A : 但是我没有自由。

2 请把对话中的直接引语改为间接引语。

A : I'm so bored. I don't like my new job.

B : What did you say? You're not satisfied with your new job.

A : Yeah, I do.

B : What do you want? Your new job sounds too good to be true- interesting work, high pay, short hours. Is there any fly in the ointment?

A : But I have no freedom.

3 Topic discussion Please talk about the present of your job?

What do you think of unsatisfying job?

【听力练习】

please listen to the recording and make a dictation. A : I'm so bored. I don't like my new job.

B : What did you say? You're not satisfied with your new job.

A : Yeah, I do.

B : What do you want? Your new job sounds too good to be true- interesting work, high pay, short hours. Is there any fly in the ointment?

A : But I have no freedom.