Half Full or Half Empty? 半杯满还是半杯空？ 

Yang Li:   大家好我是杨莉欢迎收听你们我答节目。今天同我一起主持节目的是 Rob. Hello Rob.
 
Rob:  Hi Yang Li. OK let's get started with today's question…
 
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My name is Amena, from Hangzhou, Zhejiang in China. Recently I met a lot of metaphors when reading, such as 'see the glass as half-full or half-empty', 'the doughnut or the hole' and so on. Could you please tell us more about it? Thank you!
 
Yang Li:  首先谢谢 Amena提出的这个问题。她想学习一些她在书里面看到的比喻 metaphors. 
 
Rob:  A metaphor is an implied comparison between two unconnected things and is said to try and convey an idea. So Amena is asking about the expression 'to see the glass as half empty'.
 
Yang Li:   她看到的是半杯子空。 So that doesn't mean she has half a glass of beer?! 
 
Rob:  No. It's used to describe someone's attitude or their outlook on life. A bit like this…
 
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My brother always thinks his glass is half empty. He's so negative and always feels down on his luck.
 
Yang Li:   Oh dear! 看来他的哥哥是个悲观的人, 总是从坏的方面去考虑问题，半杯空。 So we're talking about a negative attitude 这个比喻表示一种悲观的态度。
 
Rob:  That's right. A glass of drink is used as the metaphor.  So if you have half a glass of beer but think half of your glass is empty then you are thinking negatively.
 
Yang Li:  OK, but if you are like me and you think your glass is half full of beer then you are thinking positively 乐观主义者，总是看到光明的一面。 Listen to this…
 
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I'm lucky. I make the most of my life. I think I'm an optimistic person; my glass is half full! 
 
Yang Li:   You see! If you think positively and you are optimistic 乐观的 then your glass is half full. 总是半杯满!
 
Rob:  Well Li, you do have a positive attitude but you don't drink beer!
 
Yang Li:   It's a metaphor remember! 
 
Rob:  Ah yes. Of course a glass half full or half empty is really the same thing but that depends on your point of view.
 
Yang Li:  Yes. It's all about your 处世观。
 
STING
 
Rob:  Time now to consider some other metaphors. Our question today mentioned the expression 'the doughnut or the hole'. 
 
Yang Li:  Mmm, 甜圈儿。 Doughnuts are my favourite.
 
Rob:  Me too. But this isn't a metaphor that I am aware of. Maybe Amena can email us and tell us where she read it. At a guess, it's something to do with being positive and seeing the whole doughnut, or being negative and seeing just the hole in the middle.
 
Yang Li:   I always see the whole doughnut. But Rob, are there any other similar expressions we could use?
 
Rob:  How about 'six of one, half a dozen of the other'?
 
Yang Li:  六个与半打。 That's a strange one Rob. What is a dozen?
 
Rob:  It's actually twelve. This expression is something you can say when you talk about two things that you think are almost or completely the same as each other. Literally half a dozen means six, which is the same as six!
 
Yang Li:   半打是六个。 Hmm, so like discussing a glass that is half full or half empty, they are the same thing. But again, it depends on your point of view. Let's hear another example…
 
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Male: What's the quickest way to get to London? 

Female: Well, flying will be quickest but if we take the train it will take us straight to the city centre.

Male: Hmm, it's six of one and half a dozen of the other!
 
Yang Li:   六个与半打，两个差不多。 Again this can depend on your point of view.
 
Rob:  It can.  You may think your two options look about the same when in reality they are not.  I know for me, I would take the train because if I went by plane my flight is bound to be delayed!  
 
Yang Li:  Rob, your glass is half empty again! 
 
Rob:  Well hopefully Amena's glass is half full now that we've hopefully explained her question. 
 
Yang Li:   是的，希望我们的解释对 Amena 有所帮助，如果大家有其它英语学习中遇到的问题请发电子邮件至 questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk.
 
Rob:    That's chinaelt@bbc.co.uk  We look forward to hearing from you soon. 
                     
Both:   Bye bye!