The english we speak(BBC教学)第148期:Two Ticks 一会儿
William: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak, I'm William Kremer.
威廉：大家好，欢迎收听地道英语节目，我是威廉·克莱默。Wang Fei: And I'm Wang Fei. So how are you today?
王飞：我是王飞。你今天怎么样？William: Two ticks...
威廉：稍等一下……
Wang Fei: What?
王飞：什么？William: Give me two shakes, Wang Fei, I just need to...
威廉：王飞，给我点儿时间，我只是要……Wang Fei: Eh? What's that?
王飞：什么？那是什么？William: I'll be with you in a jiffy...
威廉：我马上就和你一起主持……Wang Fei: In a jiffy. What's a jiffy? William, what are you talking about?
王飞：In a jiffy。jiffy是什么？威廉，你在说什么？William: There, done now. I just needed to send a text.
威廉：好了，搞定了。我只是要发个短信。Wang Fei: But what were all those ticks and jiffys?
王飞：不过刚才你说的那ticks和jiffys都是什么啊？William: Ahh, and shakes?
威廉：还有shakes是吗？Wang Fei: Yes.
王飞：对。William: Well they're all expressions of time, Wang Fei. So they're ways of saying 'just a moment', or 'just a minute'.
威廉：嗯，这些都是有关时间的表达方式，王飞。这些都是“稍等一下”、“马上”的表达方式。Wang Fei: I see.
王飞：我明白了。Can you come and help me lift this sofa?
你能来帮我搬下这个沙发吗？Yeah, I'll be with you in two ticks.
好的，我马上就过去帮你。William: Two ticks. In English, we say clocks make this noise: tick tock, tick tock. So two ticks is just like saying two seconds.
威廉：two ticks。在英语中，我们说钟表会发出这样的声音：滴答，滴答。所以two ticks就相当于两秒钟。I said, can you come and help me here? It's too heavy for me.
我说，你能不能过来帮帮我？这个沙发对我来说太重了。Yes, yes. I'll be there in two shakes.
好，好的。我马上就来帮你。Wang Fei: Hmm. Two shakes?
王飞：嗯。Two shakes？William: Yeah, the full phrase here is 'two shakes of a lamb's tail', but we shorten this to 'two shakes'.
威廉：对，完整的短语是“小羊摇两下尾巴的时间”，不过我们会缩短成two shakes。Wang Fei: Oh I see. Two shakes of a lamb's tail. English can be a very weird language!
王飞：哦，我明白了。“小羊摇两下尾巴的时间”。英语还真是奇怪的语言！William: Yes, it can be! I guess that this is because lambs' tails shake very fast, so two shakes is a short time! And finally...
威廉：对，是这样！我想这是因为小羊的尾巴摇的非常快，所以摇两下只用很短的时间！最后……Look Neil, this sofa isn't going to lift itself. Get a move on!
看，尼尔，沙发是不会自己长腿走的。快点过来！I know, I know. I said I'll be with you in a jiffy.
我知道，我知道。我说过我马上就会去帮你的。Wang Fei: In a jiffy. So in a jiffy also means 'in a short space of time'. But what's a jiffy?
王飞：In a jiffy，这也是“短时间”的意思。不过jiffy是什么？William: Well, you know what, Wang Fei? Nobody is completely sure of the origin of this word. But it has been in use for over 200 years!
威廉：嗯，王飞，你知道吗？没人准确地知道这个词的来源。不过这个词已经用了200多年了！Wang Fei: 200 years! That's quite a long time. More than a jiffy!
王飞：200年！那真是很长时间了。比短时间可长多了。William: Yes, and that's several billion shakes of a lamb's tail.
威廉：对，那可是小羊摇了几十亿次尾巴的时间啊。Wang Fei: Yes and all those ticks of a clock! Bye for now.
王飞：对啊，还有那些时钟的滴答声。现在该说再见了。William: Bye bye.
威廉：再见。Are you going to help me with sofa or not?!
你到底要不要帮我搬沙发？What sofa? You need help with a sofa?
什么沙发？你需要帮忙搬沙发吗？重点讲解：
1. in a jiffy
很快；瞬间；
eg. He conjured up a whole meal in a jiffy.
他一眨眼功夫就变出了一桌饭菜。
eg. We will do it in a jiffy.
我们马上去做。
2. just a moment/minute
等一下；且慢；
eg. Just a moment. Let me mark down your name and address.
等一下，让我把你的姓名和地址记下来。
eg. Just a minute, I have to fix my hair.
等会儿，我得整整头发。
3. get a move on
快点；抓紧点；
eg. We'd better get a move on before it rains.
我们最好在下雨之前赶快做。
eg. Tell Harry to get a move on.
叫哈里快些！
4. a space of time
一段（时间）；期间；
eg. They've come a long way in a short space of time.
他们在很短的时间之内就大老远地赶了过来。
eg. It was all over in a relatively short space of time.
不一会儿工夫就完全结束了。
5. be sure of
一定的；必定的；无疑的；确保的；
eg. Since you are so sure of it he'll believe you.
既然你对此这么有把握，他会相信你的。
eg. I'm not too sure of it.
这件事我不太有把握。
