生活英语|blue in the face 滔滔不绝,谈到脸色都变了

朋友们肯定遇见过那种说起话来滔滔不绝，没完没了的人吧! 假如他们谈论的是其他人的闲话，英文中就说他们是：gossip或gossipmonger. 然而他们有时是为了说服某人去做某事而持续的进行游说，这种人在英文中也有相应的表达，先看看下面的例子：

Sally talked with that boy until she was blue in the face, but the boy still did what he wanted.

在这个例句中大家看到一个非常复杂的表达：talk until one is blue in the face. 它的意思是交谈到脸色都变了，暗含的意思是说某人谈话谈个不停，一直到很疲惫,但却没达到应有些成效。朋友们可能察看到，当大家谈话谈得太多时，有时连呼吸都调整不过来，这个时候就大概致使脸色变绿，所以当有人长期的谈论过后，大家就会用blue in the face来描述他。To talk until one is blue in the face refers to someone who talks something a lot. Although he or she is exhausted^{1, they dont achieve what he or she wants.}

Our parents talked until they are blue in the face, but all of us didnt changed our mind. We still decided^{2 to take part in an important race across the Atlantic.}

大家这一代人或许不听话精神比较突出，喜欢刺激与冒险，这不能不令爸爸妈妈头痛。但说又说回来，这并不足以使大家成为家庭中最不受人喜欢的人。家庭中最不受喜欢的人在英文中的表达是：black sheep.看看下面这段话是怎么样表述的：

Although we dont follow our parents advice and sometimes, we even do what our parents oppose, they dont consider us as the black sheep.

black sheep本来的意思是黑色的绵羊，很长时间以前，白色的绵羊比黑色的绵羊有价值，由于黑色绵羊的毛非常难染成其他颜色，实用价值相对就低些，所以黑色绵羊一般不太受主人的喜欢。所将来来，大约从18世纪起，大家就开始称呼家庭中不受人喜欢的成员为black sheep. The idiom refers to someone who is regarded by other members of their family or group as a failure or embarrassment^{3. For example:}

Sometimes, I was considered the black sheep of the family, the weirdo in the group. I want to change myself.

结束语：假如一个家庭中有一个人非常固执，他一直谈话谈得精疲力竭以说服其他人听从他的意志，那样他可能就会成为家庭中最不受人喜欢的人。