口语学习技巧|Big cheese 大人物

Helen: Hello, welcome to Real English from BBC Learning^{1 English. I'm Helen.}

Oliver: 嗨，我是Oliver。

Helen: Today were looking at words and phrases that you might not find in your dictionary.

Oliver: 地道英语和大伙一块学习现代英式英语中常常出现的时尚词语和实用表达。那Helen,今天给大家带来的新词是什么呢？

Helen: Today we are going to concentrate on the phrase the big cheese.

Oliver: That's interesting, the big cheese. Cheese 是干酪, 就我一个人来讲，我很不喜欢 cheese 的味道，更不在乎大大块的奶酪了。

Helen: Good to know that you are not a fan of cheese. I love it. Here the phrase 'big cheese' means something quite different. It actually refers to people in business.

Oliver: 是和老板有关的？那到底哪种人会被叫做巨乳酪呢？

Helen: To be the big cheese of a company, you are at the very TOP of the company, you are very important and you have the power to make things happen in the company.

Oliver: I see, 就像董事级的人物，很有权力的商场人物。

Helen: That's right, big bosses sometimes are called 'the big cheese'.

Oliver: 让大家听一个例子。

Insert

A: Please make sure you come early tomorrow.

B: Why?

A: Because JP is going to be here tomorrow.

B: Who is JP?

A: Oh, you know, John Parkins, he's the big cheese from head office.

Oliver: Helen, 用这个短语的时候注意事项有哪些吗？

Helen: Well, it's an informal phrase. And best not to say it directly to your big boss.

Oliver: 这是个不太正式的使用方法，不要当着你的老板的面用，也不要直接叫他 the big cheese.

Helen: Definitely^{2 don't say to your boss, Hello, how are you today, big cheese?. You might get fired for that.}

Oliver: 好了，大家今天学到的是 the big cheese,意思就是公司内部尤为重要或有实权的人物，这是个非正式的表达。

Helen: You've been listening to Real English from BBC Learning English. See you next time.

Oliver: 大家下次节目再会。