VOA詞彙故事- 你更喜歡喝茶，還是喝咖啡

Now, the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories. Today we will talk about two of the world's most popular drinks -- coffee and tea.

現在是VOA學英語《詞彙掌故》節目時間。今天我們將談論世界上兩種最受歡迎的飲品——咖啡和茶。

Now, many people are loyal coffee drinkers. They cannot imagine starting their morning without -- what some call -- a hot "Cup of Joe".

如今，許多人是咖啡的忠粉。他們無法想象早上沒有（一些人稱之為）一杯"Cup of Joe（熱咖啡）"。

Some people hate coffee and prefer to drink tea. Others enjoy drinking both! Whichever you prefer, know that English has some useful expressions using tea and coffee.

一些人討厭咖啡，更愛喝茶。還有一些人兩者兼愛。不論你偏愛哪個，你要知道英語裡有一些包含"tea（茶）"和"coffee（咖啡）"的有用表達。

Let's start with things around the home. The table sitting in the middle of the living room

讓我們從家居用品開始吧。位於客廳正中間的桌子

(and usually in front of a sofa) is called a coffee table. We never call it a "tea table". There is no such thing.

（一般放在沙發前面）被叫做"咖啡桌（a coffee table）"。我們從不把它稱為"茶桌"。沒有叫"茶桌"的東西。

Even if you hate the taste of coffee and never set a coffee cup on that table, you would still call it a "coffee table".

即使你憎惡咖啡的味道，並且桌子上從不放咖啡杯，你還是得稱那張桌子為"咖啡桌"。

Naturally, a coffee table is the perfect place for a few coffee-table books. These large books usually have beautiful pictures

自然，一張咖啡桌是放幾本休閒讀物（coffee-table books）的好地方。這些大開本圖書通常有著精美的圖片，

and are meant to entertain people or make an impression on them. They are among the first things visitors see when sitting down in the living room.

意在讓人感覺愉悅或者給人留下深刻印象。它們是客人在客廳坐下後最先看見的事物之一。

Many people use them as conversation pieces, you know, items that start people talking about something.

許多人拿它們當作開啟話題的物件，你知道，就是人們開始聊天的談資。

Coffee, as you know, can help you feel more energized. In fact, many people use coffee to wake up in the morning.

咖啡，如你所知，能讓你感覺更有活力。實際上，很多人用咖啡讓自己早上清醒過來。

Pace the floor, stop and stare I drink a cup of coffee and start pulling out my hair

在地板上踱步，停下，發呆 喝一杯咖啡，開始撥頭髮，

I'm drinking forty cups of coffee Forty cups of coffee

我喝了四十杯咖啡 四十杯咖啡

And that is where we get the idiom "Wake up and smell the coffee"! We say this to people who are not accepting a situation as it really is.

這就是習語"Wake up and smell the coffee（面對現實吧）"的出處。我們會對不願意接受真實狀況的人說這個表達。

They are not being realistic. They need to face facts. You can say it to someone or about someone.

他們沒有正視現實。他們需要面對現實。你可以對某人或者提及某人時用到這個表達。

If you tea drinkers out there want to stay away from coffee expressions, you can also tell someone to simply "get real" or as we said earlier, "face facts".

如果節目外的茶友們想要遠離咖啡的表達，你也可以簡單和某人說"面對現實"，或者我們之前說過的"面對事實（face facts）"。

These two are more direct. And while "wake up and smell the coffee" can be used in a lighthearted, funny way,

這兩個表達都更直接。儘管"wake up and smell the coffee"可以以更加輕鬆有趣的方式進行使用，

"get real" and "face facts" both sound more serious. Let's hear how these expressions can be used.

但"get real"和"face facts"都聽上去更加嚴肅。讓我們來聽聽看這些表達是如何使用的。

Um, who was at the door? It was Helen.

嗯，在門口那兒的人是誰？是海倫。

Ugh. Did she ask to move back in with us . . . again? ! Yes. She did.

呃。她有沒有又要求搬回來和我們一起住？是的，她有提。

That's the third time this week! She apologized again for destroying some of the furniture during that party she threw.

這是這周的第三次了！她又為自己在她舉辦的派對上毀壞了一些傢俱的事情道歉了。

And she made us something to eat -- this cake. She really wants to move back in with us.

她給我們做了一些吃的，這個蛋糕。她真得很想搬回來和我們同住。

That woman is unbelievable! Does she have any idea how much damage she did? Our neighbors are still unhappy about that party.

那個女人不可信！她知道自己造成的影響有多惡劣嗎？我們的鄰居還對那場派對很介懷呢。

Next time she asks to move back in, let me deal with it. What are you going to say to her?

下次她再要求搬回來，讓我來應付。你打算怎麼和她說呢？

I'm going to tell her to wake up and smell the coffee! Uh, I don't think she drinks coffee.

我打算告訴她讓她面對現實！呃，我想她不喝咖啡。

You know what I mean. She needs to face facts. She is never, ever, EVER moving back in with us!

你知道我的意思。她需要面對現實。她再也不可能搬回來和我們一起住了！

But she makes really good cake. Ugh. Get real, Meredith.

但是她的蛋糕真的做得不錯。呃。現實點，梅雷迪斯。

If you think for one minute that I would live with her just because she makes good cake, then you need to wake up and smell the coffee, too!

如果你產生過我會因為她蛋糕做得好就會和她一起住的念頭，那麼，你也該清醒清醒了！

Mm. Coffee and cake are great together. I'll start making a pot of coffee now. Well . . . she does make good cake.

嗯。咖啡和蛋糕配起來很棒。我要去煮一壺咖啡。好吧……她確實蛋糕做得好吃。

Even if you love tea, we just don't say, "Wake up and smell the tea". But don't worry. For all of you tea drinkers, we have a great expression for you!

即使你喜歡喝茶，我們也不會說"Wake up and smell the tea"。但不用擔心。對於所有的茶友，我們有一個很好的表達給你們。

I like a nice cup of tea in the morning For to start the day you see

我喜歡早上喝一杯好茶 開啟一天的美好

And at half past eleven Well my idea of heaven

11點半的時候 我的靈感

Is a nice cup of tea If you really like something or are really good at something, it is your cup of tea.

來自於一杯好茶 如果你真得喜歡某事物或者特別擅長某事物，那該事物就是你的那杯茶。

But not so fast. That's not really the way we use today. Yes, many years ago when the expression came into the language it was used in a positive way.

但是程序不要這麼快。但那不是我們今天要說的用法。許多年前，當這個表達進入英語裡時，它是用在肯定句中。

But these days we almost always use this expression in a negative way. So, you don't say that something is your cup of tea,

但現在，我們幾乎總是把它用在否定句中。因此，不要說什麼是你的那杯茶，

even if you are talking about your beloved cup of tea. If something is not your cup of tea, you simply don't like it or are not good at it.

即使你說的是你最愛的"那杯茶"。如果某事物不是你的那杯茶，那你就是不喜歡或者不擅長該事物。

The cup of tea in the expression can mean anything. If you don't like to go camping, you could say camping is not your cup of tea.

表達中的"那杯茶"可以表示任何事物。如果你不喜歡露營，你可以說露營不是你的茶。

If you're not good at dancing, it is not your cup of tea. In fact, if you don't like coffee, you could say it's not your cup of tea.

如果你不擅長跳舞，那跳舞就不是你的茶。事實上，如果你不喜歡咖啡，你可以說咖啡不是你的茶。

And actually, that would be a funny way to use this expression. Now, some places are known for their coffee and others for their tea.

實際上，那會是這個表達的一種很有趣的用法。一些地方的咖啡很有名，一些地方的茶很有名。

For example, Japan and China are famous for their tea. Their tea culture has a long history and tradition.

例如，日本和中國的茶很有名。他們有著悠久的茶文化和傳統。

And that is where we get our final expression for today. Some famous Chinese teas are very pricey.

這就引出了我們今天最後一個表達。一些著名的中國茶價格昂貴。

If you gathered all the tea in China, it would be worth a lot of money. So, if you want to say that you are unwilling to do something . . . at any cost,

如果你收集了中國所有的茶，那會值不少錢。因此，如果你想說你不願意不惜一切代價做什麼事情……

you could say, "I wouldn't do it for all the tea in China". For example, if you are deathly afraid of heights, you could say "I would not skydive for all the tea in China".

你可以說："這件事，我無論如何都（for all the tea in China）不會去做的。"例如，如果你非常恐高，你可以說："我無論如何都不會跳傘的。"

This expression is simply an exaggerated, or larger than life way of saying, "No way! I won't do it! I don't care what you offer me"!

這個表達只是用一種誇大或者誇張的方式在說，"沒門兒！這事我不做！我不在乎你能給我什麼！"

Okay, we don't want anyone to accuse us of playing favorites. We already heard a conversation using a popular coffee expression.

好的，我們不想任何人譴責我們有所偏愛。我們已經聽過了一個很受歡迎的咖啡表達的對話。

So, here is a short conversation with the tea expressions we just heard. Tomorrow night I'm going out to a spoken word event. Want to join me?

那麼，下面是一個包含了我們剛聽過的"tea（茶）"表達的短對話。明晚我要出去參加一個朗讀活動。你想和我一起參加嗎？

Spoken word? You mean like a poetry reading? Yeah! It's really awesome.

朗讀？你意思是像朗誦詩歌那樣？是啊！真得特別好。

Um . . . no thanks. Spoken word really isn't my cup of tea. Oh. So, you probably won't be interesting in going to a three-day Spoken Word Festival next month.

嗯……不了，謝謝。朗讀真得不是我的茶。噢。那你可能不會對參加下個月維持三天的朗讀節感興趣了。

Not for all the tea in China. So . . . that's a no?

無論如何都不會感興趣。所以……那是拒絕的意思？

Yes. That's a big N-O. And that brings us to the end of this Words and Their Stories.

是的。堅決拒絕。這就到了本期《詞彙掌故》的節目尾聲了。

Choose one of the expressions heard here and try using it. Or share with us a coffee or tea idiom from your language. You can do both in the Comments Section!

選擇在節目中收聽到的一個表達，試著運用它。或者，給我們分享一個你們語言裡和咖啡或者茶相關的習語。這兩件事情，你都可以在評論區去完成。

I'm Anna Matteo.

我是安娜·馬特奧。