下班後到晚飯前,這段時間要做晚飯,又有孩子吵鬧,可謂一天中的砒霜時間。
我們來看一段相關的英文報導
Arsenic hour is the time after parents arrive home from work and before dinner is served; any extremely hectic part of the day, especially when dealing with young children.
It's almost dinnertime. Mom or Dad, or both, are trying to get dinner going. They've just arrived home from work or they're reeling from a long day of parenting. They're tired, the kids are wired and everyone is hungry. Among other things.
During this period, they either want to dispense some arsenic or take some (just kidding).
砒霜時間指的是父母下班後到晚飯開飯前的這段時間,或者是一天中非常忙碌的時段,特別是帶年幼的孩子時。
快到晚飯時間了,母親、父親或是兩個人都在做飯。他們剛下班,或者已經帶了一天孩子。他們非常疲憊,但孩子們極其興奮,每個人都很餓,等等。
這時他們巴不得分點兒毒藥下去,或者自己吃點兒(開玩笑)。
【講解】
文中的arsenic hour就是「砒霜時間」的意思,其中arsenic用作名詞,意為「砒霜」,如:Arsenic is a very strong poison which can kill people.(砒霜是一種劇毒,可以殺人。)它還可以用作形容詞,表示「砒素的;砷的」。
第二段中的短語reel from指「遭受;經歷」,如:The industry continued to reel from aftershocks of a disastrous year.(工業在遭受災年重創後依然搖擺不前。)
雙語報導來源:中國日報網英語點津
今天的作業是翻譯下面一句話 (參考答案見本頁最下方)
I was still reeling from the shock.
[ 參考答案:我嚇得依然昏頭轉向。 ]