VOA流行美語 Unit 181:a can of worms和cut one's
Larry和李華正在商量如何幫助他們的朋友Jane，因爲Jane在工作上碰到了困難。今天李華會學到兩個常用語：a can of worms和cut one's losses。
LL: I think that maybe we should just be supportive of Jane. It's best not to open a can of worms by trying to give her advice.
LH: 當然我們應該支持Jane。你說我們不要什麼？Open a can of worms? Worms是蟲子，支持Jane，給她提建議和一罐蟲子有什麼關係？而且哪兒有什麼罐子裏裝蟲子的？
LL: "To open a can of worms" means to do something that results in a complicated situation full of problems.
LH: 我說呢，open a can of worms是個比喻，不是真的開一罐蟲子。所以To open a can of worms 是指做了某件事會把問題弄得更復雜。可是，Larry， 我不懂，爲什麼給Jane提一些建議反而會造成更多問題呢？
LL: Well, if she follows you. advice and it doesn't solve her problem, then she might blame you.
LH: 這倒也是，如果Jane聽了我們的建議，但是問題解決不了，她可能會反過來怪我們。還有，我們也可能因爲不瞭解情況而給她錯誤的建議呀！
LL: Right. There are so many things that could go wrong when you give people advice that I usually avoid opening that can of worms.
LH: 這是沒錯，給人提建議是很可能會出問題的，因爲你畢竟不瞭解他的情況。可是，你也不能因爲這樣就避免給人提建議，不能因咽廢食。給朋友出主意也是應該的嘛。對了，Larry, 你還不知道，那天在課堂上我才真的是opened a can of worms.
LL: What did you do?
LH: 我問教授爲什麼不討論第13章，結果教授要全班回家讀第13章，而且星期一還要考試呢！
LL: I bet that everyone in your class is unhappy with you right now.
LH: 就是啊，現在全班同學一定在罵我。更慘的是，連教授也生我的氣，因爲這本來是他的疏忽，可給我指明瞭。所以嘍，我真的是招惹了更多麻煩。
LL: Wow, that's a tough situation. You really did open a can of worms.
LH: 就是啊，所以我現在很後悔，早知道什麼都別說就好了。
LL: Unfortunately, sometimes keeping your mouth shut is the only way to avoid opening a can of worms.
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LL: Well, Jane decided to cut her losses and quit her job. She's going to start looking for a new job tomorrow.
LH: 真的？Jane決定要辭掉那個工作啦？Larry，什麼是cut her losses?
LL: To cut one's losses means to give up and withdraw from a losing situation.
LH: Cut one's losses就是看到形勢對自己不利就決定改變方向，這樣可以減少損失。所以Jane決定寧可辭職，也不要再浪費時間去解決工作上的問題。是這個意思嗎？
LL: Exactly. She didn't see any way to improve her relationship with her co-workers, so she decided to cut her losses and leave.
LH: 嗯，要是根本沒有希望改善和她同事的關係，那還不如趁早離開，免得再繼續受罪。
LL: Sometimes, there's nothing you can do to improve a situation. All you can do is cut your losses and try to find a better situation.
LH: 說的也是。人生有許多事情真的是你再怎麼努力，也沒辦法改善的。像我一位朋友，她是研究生化專業的博士生，可是她和她的指導教授關係很差。
LL: What happened?
LH: 跟了那個教授三年後，決定不能再浪費時間了。所以她決定cut her losses，拿了個碩士學位就走人。博士學位也不要了。
LL: She gave up on her PhD?
LH: 她實在沒別的選擇，就只能放棄嘍！
今天李華學到了兩個常用語。一個是to open a can of worms，意思是做了某件事會造成更多問題。另一個常用語是to cut one's losses，這是指及時從對自己不利的局面裏撤出來，以減少損失。今天的流行美語就進行到這裏，謝謝大家收聽，我們下次節目再見。
