JoyChris每日习语

“走过花园”我们可以说“walk through the garden”，但是今天的习语里的“walk through”却跟“走”一点关系都没有，那到底这个习语到底是什么意思，该如何用在对话中呢？我们听听Joy and Chris的对话吧！

C: Hi guys. I’m Chris.
 
J: And I’m Joy. The idiom we are gonna cover today is: walk someone through something. It means to slowly and carefully explain or show something to someone. You can say it like this: 

I’ll walk you through it. / Can you walk me through it? / She walked me through it.

C: Walk through can be used for when you are literally walking. You can walk through a garden. You can walk through a house. But in this idiom, we are talking about walking through a process or a document. I’ve had students who had to make presentations for their companies. They wanted to practice their presentation with me to make sure everything was correct and would go smoothly. I usually tell them: Walk me through your presentation. Or you might be introducing a new product to your client. You can say: Let me walk you through the instructions. Here’s how we use it in a conversation:

 
J: Hey Terry. How’s your first day at work?
 
C: Everything’s great. Thanks for asking. There was a little problem understanding my role on the team. But Nick already walked me through the details.
 

 

J: If you need us to walk you through any of your English problems, contact us for private English classes!
 
C: Yup and remember to share our channel with your friends and family! Talk to you next time! Bye!

在西方的法庭中，被告如果仅仅有疑点而并没有充分证据的话，那么暂且会认定被告无罪，以此来避免错误的判决。这个法律用语到生活中又有了其他的用法，也就是在你怀疑他人之前，先仔细思考一下你是否有足够的理由和证据，如果没有那就先把人往好的一方面想，也许这一切只是误会呢？那我们来看看这个习语到底怎么用吧！

C: Hi guys. I’m Chris.
 
J: And I’m Joy. Today we are gonna take a look at the idiom: give someone the benefit of the doubt. It means that you decide to believe someone, even though it is possible that they are not telling the truth or doing something wrong.
 
C: Exactly. Sometimes in life, you will feel uncertain about things. You are not sure if the person you are talking to is trustworthy or capable of doing the right thing. But you don’t want to assume that everyone in your life is trying to take advantage of you. So you might want to give them the benefit of the doubt first. Just like if you and your coworker are splitting the bill for lunch. And you find out that she didn’t pay you her whole share. You think maybe she didn’t do it on purpose and it was just a misunderstanding. So you want to give her the benefit of the doubt and not be angry at her right away. Here’s an example in a conversation:

J: I’m beginning to suspect that Jane’s not capable of being the team leader for this project. She got her facts wrong more than one time.
 
C: Well, we should give her the benefit of the doubt before we start accusing her. There may be a good explanation for it.

 

J: Remember to give your English learning plan the benefit of the doubt. And don’t give up on your first try!
 
C: And if you are looking for private English classes, feel free to contact us! Talk to you next time! Bye!

我们常听人说：贪多嚼不烂，欲速则不达，月满则亏，水满则溢，这些都在表达什么事情多了，并不好。英语中也有一个这样的习语，来表达想要做的很多，最终却做不到、做不好。这个习语到底是怎么说的呢？

C: Hi guys. I’m Chris.
 
J: And I’m Joy. Today’s idiom is: bite off more than you can chew. It means to try to do something that is too difficult or more than you can accomplish. You can use it like this:

I bit off more than I could chew. / She has bitten off more than she can chew. / They are biting off more than they can chew.
 
C: Let’s say you are eating something. And you put so much food in your mouth that you can’t chew all of it at once. I’m pretty sure this has happened to everyone at some point in their lives.
 
J: Well...I beg to differ.
 
C: OK. So just like putting too much food in your mouth, if you take on too many responsibilities you will overwhelm yourself and probably can’t finish what you need to do. For example, your IELTS exam is coming up but you are under prepared. So you try to bite off more than you can chew right before the big day. Just to put in my two cents, but overloading yourself is never a good idea, so guys, make sure you are not biting off more than you can chew. Anyway, let’s look at how to use this idiom in a conversation:

 

J: Whoa Richard. What are you doing with all these documents?
 
C: My department is downsizing. I volunteered to pick up the extra work but now I realized that I’m biting off more than I can chew here.
 

 

J: Remember, don’t bit off more than you can chew with your English learning. One bite at a time is always a good strategy.
 
C: And if you are looking for private English classes, feel free to contact us! Talk to you next time! Bye!

你的生活中有没有过突发事件呢？你有没有感到过某件事让你出乎意料呢？我们平时总在用suddenly来表示某事突然地，Joy and Chris用了另外一种更地道的表达方法，去听听吧！

C: Hi guys. I’m Chris.
 
J: And I’m Joy. Today we’ll be going over the idiom: out of the blue. It means that something happens when you are not expecting it to or something happens suddenly.
 
C: So the “blue” is referring to a blue sky. And when you see a blue sky, you wouldn’t think anything un-usual is about to happen. But if something did happen, then it would be shocking to you. So we call that out of the blue. Just like when you had already planned your vacation, you didn’t expect this global pandemic to happen. So you can say that it was out the blue. Or your old friend from 10 years ago suddenly called you and wanted to catch up. That is also out of the blue. Let’s look at an example of this idiom:
 
 

J: Hey Jim. What’s up?
 
C: Do you remember Louis, that guy who worked in our department last year?
 
J: Yeah Louis Turner, right?
 
C: He passed away out of the blue in his apartment last week.
 

 

J: Did you find our channel out of the blue? Share it with your friends and family if you enjoy our content!
 
C: And if you are looking for private English classes, feel free to contact us! Talk to you next time! Bye!

我们生活中有很多“关键时刻”，考试、面试、工作报告、公开演讲……等等，有时候我们太紧张以至于到了关键时刻掉链子，那该怎么表达“一到关键时刻我就全忘了”呢？

C: Hi guys. I’m Chris.
 
J: And I’m Joy. Today we’ll be showing you the idiom: when it comes to the crunch. It means when a situation reaches a critical moment. It’s usually used when something must be decided or done, or a difficulty can’t be avoided any more.
 
C: Yup. The word “crunch” has a lot of meanings, such as a crunching sound and number crunching. There is no need at all to rush to your dictionary and memorize all the meanings of this word. Trust me. You won’t remember all of them anyway. In this idiom, with the word “crunch”, we are talking about an important moment. Maybe you have been preparing for the exam to get your driver’s license. But when it came to the crunch, meaning when the exam day came, you made lots of mistakes and failed it. Or maybe you have a good friend and you don’t see each other very often but whenever it comes to the crunch, your friend will always be there for you. It means that when you meet any troubles or difficulties, your friend is always supportive. Let’s look at an example:

 

J: Hey Collin. What happened back there at the meeting? Is everything alright?
 
C: Oh hey Kate. I don’t know. I’ve been preparing for this presentation for weeks. But when it came to crunch, I somehow couldn’t remember anything.
 

 

J: Well, when it comes to the crunch with your English, hopefully these idioms will help! Don’t forget to spread the word to your friends and family about our channel!
 
C: And if you are looking for private English classes, feel free to contact us! Talk to you next time! Bye!

虽然spill是洒的意思，而beans确实是豆子的意思，但是在英语中，spill the beans和字面的意思差的却很远，那么我们听听Joy and Chris是怎么解释到底是怎么用这个习语的吧！

 
J: And I’m Joy. Today we are gonna talk about the idiom: spill the beans. It means to give away a secret. You can use it like this:

Don’t spill the beans. / She spilled the beans. / I don’t want to spill the beans.

C: OK, let’s Imagine you have some beans on your plate. The beans roll off of your plate and fall on the floor. In this idiom, the beans represent a secret. Now your secret is not on your plate any more so it means that you told someone else about it. Maybe you are planning a surprise party for a friend. You might want to tell everyone who’s helping you not to spill the beans to anyone. Or you want to know what your kid is hiding from you. You can ask: Come on. Spill the beans! Here’s an example of how to use it in a conversation:
 

 
J: Hey David. What are you guys planning over here?
 
C: Shh. Pete is going to retire soon. We are planning a surprise party for his retirement.
 
J: Oh, I had no idea. Can I help?
 
C: Sure. Just don’t spill the beans to anyone!
 

 

J: Well, if you like what you hear, please do spill the beans with your friends and family about our channel!
 
C: And if you are looking for private English classes, feel free to contact us! Talk to you next time! Bye!

生日是对于每个人来说都是一年里非常重要的一天，大家都有自己喜欢的方式庆祝生日，不过蛋糕一般是必不可少的，鉴于今天是Chris的生日，我们来听听在国外人们都是怎么过生日的呢？

J: Hello everyone I’m Joy.

C: And I’m Chris.

J: For those of you who don’t know, it’s actually Chris’s birthday today. So happy birthday!

C: Thanks.

J: Well instead of an idiom today, let’s talk a little bit about birthdays. So what do people in the west typically do on their birthdays?

C: Well, in the west, usually your mom or one of your family members will bake your favorite type of birthday cake and they put your name on it.

J: Wow, so what’s your favorite birthday cake?

C: I like to have a banana cake with cream cheese frosting for my birthday. 

J: Sounds really good. In China, most people don’t have ovens in their homes. So everyone just goes to the bakery and orders the cake there, but the options are always limited of course.

C: Well, in the west we have bakeries too. But because birthdays are such a special time. Many families still hold the tradition of just doing it themselves, if they know how to bake a cake of course.

J: Yeah, I know a lot people here in China always choose chocolate cakes because people don’t really know much about other kinds of cakes. When I was living in America, I learned that there are so many different kinds of cakes and many of them are so delicious. It totally blew my mind.

C: Yeah and in my family, cakes are not the only thing you get on your birthday. You also get to choose your favorite food as your birthday dinner. It can be anything you want.

J: Really, anything you want?

C: Yeah, anything you want. Whatever your favorite food is. For me, because my birthday is during a cold month, I usually choose a warm dish. It’s called corned beef and cabbage. It’s actually very similar to a type of Chinese beef.

J: Oh yeah, just like 酱牛肉.

C: Yep, it’s a traditional Irish dish that people usually have on Saint Patrick’s Day which was yesterday.

J: Wow, all this talk about cakes and food is making me hungry. I hope you have a great birthday today.

C: Thanks. I will!

J: Alright, and if you want to wish Chris a happy birthday just leave a comment below! Bye guys!

我们生活中经常会有多变性，不过学英语这事可不能多变，三天打鱼两天晒网可要沉没万年船哦。Anyway, 我们来看看改变主意如果不用"I changed my mind"，还能用什么来表达呢？

 
J: And I’m Joy. The idiom we are learning today is: a change of heart. It means that you changed your opinion about something, especially something emotional. You can usually use it like this:

I had a change of heart. / She’s having a change of heart. / They’ve had a change of heart.
 
C: It doesn’t mean that you are literally exchanging your heart with someone else’s heart though. Here, “heart” is referring to how you feel. You might have been planning on taking the offer from Stanford University, but you heard that the business school at Harvard has more of what you need. So you can say: I had a change of heart. Or your friend was going to go to the concert with you but decided not to go at the last minute. You can ask him: Why the sudden change of heart? Let’s look at an example:

 

J: Hey Paul. Did you end up buying that house on Elm street?
 
C: Well, I was looking at another property a little out of town. It had a bigger back yard. So I had a change of heart.

 

J: Have you ever had a change of heart about anything? Let us know in the comments below!
 
C: And if you are looking for private English classes, feel free to contact us! Talk to you next time! Bye!

在各个语言中的文化背景、语言习惯都大相径庭，所以很多时候我们无法直接将一个语言一字不漏的翻译成另一个语言，所以在我们说英语的时候，很多人喜欢直接把自己脑中的中文，逐字翻译成英文单词，于是就出现了中式英语，反过来，如果把英语逐词翻译成中文，就出现了听不懂，不明白对方什么意思。所以虽然one cent在英语中是一分钱，但是它在不用语境下意思又会不同，那我们今天的习语"my two cents"到底在英语里怎么翻译，在什么情况下用呢？

J: Hi guys. I’m Joy.
 
C: And I’m Chris. The idiom we are learning today is: my two cents. It’s usually used to give your opinion about something in a humble way. You can say: It’s just my two cents. / Those are just my two cents.

J: In English, a cent is the smallest amount of money. So by saying my two cents, you are telling people what you think about something without sounding arrogant. Maybe you have a different idea from your colleagues and you want to tell them about it. Or someone is asking you for your opinion about something. After expressing your thoughts, you can add: These are just my two cents. Let’s look at an example:
 
 

C: Does anyone have any suggestions for the bill board?
 
J: Just to add my two cents, but I believe changing the location will be a good idea.
 

 
 
C: Well, what’s your two cents about our channel? Let us know in the comments below!
 
J: And if you are looking for private English classes, feel free to contact us! Talk to you next time! Bye!

差一点就撞车、千钧一发、比赛差点输了、差点就把手机摔了，生活中的“擦边球”可以真多，让我们防不胜防，你想表达自己受惊吓的小心心，该怎么说呢？

J: Hi guys. I’m Joy.
 
C: And I’m Chris. Today we are gonna talk about another idiom: a close call. It’s usually used to express that something bad almost happened. You can say: That was a close call.

J: Well maybe you are telling your friend about how you ran to the train station last night after work to catch the last train and as you got on the train the doors closed right behind you. You can say that it was a close call.
 
C: You know. One time, I was trying to catch my flight in Shanghai and there was a traffic jam on my way to the airport. Thanks to the taxi driver who drove like a maniac. I was able to make my flight with just a minute or 2 two to spare.
 
J: Wow, that was a really close call. Let’s look at an example of how you can use this idiom in a sentence:

 

C: Hey Victoria. Are you alright? I heard you were in a car accident yesterday.
 
J: Oh no, I’m fine. Some guy ran a red light at the intersection and almost hit me. It was a really close call though.

C: Alright. Try to use this idiom in your daily conversation today and remember to share this with your friends and family!
 
J: And if you are looking for private English classes, feel free to contact us! Talk to you next time! Bye!