▶【完整逐字稿下載】

https://buymeacoffee.com/MjEnglish/kill-3787015

▶【請我們喝杯咖啡】

https://payment.ecpay.com.tw/Broadcaster/Donate/233882E8B53CF503A9A0F879E6A342F3

▶【Youtube影片練習】

https://www.youtube.com/@mjenglish

J: You know, it's kind of funny how English words work sometimes.

M: You learn one thing, but then you hear people using them in ways that are completely different.

M: Totally. Especially common words, right. They pick up all sorts of extra meanings.

J: Exactly. So, welcome to MJ English. Today we're going to look at one of those words. It's "kill".

M: Yeah. Kill. Most people first learn the really serious meaning, you know, to end a life.

J: Right, it sounds quite intense.

M: But, you know, in everyday chat, native speakers use kill all the time, and often it's not serious at all. Sometimes it's even like, positive.

J: It's true. So let's explore some of these surprising ways you'll hear "kill" being used. You might be surprised.

M: Okay, let's do it.

J: So, first up. This one's maybe the most surprising. What if someone says to you, "Wow, you killed it."?

M: Right. That sounds bad, but it's actually a really big compliment.

J: A compliment? How so?

M: It means you did something incredibly well. Like you were amazing, totally fantastic.

J: Okay, so if I gave a presentation at work and it went really well…

M: Yeah, your coworker might say, "You killed that presentation, totally nailed it."

J: Or like a singer on stage in America, giving an amazing performance.

M: The crowd might yell, "You killed it!" It's much stronger than just saying "good job." It means you were outstanding.

J: Gotcha. So it's pretty casual, though.

M: Yeah. Definitely casual. You probably wouldn't say it to your big boss in a formal review.

J: Right.So from doing great, let's switch gears. What about food?

M: Yes. Food. If you're super hungry and you eat something really, really fast…

J: Like devour it.

M: Exactly. You can say you killed it. It means you finished every last bit super quickly.

J: So if I hadn't eaten all day and I inhaled a burger in like, three bites…

M: You could definitely say, "Man, I was starving. I just killed that burger."

J: Okay.

M: Or imagine students in Taiwan, maybe after school they get some snacks and just wolf 'em down.

J: They'd kill those snacks.

M: They would. It implies speed and, you know, completeness. Nothing left.

J: That makes sense. Okay, so, completeness. What about time? I think I've heard "kill time."

M: Yeah, that's a really common one. Killing time.

J: What does that mean, exactly? Is it wasting time?

M: Sort of, but not necessarily in a bad way. It just means you have some extra time before something else happens and you need to fill it.

J: Okay. Like waiting for a bus or something.

M: Exactly. Or maybe you're early for a movie. You might scroll on your phone, read a bit, just do something to make the time pass.

J: So, "I need to kill half an hour before the meeting starts."

M: Perfect. You're just occupying that waiting period.

J: Got it. Now, this next one feels a bit closer to the original meaning, but different. Pain.

M: Right. If something is killing you, it means it's causing you a lot of pain or discomfort.

J: Like physically?

M: Physically, yeah. Like, "My feet are killing me after walking all day." Or, mentally too.

J: Mentally?

M: Like stress. If you're really worried about a big test, maybe at like an American university…

J: Yeah.

M: You might say, "The pressure of this exam is killing me." It's exaggeration, hyperbole, for intense suffering.

J: So it's much stronger than just "It hurts" or "I'm stressed."

M: Way stronger. It means it's really, really bad.

J: Okay. And speaking of strong feelings, there's another one with two sides: laughing and annoyance.

M: Yes. This one's interesting. If someone is super funny, telling great jokes…

J: And you're laughing really hard.

M: So hard it almost hurts. You can say, "Stop, you're killing me," meaning you're making me laugh too much.

J: Okay, I think I've heard that.

M: It can also mean the opposite. Annoyance. Extreme annoyance or frustration. If someone keeps doing something that drives you crazy, like maybe they keep changing plans last minute…

J: That's annoying.

M: Right. You might sigh and say, "Seriously, you're killing me with these changes." It expresses that peak frustration.

J: Wow, okay. So context and tone are super important there.

M: Absolutely crucial.

J: Right, one last one. Competitions. Winning big.

M: Yep. If your team wins a game by a huge amount, like totally dominates the other team.

J: Like 10-nil in soccer.

M: Exactly. You'd say, "Our team killed the competition," or "We killed them."

J: So it means you won easily, by a lot.

M: By a very large margin. Total domination. You hear it in sports all the time. Think of a US basketball team winning by like 40 points.

J: They killed it.

M: They killed the other team. And it's not just sports. You could win a contest, like, "I killed the costume contest at the party."

J: Meaning you were clearly the best.

M: Yeah, you won overwhelmingly. It's common, not seen as rude.

J: Man, "kill" is such a busy word. Doing great, eating fast, passing time, being in pain, laughing hard, getting annoyed, winning big.

M: It really shows how English works, doesn't it? These everyday words have so many layers, you just have to listen to how people actually use them.

J: For sure. The more you listen, the more these different meanings just kind of click.

M: It becomes natural.

J: Absolutely. Hopefully, now you've got a better handle on all these surprising ways to use "kill." So let us know, what do you like to do to kill time on, say, a nice sunny afternoon?

M: Good question.

J: Thanks for tuning in to MJ English, and we'll catch you next time.

J：你知道，英文單字的運作方式有時候真的很有趣。

M：你學了一種意思，但又聽到人們用在完全不同的地方。

M：真的。特別是那些常見的單字，對吧。它們會衍生出各種額外的意思。

J：沒錯。所以，歡迎來到 MJ English。今天我們要看一個這樣的單字，就是「kill」。

M：對，「kill」。大部分人一開始學到的都是那個非常嚴肅的意思，你知道的，結束一個生命。

J：對，聽起來很沉重。

M：但是，在日常對話中，母語人士一直都在用「kill」，而且通常一點也不嚴肅。有時候甚至帶有正面的意思。

J：真的。那我們來探索一些你會聽到「kill」這個字被使用的驚喜用法。你可能會很驚訝。

M：好，我們開始吧。

J：那麼，首先。這個可能最令人驚訝。如果有人對你說：「哇，you killed it」。

M：對。這聽起來很糟，但它其實是一個非常大的讚美。

J：讚美？怎麼說？

M：意思是你的表現非常出色。就像你太棒了，完全無懈可擊。

J：好，所以如果我在工作上做了一個簡報，而且進行得非常順利。

M：對，你的同事可能會說：「你那場簡報太神了，完全掌握全場。」

J：或像是在美國，一個歌手在舞台上，帶來一場精彩的表演。

M：觀眾可能會大喊：「You killed it!」這比單純說「做得好」要強烈得多。意思是你的表現非常傑出。

J：了解。不過這用法很口語吧。

M：是啊。絕對是口語。你可能不會在正式的績效評估中對你的大老闆這麼說。

J：好。那麼從「表現出色」，我們換個話題。食物呢？

M：是啊。食物。如果你非常餓，然後很快很快地吃完某樣東西…

J：像是狼吞虎嚥。

M：沒錯。你可以說你「killed it」。意思是你非常迅速地吃完了每一口。

J：所以如果我一整天沒吃東西，然後像用三口就吸完一個漢堡。

M：你絕對可以說：「天啊，我餓壞了。我剛才秒殺了那個漢堡。」

J：好的。

M：或者想像一下台灣的學生，下課後買了些點心，然後直接狼吞虎嚥吃光光。

J：他們一定是把那些點心秒殺了。

M：沒錯。這個說法有種「很快、而且是吃得一乾二淨」的意思，一點都不剩。

J：有道理。所以是「徹底、完全」的意思。那說到時間呢？我好像聽過 "kill time"。

M：對，那是個非常常見的用法。「Killing time」。

J：那到底是什麼意思？是浪費時間嗎？

M：算是，但不一定是用在負面的情境。它只是指在某件事發生前你有一些空檔，你需要去填補它。

J：哦，好。像是等公車之類的。

M：沒錯。或者你可能提早到了電影院。你可能會滑滑手機，看點書，就做點事讓時間過去。

J：所以，「會議開始前我需要打發半個小時。」

M：完全正確。你只是在填滿那段等待的時間。

J：懂了。接下來這個，感覺跟原始的意義比較接近，但又不同。疼痛。

M：對。如果某樣東西「is killing you」，意思是它讓你感到非常疼痛或不舒服。

J：像是身體上的？

M：身體上的，對。像是：「我的腳走了一整天後痛死了。」或者，精神上也是。

J：精神上？

M：像是壓力。如果你非常擔心一場大考，可能像是在一所美國大學裡…

J：是。

M：你可能會說：「這次考試的壓力快把我壓垮了。」這是用誇飾法，來形容極度的痛苦。

J：所以這比單純說「很痛」或「我壓力很大」要強烈得多。

M：強烈得多。意思是情況真的非常非常糟。

J：好的。說到強烈的情感，還有一個有兩面的用法：大笑和煩躁。

M：是的。這個很有趣。如果有人非常搞笑，說了很棒的笑話…

J：然後你笑得很厲害。

M：笑到肚子都快痛了。你可以說：「停，you're killing me!」，意思是「你快笑死我了」。

J：好，我好像聽過這個。

M：它也可以是相反的意思。煩躁。極度的煩躁或沮喪。如果有人一直做讓你快抓狂的事，像是他們可能在最後一刻一直改計畫…

J：哦，那很煩人。

M：對。你可能會嘆氣說：「說真的，你這些變動快把我搞瘋了。」這表達了那種頂點的沮喪感。

J：哇，好。所以情境和語氣在那裡就超級重要。

M：絕對關鍵。

J：好，最後一個。競賽。大獲全勝。

M：是的。如果你的隊伍以懸殊的比數贏得一場比賽，完全輾壓對方。

J：像是足球賽的10比0。

M：沒錯。你會說：「我們隊伍完勝了對手」，或是「我們秒殺了他們。」

J：所以意思是你們輕鬆大勝。

M：以非常大的差距獲勝。完全的宰制。你在運動比賽中會一直聽到。想像一支美國籃球隊贏了大概40分。

J：他們「killed it」。

M：他們完勝了另一隊。而且不只是運動。你也可以用在贏得比賽，像是：「我在派對的服裝比賽中大獲全勝。」

J：意思是，你顯然是最棒的。

M：對，你壓倒性地獲勝了。這很常見，不會被視為無禮。

J：天啊，「kill」這個字真是個大忙人。表現出色、吃得快、打發時間、身體疼痛、大笑、感到煩躁、大獲全勝。

M：這真的展現了英文的運作方式，不是嗎？這些日常用字有這麼多層次，你只需要去聽人們實際上是怎麼使用它們的。

J：當然。你聽得越多，這些不同的意思就越能自然地理解。

M：它會變得越來越自然。

J：一點也沒錯。希望現在你對「kill」這些令人驚訝的用法有了更好的掌握。那麼告訴我們，在一個陽光明媚的美好下午，你喜歡做什麼來打發時間呢？

M：好問題。

J：感謝收聽MJ English，我們下次見。

--

Hosting provided by SoundOn