36. I Get Cold Feet
畏缩不前
BACKGROUND 背景
One friend is encouraging another to see a dentist.
一个人在鼓励他的朋友去看牙医。
A : Hi, Mike. What’s new?
嗨，迈克。你好吗？
B: What’s wrong with you? Your face is swollen. You look terrible!
你这是怎么啦？脸都肿了。气色很不好！
A : My jaw aches. I don’t know why.
我下巴疼，我也不知道是怎么回事。
B: Let me take a look. No wonder it hurts! One of your teeth looks decayed. You’d better see a dentist right away.
让我看一看。难怪疼呀！你有颗牙齿坏了。最好马上去看牙医。
A: Do you think I have to? I’ve been putting it off for weeks. To tell the honest truth, dentists scare me to death. I get cold feet when I have to go to one. Even thinking of it makes me shake.
一定要去吗？我都拖了好几个星期了。说实话，我害怕牙医怕得要死。每次去到那里我就紧张得不得了。就连想到牙医我都不寒而栗。
B: Don’t be silly. You’d be better off seeing one. I’ll make an appointment for you. Only a fool is afraid of the dentist!
别犯傻了。你还是要看医生的。我来帮你预约。只有傻子才怕见牙医呢！
A: Okay. I might as well go. But find me one who doesn’t hurt!
好。还是去吧。不过帮我找一个看牙不疼的牙医哦！
B: Come on. I’m your best friend. You can count on me. There’s nothing to be afraid of.
好啦。我是你最好的朋友，你就放心吧。没有什么可害怕的。
A: Well, if you say so, I’ll take your word for it.
好吧，既然你这么说，我就照你说的做。
额外成就感
no wonder: it isn’t surprising 难怪；不足为奇☆☆☆
* No wonder you’re tired! You stayed up the whole night.
难怪你这么累，你一个晚上没睡觉。
* No wonder we couldn’t find you. You were in America!
难怪我们找不到你呢。你在美国！
* No wonder your husband is mad. I would be too if I were in his shoes.
你老公生气这不足为奇。如果我是他的话也会生气的。
right away: immediately 马上；即刻☆☆☆
* I’m sorry I forgot to bring the book for you; I’ll take care of it right away.
对不起，我忘了把书给你带来，我马上就去给你拿。
* After I took the medicine, I felt better right away.
我吃完药就马上感觉好多了。
* We need to leave right away or we’ll be late.
我们得赶紧走，要不就迟到了。
put something off: postpone推迟做某事☆☆☆☆
* Because of the weather, we have to put the picnic off until next week.
因为天气的原因，我们不得不把野炊推迟到下个星期。
* Don’t put off studying until the last minute.
不要把学习的事推到最后。
* I don’t want to put off our meeting until next week.
我不想把会议推迟到下个星期。
get cold feet: become very cautious; be afraid to do something
胆怯；局促不安☆☆☆☆☆
* Every time I want to ask her out, I get cold feet.
每次我想约她出去，都打退堂鼓。
* I thought you were going to open your own business. What happened, did you get cold feet?
我还以为你要着手开办自己的公司呢。发生了什么事，你不敢了吗？
* She was supposed to get married last month but she got cold feet.
她本应该上个月结婚的，但她又打了退堂鼓。
be better off: be better on a long-term basis
（对于做某事来说）较明智☆☆☆☆☆
* Do you think I’d be better off quitting my job and going abroad?
你觉得我辞去工作出国是不是明智之举？
* You’d be better off going to the office in person instead of trying to call.
你亲自去办公室比打电话要强得多。
* I think I’d be better off if I were single!
我要是单身的话会更好一些！
might as well: it is a good idea to do something, although not of major importance 倒不如；满可以☆☆☆☆
* If you’re going to the library, I might as well go with you and return these books.
如果你要去图书馆的话，我倒不如跟你一起去把这些书还了。
* You might as well give me your phone number if you’re going to be here a few days.
你要是来这住几天的话，倒不如把电话号码也给我。
* As long as we’re here we might as well try the Beijing duck.
既然我们来了，倒不如吃北京烤鸭。