迷你對話學地道口語第540期:發覺可疑;感覺蹊蹺

Subject：I smell a rat.

迷你對話

A : Wait! I smell a rat!

等等！我感到有點不對勁。

B: What? Oh, we are in the wrong classroom!

什麼，哦，我們走錯了教室。

地道表達

smell a rat

1. 解詞釋義

Smell a rat中的rat是指“老鼠”。老鼠在人們心中是個鬼鬼祟祟的樣子，如果你問到了老鼠的味道，你會感覺到噁心，心裏發毛，同時還可能想你的東西是否被他咬過。這種感覺和俚語中的smell the rat的意思相近了，意思是“讓人覺得不對勁”“發覺可疑”“感覺事情蹊蹺，不對勁”。其英文解釋爲：to suspect that something is wrong; to sense that someone has caused something wrong。

2. 拓展例句

e.g. Why are the police looking for me? I smell a rat.

警察爲什麼在找我?我覺得事有蹊蹺。

e.g. The old man would probably smell a rat if he were to claim them now.

馬上去要，恐怕老頭子多心。

e.g. Every time Joe visits me, one of my ash trays disappears. I'm beginning to smell a rat.

每次喬來看我，我就有一隻菸灰缸不見了。我開始起了疑心。

e.g. The teacher did not smell a rat until he found Jack kept looking downwards at his own feet instead of at his own paper.

直到老師發現傑克不在看自己的卷子，而老盯着自己的腳看時，他才發現有問題。