The english we speak(BBC教學)第325期:At the drop of a hat 毫不猶豫
Rob says if he had the money he'd go to Australia at the drop of hat. Always thoughtful, Feifei offers Rob her hat — but she soon discovers her hat won't even get him to the airport! Find out why in this programme.
羅布說如果他有錢，他就會毫不猶豫地去澳大利亞旅行。一直很體貼的菲菲把帽子借給了羅布，但是很快她就發現她的帽子不能把他送去機場！想知道原因請收聽本期節目。Feifei: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak. I'm Feifei.
菲菲：大家好，歡迎收聽地道英語節目。我是菲菲。Rob: And I'm Rob. So Feifei, have you got any holiday plans?
羅布：我是羅布。菲菲，你假期有什麼計劃嗎？
Feifei: Yes I have actually. Three weeks in Australia.
菲菲：我有。我打算在澳大利亞度過三週的假期。Rob: Australia — wonderful! If I had the money, I'd go there at the drop of a hat.
羅布：澳大利亞，太棒了！我有錢的話，我就會馬上去澳大利亞。Feifei: What? At the drop of a hat? Here, take my hat.
菲菲：什麼？帽子掉了就去？給你，我的帽子。Rob: Your hat?
羅布：你的帽子？Feifei: Yes, you said you'd go at the drop of hat, so here's my hat, now drop it — and then you can go.
菲菲：對啊，你不是說帽子掉了你就去嗎，這是我的帽子，現在把它掉到地上，然後你就可以去了。Rob: I wish it was that simple. When I said at the drop of a hat I meant 'immediately'. If I had enough money, I would go to Australia immediately — without delay.
羅布：我也希望能這麼簡單。我說“帽子掉了就去”的意思是“立即”。如果我有足夠的錢，我就會立即去澳大利亞，毫不耽擱。Feifei: I see. So in other words, you would go to Australia without hesitation.
菲菲：我明白了。換句話說，你會毫不猶豫地去澳大利亞。Rob: Exactly. Let's hear some more examples...
羅布：完全正確。現在我們來聽些例句。Examples
例句My husband just can't stop spending — he buys clothes at the drop of a hat!
我的丈夫一直在無節制地消費，他會毫不猶豫地買衣服！If I knew what to do next, I'd quit my job at the drop of a hat. Until then, I'll stay where I am.
如果我知道接下來要怎麼做，我就會毫不猶豫地辭掉工作。在那之前，我會留在這個地方。My wife's expecting a baby so I might have to rush to the hospital at the drop of a hat.
我妻子要生孩子了，所以我得立即趕去醫院。Feifei: To do something at a drop of a hat means to do something immediately without even thinking about it. Well Rob, I'll send you a postcard when I get to Australia but it may take a while.
菲菲：“毫不猶豫地”做某事，意思就是說想都不用想，馬上就做。羅布，我到了澳大利亞會給你寄明信片的，不過這可能會需要一點兒時間。Rob: Why's that?
羅布：爲什麼？Feifei: Well I'm going skiing in France first.
菲菲：因爲我要先去法國滑雪。Rob: Oh, well that's somewhere where you really don't want to drop your hat — it'll be freezing!
羅布：哦，那可是一個你不想丟掉帽子的地方，那會非常冷的！Feifei: So you don't fancy coming with me then?
菲菲：你不想和我一起去嗎？Rob: Skiing? No, that's something I wouldn't do at the drop of a hat. I'll think about it. But have fun.
羅布：滑雪？我不去了，這件事我是不會毫無猶豫地去做的。我要考慮一下。祝你玩得開心。Feifei: Thanks. Bye.
菲菲：謝謝。 再見。Rob: Bye!
羅布：再見！
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重點講解：
1. at the drop of a hat 毫不猶豫地；非常樂意地；
例句：India is one part of the world I would go to at the drop of a hat.
印度是世界上我迫不及待想要去的一個地方。
2. in other words 換言之；換句話說；也就是說；
例句：In other words, we'd better change our plan.
換句話說，我們最好改變一下計劃。
3. without hesitation 毫不猶豫地；心甘情願地；
例句：The great majority of players would, of course, sign the contract without hesitation.
絕大多數球員當然會毫不猶豫地籤合同。
