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內容簡介

Neil 向菲菲抱怨自己有太多的衣服要洗，但他卻說自己只要 “throw in the towel 扔一條毛巾進去”，這讓菲菲感到疑惑不解。表達 “throw in the towel” 的意思和 “毛巾” 有什么關系？Neil 用這個短語真正想表達的意思是什么？看視頻，學習一個源自拳擊運動的地道英語表達。

文字稿

（關于臺詞的備注: 請注意這不是廣播節目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能沒有體現錄制、編輯過程中對節目做出的改變。）

Feifei
大家好，歡迎來到 BBC 英語教學的《地道英語》節目。我是馮菲菲。

Neil
And I’m Neil. Hey, do you know what, Feifei? I've had enough! 

Feifei
你受夠了？你受夠什么了？

Neil
Trying to do all my washing.

Feifei
Really – is it that hard?

Neil
It is. I just can't keep up with all the clothes I have to wash, dry and iron. It doesn't matter how much washing I do, I keep running out of clean clothes.

Feifei
Yes, I can see. Haven't you been wearing that shirt all week?! 那你現在準備怎么辦呢？

Neil
I don't know. I think I'll just throw in the towel.

Feifei
Um…Washing just one towel won't help – you can't wear that to work.

Neil
That's not what I meant. 'To throw in the towel' is a saying that means to admit defeat. The phrase comes from boxing. If a boxer is being hit too much, and is losing the fight, sometimes his coach will throw a towel into the boxing ring to signal that the fight is over. He's been defeated.

Feifei
Got it! 表達 “to throw in the towel 扔毛巾” 的意思是 “承認失敗”。這個說法源自拳擊運動，原本指拳擊運動員的教練向擂臺里扔毛巾以示認輸的做法，現在它也用于該運動以外的語境中，比喻 “放棄、認輸”。And for you, it means no clean clothes! Let's hear some more examples of this phrase, shall we?

Examples
I've tried my best, but this job is just too hard.  I'm afraid I'm gonna have to throw in the towel and quit.

I know the race is tough, but don't throw in the towel, keep going and you might actually win!

I've been trying to learn Korean for years but I'm not making any progress. So I guess it's time to throw in the towel.

Feifei
這里是 BBC 英語教學的《地道英語》節目，本集節目中給大家介紹的英語說法是 “throw in the towel”。剛剛 Neil 說洗衣服這件事枯燥無聊，沒完沒了，所以他用到了 “throw in the towel” 這個搭配，表示放棄，再也不想干了。You can't cope, can you, Neil?

Neil
I have tried. There's just too much to do.

Feifei
Maybe you've got too many clothes. But if you're not going to wash them, what are you going to wear?

Neil
Well, I've still got my nightclub gear I used to wear as a student – will that do?

Feifei
Hmm, I think you'd be better off just wearing a towel, Neil!

Neil
Hmm, thanks for the fashion advice. I think my best option is to take everything to the launderette.

Feifei
這個主意不錯！See you!

Neil
Goodbye!