The english we speak(BBC教學)第135期:To blow your own trumpet 自我炫耀
William: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak. My name is William Kremer.
威廉：大家好，歡迎收聽地道英語節目。我是威廉·克萊默。Helen: And I'm Helen.
海倫：我是海倫。William: I've got something for you, Helen.
威廉：海倫，我有東西要給你聽。
Burst of loud classical music (Beethoven's '5th Symphony')
突然傳來古典音樂的聲音（貝多芬的《第五交響曲》）Helen: It's nice to have a bit of music William, but why...
海倫：威廉，來點音樂是不錯，可是爲什麼……Burst of different classical music (Mendelssohn's 'Dance of the Clowns')
突然換成另一首古典音樂（門德爾鬆的《貝加莫舞曲》）William: What do you think... nice music, huh?
威廉：你覺得怎麼樣，音樂很不錯，對吧？Helen: Well, it's certainly dramatic! So are we having a special musical edition today, William?
海倫：嗯，當然是激動人心了！所以我們今天是要進行音樂特輯嗎，威廉？William: Well, yes we are Helen. The BBC Proms start this Friday, remember?
威廉：嗯，是的，海倫。英國廣播公司逍遙音樂節從週五開始，你還記得吧？Helen: Ah, of course. The BBC Proms is a huge classical music festival that the BBC sponsors. It's over 100 years old.
海倫：當然記得。英國廣播公司逍遙音樂節是英國廣播公司贊助的大型古典音樂節。這個音樂節已經有100多年的歷史了。William: Yes and every day for the next two months hundreds of music fans will queue to get their hands on a ￡5 ticket.
威廉：對，未來兩個月的每一天都會有數百名音樂愛好者排隊購買門票，門票價格是每張5英鎊。Helen: Wow. Are you going to go?
海倫：哇。你打算去嗎？William: No, I hate queuing! But anyway, I thought we could have a music-themed programme. And our phrase this week relates to one instrument in particular...
威廉：不，我討厭排隊！不過不管怎樣，我想我們可以做期音樂主題節目。而本週我們要講的詞組就和一個樂器有關……Trumpet music solo
小號獨奏Helen: The trumpet?
海倫：是小號嗎？William: Yes, do you know what it means to say someone 'blows his own trumpet'?
威廉：對，你知道blows his own trumpet是什麼意思嗎？Helen: Yes. It means that someone is talking too much about his achievements, right?
海倫：知道。意思是某人過分地炫耀自己的成就，對吧？William: Exactly. Let's listen to an example.
威廉：沒錯。我們來聽一個例子。Woman: Who's going to be there tonight?
女：今晚都誰參加？Man: I think Angela and Mark and that guy Martin...
男：我想安吉拉、馬克還有馬丁……Woman: Oh no, not Martin! He's such a bore. He's always blowing his own trumpet. Last time I saw him he went on and on about how he had been promoted twice in six weeks.
女：哦，不，馬丁不行！他太煩人了，他總是自我吹噓。我上次見到他的時候，他一直在不停地說他在六週內被提升兩次的事情。Helen: So this is quite a negative phrase then?
海倫：那這是一個貶義詞組？William: Yes, sometimes. But interestingly, it isn't always used in a negative way. Listen to this example. A woman is talking to her niece.
威廉：對，有時是。不過有意思地是，這個詞組並不總是用於貶義。來聽這個例子。一個女人正在和她的侄女談話。Woman: I didn't know you'd come top in the class again! Why didn't you tell me? You really must start blowing your own trumpet a bit more!
女：我不知道你又考了全班第一！你爲什麼沒告訴我？你真的需要多炫耀一下自己！Helen: So in that clip, the woman was telling her niece she ought to blow her own trumpet more?
海倫：在這個例子中，這名女性告訴她侄女應該多炫耀一下自己？William: Yes. And English people sometimes use this phrase because they are embarrassed to talk about their achievements. Listen to this clip:
威廉：對。英國人在不好意思談論自己的成就時也會用這個詞組。來聽這個例子：Man: How's it going at your work nowadays?
男：你最近工作怎麼樣？Woman: Well, at the risk of blowing my own trumpet, it's going very well. In fact, I've just won an award!
女：嗯，可能聽上去像是自我炫耀，不過進展非常順利。實際上，我剛剛得了獎！Helen: She said "At the risk of blowing my own trumpet".
海倫：她說“可能聽上去像是自我炫耀”。William: Yeah, so that's like saying "Excuse me while I talk about my achievements"!
威廉：對，意思就是“不好意思，我要談談我的成就”！Helen: Well, I wonder whether we should blow our own trumpet a bit more. I mean here we are with a really popular website, ...
海倫：嗯，我想知道我們是否應該多炫耀一下自己。我的意思是，我們在一個非常受歡迎的網站工作，那就是……William: , making lots of little programmes that are entertaining, fascinating, useful...
威廉：……對，我們製作了大量有趣、引人入勝又有用的小節目……Helen: …and best of all, it's all free! Brilliant, huh?
海倫：最棒的是，所有節目都是免費的！非常精彩，不是嗎？William: Yeah, that's brilliant! But maybe we should stop blowing our own trumpet now! Shall we have some more of that nice music again to finish off?
威廉：對，非常精彩！不過也許我們現在該停止自我吹噓了！我們再來點精彩的音樂來結束節目怎麼樣？Helen: Oh yes! Bye!
海倫：好的！再見！William: Bye!
威廉：再見！重點講解：
1. relate to
涉及；關於；
eg. Whatever activity you pursue should offer skills and experience that can relate to your work.
無論你在這方面從事哪些活動，它們都應該能夠幫助你積累與你工作有關的技能和經驗。
eg. Every sentence should relate to that main point.
每句話都要和主旨相關。
2. in particular
尤其；特別；
eg. Prices for homes, in particular, skyrocketed and put home ownership out of reach for millions.
特別是房價飆升，讓房子成了無數人遙不可及的夢想。
eg. It had become clear that the young, in particular, were getting much of their news online.
事實很明顯，讀者，特別是那些青年人，越來越多地轉向了在線新聞。
3. blow one's own trumpet
自我炫耀；自吹自擂；
eg. Hollywood cameramen have good reason to blow their own trumpets.
好萊塢的攝影師們有足夠的理由可以自我吹噓。
eg. Joe always like to blow his own trumpet. He would boast his relation net.
喬總是喜歡自吹自擂，有機會它就吹噓自己的關係網。
4. ought to do sth.
應當；應該做某事；
eg. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves. You've created this problem.
你們應該感到慚愧，都是你們惹的禍。
eg. He did not know how he ought to behave.
他不知道自己應該怎樣表現。
5. finish off
結束（某事）；
eg. I must finish off this dress I'm making.
我必須完成在縫製的這件衣服。
eg. They hired a smaller company to finish off the job.
他們僱了一家更小的公司完成這項工作。
