VOA流行美語 Unit 291:take the fall; tough it out
Larry跟李華一起開高速，去李華親戚家過週末，由李華開車。今天我們要學兩個常用語： take the fall和Tough it out.
LH: Larry, 今天路可真不好開，我有一種不好的預感。
LL: What do you.mean? Are you talking about your relatives, or are you referring to the possibility of an accident?
LH: 快別說“出事”這個字，多不吉利！不過，我還真有點兒怕，更何況，這輛車不在我的名下。
LL: If there's an accident, I may have to take the fall, Lihua.
LH: 什麼叫take the fall?
LL: When someone 'takes the fall' for something, they are accepting responsibility for another person's mistake.
LH: 哦，take the fall原來是替別人承擔責任的意思。
LL: Yes. For example, if a company has a bad performance, the CEO may take the fall - basically accepting responsibility and making himself the center of the blame, so that the company can continue.
LH: 這麼說，如果真出了車禍，你就要替我承擔責任了？
LL: That's right, Li Hua. I'll take the fall for you. This is my car, after all. It's registered in my name. So, I'll HAVE to take the fall!
LH: 我看咱們還是停下來，由你開好了，否則真出了事，要你替我背黑鍋，那多過意不去！
LL: Hey, don't worry. Let's drive for a little longer, because I want to take a nap. I worked really late yesterday, remember?
LH: 我怎麼會忘！哪天咱們有了孩子，你這個工作狂要是整天不在家，I will have to take the fall.
LL: Don't worry - you wouldn't have to take the fall for that. I'd be a responsible father and tell them myself, and I would accept full responsibility!
LH: 說真的，Larry, 什麼樣的情況下你願意替我背黑鍋呢？
LL: OK, let me think. If you made your father angry, I would take the fall.
LH: 那不算，我爸本來就不太喜歡你！
LL: I know. So I have nothing to lose if I take the fall for you for this! Hahah!
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LH: 還有一英里就可以下高速了，天好象也要放晴了。
LL: Yeah, it appears to be that way. We should be at your relatives' house in a few minutes.
LH: 哎呀！Whoa (車打轉).... (輪胎剎軋聲，汽車打火聲) 不好，車熄火了。
LL: Let me take a look. Oh wow. Total engine failure. Let's see. You know what? We could just tough it out and walk to your relatives' place.
LH: 什麼？走去我親戚家？你瘋了吧？還有你說的tough it out, 那是什麼意思啊？
LL: Tough it out means to complete a task under difficult circumstances. For example, we need to complete our journey to your relatives' house. But because the car is broken down, we have to walk outside in the cold to finish the journey.
LH: 可你還是沒有說明白什麼叫tough it out 啊。
LL: It's cold, and it will take longer, and we have to exert more strength to do it. Because of this, it's tough - so we call it 'toughing it out.'
LH: 你要做硬漢，可以自己去tough it out. 我可不願意。
LL: If you stay in the car, two things can happen: you can get even colder because there is no heat, and something bad could happen to you. It's dangerous to be alone off the highway.
LH: 你是說會有壞人？那我只好跟你一起走了。
LL: I think it's our only choice. If we tough it out together, we can get to your relatives' house in about 15 minutes. We can get some exercise!
LH: 那車怎麼辦？就扔在這兒嗎？
LL: We'll bring our valuables, and I'll use the cell phone to call a tow truck. If we just stand here to tough it out, we risk getting too cold.
LH: OK. Let's tough it out together, Larry!
LL: Yeah! Let me grab our luggage. Just in case. But I'll carry it. I can tough it out.
LH: Larry, 你告訴我，咱倆在一起，你有沒有在精神上覺得受不了的時候？
LL: As a matter of fact, yes. When you went to do research in China for three months, I had to tough it out.
LH: 是啊，那段日子我也覺得挺難熬的！I had to tough it out too. 現在好了，一切都過去了。
今天李華學了兩個常用語。一個是 take the fall, 意思是替別人承擔責任。另一個是 tough it out，意思是堅持到底。
