每日英語 #027: Do You Mind?

ESLPOD

Do You Mind? 你介意嗎？

Anyone who has been to London can tell you what the phrase “mind the gap” means. It is an announcement heard on the subway/metro (called the “Tube” in England) when the doors to the subway trains open and close. “Mind,” in this case, means to pay attention to something, and “gap” means the space between two things. “Mind the gap” is a reminder for people to be careful of the space between the subway train doors and the station “platform,” the flat area where people wait for the train to arrive.

任何去過倫敦的人都可以告訴你“注意間隙”這個短語的意思。這是在地鐵（在英國稱為“Tube”）上聽到的公告，當地鐵列車的門開關時會聽到這句話。在這種情況下，“mind”意味著注意某事，而“gap”則是指兩個東西之間的空間。“注意間隙”是提醒人們小心地鐵車門和車站“月台”之間的空隙，月台是人們等待列車到來的平坦區域。

Americans don’t use “mind” in the same way. While “to mind” can mean to pay attention to something, Americans use it in a very specific way. You may hear parents or adults say to children: “Mind your parents,” meaning do what your parents tell you to, or “mind your manners.” “Manners” refer to social behaviors, so we talk about people having good manners or bad manners. When parents tell their children to “mind their manners,” they mean for the children to behave well, such as to say “please” and “thank you,” and to not eat with their mouth open at the dinner table.

美國人不以同樣的方式使用“mind”。儘管“to mind”可以意味著注意某事，但美國人以一種非常特定的方式使用它。你可能會聽到父母或成年人對孩子說：“聽你父母的話”，意思是做你父母告訴你做的事，或者“注意你的禮貌”。“Manners”指的是社交行為，所以我們會談到人們有好禮貌或壞禮貌。當父母告訴孩子“注意禮貌”時，他們的意思是讓孩子行為得體，例如說“請”和“謝謝”，並且在餐桌上不要張著嘴吃東西。

Another phrase you’ll hear is, “Do you mind?” Americans use this in two ways. First, they use it to mean, “Is it all right?” or “Is this acceptable to you?” Here are a couple of examples:

另一個你會聽到的短語是“你介意嗎？” 美國人以兩種方式使用這個短語。首先，他們用它來表示“這可以嗎？”或“你能接受嗎？” 這裡有幾個例子：

• “Do you mind if I meet you at 2:00 instead of 1:00?”
• “你介意我2點而不是1點見你嗎？”
• “Li asked me if we would mind if they sat with us at the concert, and I told her that we wouldn’t mind at all.” “李問我如果他們在音樂會上和我們坐在一起，我們是否會介意，我告訴她我們根本不會介意。”

Another way we use the phrase “Do you mind?” is to express our displeasure and to tell someone to stop doing what he or she is doing. For example, if you are on the bus and someone leans over to read your newspaper to the point of getting in your way, you may say to him/her, “Do you mind?” meaning “stop doing that!” This is a pretty forceful statement and is usually used when we’re annoyed or angry about someone else’s actions.

我們使用“你介意嗎？”這個短語的另一種方式是表達我們的不滿並告訴某人停止他或她正在做的事情。例如，如果你在公車上，有人傾身過來讀你的報紙，甚至擋住你的路，你可能會對他/她說：“你介意嗎？”意思是“停止這樣做！”這是一個相當有力的表達，通常用在我們對別人的行為感到惱怒或生氣的時候。

重點單字

• mind 注意 /maɪnd/
• gap 間隙 /ɡæp/
• platform 月台 /ˈplætfɔrm/
• manners 禮貌 /ˈmænərz/
• to mind 聽從 /tə maɪnd/
• phrase 短語 /freɪz/
• displeasure 不滿 /dɪsˈplɛʒər/
• forceful 有力的 /ˈfɔrsfəl/
• annoyed 惱怒的 /əˈnɔɪd/
• acceptable 可接受的 /əkˈsɛptəbl/