收聽02:50
Li: Hi, I'm 楊莉, and welcome to Authentic Real English. I'm here today with Jen.
Jennifer: Hi!
Li: 你怎麼…這麼慌慌張張的…? Are you ok?
Jennifer: I woke up late and had to run to the train station. There's only one train an hour. I ran all the way there and made it by the skin of my teeth, just as the doors were closing. Phew! Is there any coffee…?
Li: Hang on… 你說你的牙幫你趕上了火車?
Jennifer: Sorry?
Li: You said "I made it by the skin of my teeth" – "你牙齒的皮膚幫了忙". 那我能能看看你的牙是什麼樣的! Show me your teeth! When did they grow skin?
Jennifer: There's no skin on my teeth. That would be disgusting. Yuck.
Li: So what did you mean?
Jennifer: If you do something "by the skin of your teeth" it means that you did it by a narrow margin – so you just managed to do it, or almost failed.
Li: 原來這是一個固定的短語意思是險些錯過了什麼，幾乎失敗。這麼說，如果你差點兒誤了火車那就可以說, You caught the train by the skin of your teeth.
Is there skin on our teeth?
Jennifer: That's exactly right. Let's hear some more examples of the phrase in action:
Li: So when you just manage to do something, you can say you did it by the skin of your teeth?
Jennifer: That's it.
Li: 這是個想像力很豐富的短語。 I like it.
Jennifer: It's good to be able to get your teeth into English phrases like this.
Li: 你說我的牙齒嗎? What about my teeth?
Jennifer: It's just another phrase, silly. If you get your teeth into something, it means that you become really involved in it.
Li: Well in that case, I do love getting my teeth into a new phrase – 好好啃一啃意思就是鑽研新短語。等等我想起來，糟了。Oh no! 我剛想起來我今天十二點有牙科預約 – but look, it's ten to twelve now, I'll never make it!
Jennifer: You go, I'll finish the programme – if you run you might make it, but by the skin of your teeth!
Li: Thanks Jen – bye…
Jennifer: Join us again for another edition of Authentic Real English and visit our website, bbcukchina.com. Bye!