A Wise Guy 自作聰明的人

邱海林

Last week I was at a party having a great time when a wise guy really started to bother me.

The party started off very nicely， there were lots of people and plenty of good food and， of course， everybody was drinking quite a bit. My friends and I were chewing the fat about the past week when this guy joined our conversation. We continued our conversation and everything was very pleasant. A friend of mine was letting off steam about some problems he was having at work. Suddenly， the wise guy asked a loaded question about one of our colleagues（同事;同行）. We thought he was horsing around， so we really didn’t answer his question. I mean， it’s not a good idea to take a dig at a colleague no matter how much you might dislike him. We continued our conversation although it was clear that the new guy really wanted to have a run-in because he kept asking stupid questions.

It became clear that we weren’t going to answer any of his questions. This led him to start talking big about all his projects， business deals and how important he was.

In other words， the guy was full of hot air. In fact， he seemed to be a sitting duck for someone. It didn’t take long. One of my friends decided he wouldn’t pull his punches and started to make fun of everything the guy said. It just got worse and worse. Finally， my friend told the guy to put a sock in it.

Still， the guy continued on about what a fantastic life he had， the great vacations he had taken， the amazing job offers he got every week， on and on he went. The last straw was when he told us about the brand new hot car he had bought. My friend turned to the man and told him that everything he had told us was a snow job. He obviously didn’t have a job， friends or a fancy car. He was， in fact， a wise guy. He had hit the bull’s-eye. It was rather sad， but you could see how embarrassed the poor guy felt. It was all rather sad.

【精彩譯文】

上周，我在一個聚會上玩得十分開心，直到被一個自作聰明的人弄得興致全無。

聚會一開始進展得十分順利，賓客如云，美食眾多，當然，人們都舉杯暢飲。在這個家伙加入我們的談話前，我和朋友們聊著上周發生的事。我們繼續著談話，一切都那么美好。我的一個朋友抱怨著工作上遇到的煩心事。突然，這個自作聰明的人問了我的同事一個別有用心的問題。我們覺得他是在找茬，就沒有回答他的問題。我的意思是說，不管你多么不喜歡你的同事，挖苦他也是不好的。雖然這個家伙很顯然想插嘴，因為他不停地問一些愚蠢的問題，但我們仍繼續著自己的談話。

顯而易見，我們不準備回答他的任何問題。于是他開始吹噓起自己所有的項目、生意和本事。

換句話說，這個家伙滿嘴都在跑火車。事實上，對于別人來說，他似乎就是一個容易被打擊的對象。沒過多久，我的一個朋友決定挫挫他的銳氣，開始取笑起他說的話。結果玩笑越開越大。最后，我的朋友告訴這個家伙讓他閉嘴。

但是，他仍然吹噓自己過著多么有趣的生活、享受著多么棒的假期，以及每周收到多好的工作機會。我朋友告訴他，他所說的一切都是謊言。顯而易見，這個家伙既沒有工作、朋友，也沒有豪車。事實上，他就是在自作聰明。這真是一針見血。雖然很悲慘，但你可以看到這個可憐蟲有多么窘迫。真是太慘了。

【習 語】

chew the fat討論;聊天

let off steam說或做某事以舒緩壓力

horse around胡鬧;做蠢事

take a dig at someone批評某人

have a run-in不贊同某人

talk big用夸張的方式談論自己的成功或計劃

hot air大話

sitting duck容易攻擊的對象

pull one’s punches故意不猛烈打擊，常用于否定句

put a sock in it閉嘴，安靜點

last straw使某人的忍耐突破極限的某事

snow job謊言或騙局

hit the bull’s-eye掌握事物的關鍵

loaded question別有用心的問題

【練一練】

1.I wish you would ______________. I can’t hear myself think.

2.Let’s have a drink and _________.

3.We like to ____________ at work sometimes. My colleagues are pretty fun.

4.I can’t answer that because I think it’s a _____________.

5.That’s a __________. Don’t believe a word of it.

6.That’s right！ You’ve _____________.

7.If you keep doing that you’ll be a ___________ for criticism.

8.I like to ___________ by going hiking.

答案：1. put a sock in it 2. chew the fat 3. horse around 4. loaded question 5. snow job

6. hit the bull’s-eye 7. sitting duck 8. let off steam