激烈竞争
Rat race
Hello and welcome to The English We Speak with me, Feifei…
大家好，欢迎收听BBC《地道英语》节目，我是菲菲……
…and me, Rob.
我是罗伯。
So, Rob, I have a very simple question for you.
罗伯，我有一个简单的问题要问你。
Yep?
嗯？
Why have you got enormous whiskers glued to the side of your face,
为什么你脸的一侧粘着大胡须，
and why are you wearing a running vest?
为什么你穿着赛跑背心？
Well Feifei, it's a new year.
好吧，菲菲，因为是新的一年。
And according to our Chinese friends, it’s the 'Year of the Rat'.
据我们的中国朋友说，今年是“鼠年”。
New Year, new resolutions,
新的一年，新的决心，
so I've decided to join the rat race!
所以我决定加入激烈的竞争之中。
You've decided to join the rat race?
你决定加入激烈的竞争之中？
You mean to get really competitive at work and concentrate on promotions and pay rises at the expense of your free time?
你的意思是要以你的空闲时间为代价，在工作中变得真的具有竞争力，集中精力于升职和加薪上吗？
That's right.
没错。
But why?
但是为什么呢？
Money!
钱！
Right, well let's hear some examples of this expression before a little more explanation.
好的，在进一步解释之前，我们先来听一下这个表达的一些例子。
I'm going to quit the rat race.
我要退出激烈的竞争。
I earn all this money but I never have enough time to spend it!
这些钱都是我赚的，但我从来没有足够的时间去花掉！
It's just work, work, work!
只是工作，工作，工作！
People complain about the rat race,
人们抱怨激烈的竞争，
but if you earn enough, you can retire at 50!
但如果你挣得足够多，你可以在50岁退休！
Nieves decided to quit the rat race after she had a serious health scare.
在经历了一场严重的健康恐慌后，尼夫斯决定退出激烈的竞争。
She realised that the money wasn't worth the stress.
她意识到那笔钱不值得她有那么大压力。
You're listening to The English We Speak from BBC Learning English.
您正在收听的是BBC教学英语的《地道英语》节目。
In this programme, we're looking at the expression 'rat race'.
在本期节目中，我们讨论的是“激烈竞争”这个短语。
It's used to describe a way of life in which people work very hard for a lot of money.
它被用来描述一种生活方式——人们为赚很多钱而努力工作。
But there's no free time and it's very, very competitive.
但是没有空闲时间，而且竞争非常非常激烈。
You heard in the examples, we often hear the word 'quit' used with 'rat race'.
你在例句中听到了，我们经常听到“停止”和“激烈竞争”一起使用。
Quit the rat race.
停止激烈的竞争。
But you, Rob, have decided to join it.
但是罗伯，你已经决定加入激烈的竞争之中。
You do know that you don't have to look like a rat to join the rat race?
你知道你不必看起来像只老鼠来加入激烈的竞争吧？
And you certainly don't have to wear a racing vest.
当然你也不必穿竞赛背心。
Just trying to make things clear for our audience, Feifei!
只是想让我们的观众明白，菲菲！
I do quite like those whiskers, though.
不过我确实很喜欢那些胡须。
Squeaks.
吱吱。
Bye!
拜！
Bye bye!
拜拜！