敷衍搪塞
Give someone the runaround
Hello and welcome to The English We Speak. I'm Feifei.
大家好，欢迎来到BBC地道英语，我是菲菲。
And I'm Rob. Hello.
我是罗伯，大家好。
Hey, Rob, how is your application to run in the marathon going?
嘿，罗伯，你报名参加马拉松的事情怎么样了？
Not great. I fill in a form and then I'm told to fill in another one.
不怎么样。我填了一个表格，他们又要我填另一个。
Have you tried phoning someone?
你试着给他们打电话了吗？
Yes. And they won't give me a straight answer. They just keep giving me the runaround.
打了。但他们没有给我直接的答复，他们只是“keep giving me the runaround”。
Well, that makes sense.
好吧，这样也有意义呀。
If you're going to run in a marathon, you've got to run around.
如果你要参加马拉松，你必须得不停地跑步。
No, Feifei. Giving someone the runaround does not involve any exercise.
不是的，菲菲。“Giving someone the runaround”不是指锻炼。
If you give someone the runaround, it means you 'behave in an unhelpful way' – possibly sending someone from one place to another to get help.
如果你“give someone the runaround”，意思就是你“不去帮忙”——可能就是让人去其他地方寻求帮助。
If you are given the runaround, it can be very frustrating.
如果别人让你“runaround”，那真的让人很失望。
I'm sure it is. I know lots of situations where I've been given the runaround.
我知道。我知道很多被搪塞敷衍的情况。
Well, there's one place where you won't be given the runaround.
好吧，不过有一个地方你绝不会被敷衍。
It's here, with some helpful examples of this phrase.
那就是下面这些非常有用的例句。
When I called the bank to ask for a loan, they just gave me the runaround.
我去银行贷款，他们却只是敷衍搪塞我。
She went to the hospital to get the results of her test, but she just got the runaround. Now she's going to make a formal complaint.
她去医院取检查结果，却被他们搪塞。现在她要去正式投诉了。
When I complained about the bill, I was told to speak to the boss. But he wasn't there! I think I'm just being given the runaround.
当我投诉账单的时候，他们告诉我要和老板说。可是老板不在！我想我只是被敷衍了。
This is The English We Speak from BBC Learning English and we're finding out about the phrase 'to give someone the runaround', which means 'to deliberately behave in an unhelpful way'.
这里是BBC地道英语，我们正在讨论“to give someone the runaround”的意思，它是指“故意不帮忙”。
And, Rob, you've been given the runaround.
罗伯，你就是被敷衍搪塞了。
I have. All I want to do is get a place in the marathon. But nobody seems to want to help me.
是的。我只是想参加马拉松，但是似乎没人想帮忙。
Could it be that you're so unfit, they just don't want to give you a place?
是不是因为你身体状况不佳，所以他们不想让你参加？
I don't think so. I've been training for weeks!
我不这样认为。我这几周都在锻炼身体！
Well, I managed to get a place straight away with no runaround.
好吧，我已经报名成功了，没有任何受到任何敷衍。
What? You're running the marathon too?
什么？你也要参加马拉松？
Why didn't you tell me?
你为什么不告诉我呢？
Right, I'm going to phone them again and demand a place.
好吧，我要再打个电话，要求参加。
And don't be given the runaround this time, Rob!
罗伯，这次就不要再被搪塞敷衍了！
I won't. See you at the start line!
不会的。起跑线见！
Bye.
拜拜~