Put the Cart Before the Horse 本末倒置
Iris: I think I’m in love.
Carl: What?
Photo: AdobeStock I 照片：AdobeStock
Iris: We just have so much in common. We like all of the same things.
Carl: Yes, but you’ve only chatted with him online.
Iris: It doesn’t matter. I know we’ll end up getting married.
Photo: AdobeStock I 照片：AdobeStock
Carl: I’m afraid you’re putting the cart before the horse.
You should at least meet him first.
Iris: OK, OK. I’ll do that.
Photo: AdobeStock I 照片：AdobeStock
艾瑞絲： 我想我戀愛了。
卡 爾： 什麼？
艾瑞絲： 我們就是有那麼多的共通點。我們喜歡的東西都一樣。
Photo: AdobeStock I 照片：AdobeStock
卡 爾： 是沒錯，不過妳和他只在網路上聊過天而已。
艾瑞絲： 那不重要。我知道我們最後一定會步入禮堂。
卡 爾： 妳恐怕是本末倒置了吧。妳至少應該先跟他見個面。
艾瑞絲： 好啦，好啦。我會的啦。
A tough cookie 強悍的人∕堅強的人
Tracy: I heard you went out with Iris last night.
Justin: Yeah. We checked out a movie.
Tracy: What do you think of her?
Justin: She’s a real tough cookie if you ask me.
Tracy: That’s just an act. She’s actually very shy.
Justin: I don’t know. When she confronted a guy who cut in line with a loud scream, everyone was a bit shocked.
崔 西： 我聽說你昨晚跟艾瑞絲出去。
賈斯汀： 對啊。我們去看了電影。
崔 西： 你覺得她怎麼樣？
賈斯汀： 如果你問我的話，我會說她是個很強悍的人。
崔 西： 那只是裝出來的。她其實很害羞。
賈斯汀： 不知道耶。當她大吼一聲正面對上一個插隊的人時，大家都有點被嚇到了。
Words in Use
1. be in love 戀愛了
Thomas is clearly in love because he smiles every time he talks about Rita.
湯瑪士顯然陷入愛河了，因為他每次談到芮塔都會微笑。
2. chat vi. 聊天
Rachel chatted with the barista while waiting for her coffee.
瑞秋在等咖啡時和咖啡師聊了幾句。
3. end up V-ing 結果∕到頭來……
Logan forgot to set an alarm and ended up missing his interview.
羅根忘記設鬧鐘，結果錯過了面試。
4. go out with sb 與某人出去約會；與某人交往（須用進行式）
Ryan finally asked Leah to go out with him after months of texting.
在傳了好幾個月的訊息後，萊恩終於鼓起勇氣約莉亞出去。
James is going out with a girl he met at the concert.
詹姆斯跟一位在演唱會上認識的女孩交往中。
5. act n. 裝模作樣，做戲
Vanessa’s kindness was just an act to win people’s trust.
凡妮莎的善意只是一場戲，目的是博取他人信任。
6. confront vt. 勇敢面對
Lena confronted the customer who had been yelling at the cashier.
莉娜勇敢出面面對那個對收銀員大吼的顧客。
7. cut in line 插隊
When Henry saw someone cut in line at the bakery, he calmly pointed to the end of the line.
亨利看到有人在麵包店插隊時，冷靜地指向隊伍的尾端。
Practical Phrases
1. put the cart before the horse
cart 是「馬車」，put the cart before the horse 原意為「將馬車放在馬前面」，表示做事的順序不合邏輯，即「本末倒置」之意。
Discussing profits before setting clear goals is putting the cart before the horse.
在目標都還不明確前就談獲利，顯然是本末倒置。
2. a tough cookie
tough 若用來形容人，是指「堅強而又有主見的」，cookie 原指「餅乾」，用在俚語中則是指某個人。
a tough cookie 被引申成「強悍的人」或是「堅強的人」。
a smart cookie 即是「聰明的人」。
Surviving that kind of harsh training proves Lucas is a tough cookie.
能撐過那種嚴苛訓練，證明盧卡斯是個意志堅強的人。
聽文章朗讀及講解: https://ivy.pse.is/455bfu
本文出自常春藤解析英語雜誌: www.ivy.com.tw
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