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一位听众想知道多义词 “bother” 都有哪些用法。在日常会话中，“No bother.”、“Don't bother.”、“I'm not bothered.”、“I can't be bothered.” 这些包含 “bother” 的句子很常用。它们的意思是什么，应该怎么使用？在这些句子中，单词 “bother” 的意思一样吗？本期 “你问我答” 节目详细讲解 “bother” 的常见用法。

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（关于台词的备注: 请注意这不是广播节目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能没有体现录制、编辑过程中对节目做出的改变。）

Jiaying
Erm, sorry to bother you, but do you think you're ready to start the programme now?

Beth
Oh, sorry! Hello and welcome to Question and Answer of the Week. I'm Beth.

Jiaying
And I'm Jiaying. 本期节目中，我们要来讲一讲单词 “bother” 的用法。先来听一下问题：

Question
I would like to know the common uses of the word 'bother' in daily English conversation. For example, 'No bother. ', 'Don't bother. ', 'I'm not bothered. ' What does 'bother' mean in these sentences?

Jiaying
单词 “bother” 的用法有很多，我在节目的一开始对 Beth 说：“Sorry to bother you.”，意思就是 “不好意思，打扰你了”。

Beth
And we have a lot more examples to give you. 'Bother' is usually used as a verb, but it can be used as a noun too.

Jiaying
没错，“bother” 通常作动词使用，但它其实也可以作名词使用。

先来看看 “bother” 原本的字面意思。作动词时，“bother” 可以表示 “努力，尽力，费心”。在表达这个含义时，“bother” 更常用在否定句中。

Beth
That's right. So, Jiaying, I have friends coming round for dinner tonight. And I said I'd cook, but, as you know, I'm a bit tired and I can't be bothered, so I might suggest we get a takeaway instead.

Jiaying
“Can't be bothered” 的字面意思是 “不想费力气做某事”，也就是我们平时总是说的 “懒得做…”。注意，我们更常在英式英语交流中听到人们使用 “can't be bothered”。You can't be bothered to cook, so you might get a takeaway.

Beth
Now, we can also use the expression 'don't bother' when we think someone else shouldn't make the effort. This could be because you know they don't want to, or you know it's a lot of effort for them.

Jiaying
That's right. 当我们想告诉他人 “别费事了，不用麻烦了” 的时候，就可以说 “Don't bother.”。来听用动词 “bother” 表示 “费时间或精力做某事” 的一个例句和一段对话。

Examples
Don't bother baking bread! It's much quicker and cheaper to buy it.
（你不用费事烤面包！在外面买面包既省时又便宜。）

A: I can't be bothered getting changed into a suit.
（A：我懒得换西服了。）
B: Don't bother! You look smart enough already.
（B：别麻烦了！你看起来已经很精神了。）

Beth
'Bother' can also be used when something has the potential to upset or annoy someone.

Jiaying
“Bother” 还有 “使人感到烦恼、担忧、不安” 的意思。比如：“It bothers me.（这件事情让我感到很烦恼。）”

Beth
More commonly, we hear the opposite, 'it doesn't bother me', which means 'it doesn't annoy or upset me'.

Jiaying
“It doesn't bother me.（这件事情我不介意，这件事情并没有让我感到困扰。）” 我们来听两个例句。

Examples
It really bothers me when you play the trumpet at 9pm.
（你晚上9点吹小号，真的让我很烦。）

You hate the rain, but it really doesn't bother me. I quite like it.
（你讨厌下雨，但下雨一点也不让我心烦。我很喜欢雨天。）

Beth
It's used in a similar way for politeness. Earlier, when I was feeling a bit tired, you said "Sorry to bother you".

Jiaying
没错，“Sorry to bother you.” 并不是说 “抱歉我让你心烦了”，而是一种与人搭话时用到的礼貌说法，相当于 “不好意思，打扰你了。” 这里，“bother” 的意思是 “打扰，烦扰”。

Beth
Instead of the verb, you could've used a noun in this phrase instead, 'sorry to be a bother'.

Jiaying
要想回复上面说的 “Sorry to bother you.” 或 “Sorry to be a bother.”，我们可以说 “No bother.（没事的，不要紧。）”，相当于 “No problem.” 和 “Don't worry.”。来听一段对话。

Example
A: Sorry to be a bother, but could you help me with this heavy box please?
（A：不好意思，打扰你了。你能帮我搬一下这个很重的箱子吗？）
B: No bother. Let me help you.
（B：没问题。我来帮你。）

Jiaying
“Bother” 作动词时，还有另一个用法，那就是用在表达 “I'm not bothered.” 当中。When do we use this expression?

Beth
This expression can be used when trying to be polite and gives other people a chance to give their opinion instead.

Jiaying
我们可以用 “I'm not bothered.” 来表示 “我无所谓，我怎样都行”。来听一段对话。

Example
A: Should I make us a pot of tea or a pot of coffee?
（A：我来给咱俩泡壶茶还是煮壶咖啡？）
B: I'm not bothered. What would you prefer?
（B：我怎样都行。你想喝什么？）
A: Coffee, I think.
（A：我想还是喝咖啡吧。）
B: Let's have that then.
（B：那就喝咖啡吧。）

Jiaying
在上面的对话中，我们并不知道女士是不是出于礼貌才使用了 “I'm not bothered.”，还是说喝茶或喝咖啡，她真的哪一种都无所谓。

Beth
But some people also use 'I'm not bothered' to mean 'I don't care', which can be seen as impolite.

Jiaying
是的，有一些人会用 “I'm not bothered.” 来表达 “我不在乎” 的意思，所以需要注意使用的语气、场合和对象。

Example
I'm not bothered what you wear to the party. Just get dressed so we can go.
（我不在乎你穿什么去参加聚会。赶紧穿好我们就可以出发了。）

Beth
Sorry to bother you, Jiaying, but do you think we can summarise now?

Jiaying
Sure! No bother. “Bother” 这个词的用法多样。动词 “bother” 可以表示 “费力，尽力”。比如，想表达 “懒得做某事”，就说 “can't be bothered”；想表达 “别费事了”，可以说 “Don't bother.”。

动词 “bother” 还有 “使人感到烦恼或困扰” 的意思。比如，“It bothers me that…” 和 “It doesn't bother me.”

当我们想要礼貌地与人搭话的时候，也可以用 “bother”。比如：“Sorry to bother you.” 或 “Sorry to be a bother.（不好意思，打扰你了。）” 想回复 “没事的，不要紧”，就可以说 “No bother.” 这里的 “bother” 是名词。

我们还能用 “not bothered” 来表示 “我无所谓，我怎样都行”，但是要注意使用的语气、场合和对象。

Beth
Remember, if you have a question about the English language you'd like to ask us, please send us an email. Our email address is: questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk

Jiaying
你也可以通过微博向我们提问。我们的微博账号是 “BBC英语教学”。Bye.

Beth
Bye!