内容简介

工作多到连头都埋进文件堆里了，那得有多忙？英语表达 “up to my eyes in” 正是借用了 “连眼睛都被工作挡住了” 来表达 “忙得不可开交” 这个意思。我们可以在这个表达后面衔接名词来具体说出 “忙于哪件事情”。比如 “I'm up to my eyes in moving house.（搬家让我忙得不可开交。）” 听节目，跟主持人 Beth 和菲菲学习这个表达的用法。

文字稿

（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。）

Feifei
Hello and welcome to Authentic Real English, where we explain expressions used by fluent English speakers so that you can use them too. I'm Feifei, and I'm here with Beth, who's looking a bit stressed. Are you OK?

Beth
Hi Feifei. Sorry, my in-laws are coming this weekend and I've been up to my eyes in housework. And now I've come to work and I'm up to my eyes in emails. I haven't even had lunch!

Feifei
Oh no! You poor thing. It's not good to be up to your eyes in housework or emails, although 'up to your eyes in' is a useful phrase. It means you are very busy – completely surrounded by something that takes a long time or is stressful.

Beth
Yes. It means you've got so much to do that it's too much for you – it's overwhelming. We can use 'up to your eyes in' for work, chores, problems or anything that you are extremely busy with.

Feifei
I know. I'm up to my eyes in holiday preparation. There is so much to do and pack.

Beth
But holidays are always fun.

Feifei
That's true. It will be worth it. Let's hear some more examples of 'up to your eyes in'.

Examples
My washing machine is broken at the moment, so I'm up to my eyes in laundry.

I've got so many exams coming up – maths, English, history. I'm up to my eyes in revision.

I need to organise to catch up with all my friends. I've been so bad at replying to messages recently – I'm just up to my eyes in it.

Feifei
你正在收听的是 BBC 英语教学的 “地道英语” 节目。刚刚我们一起学习了 “up to my eyes in” 这个短语的用法。如果有人说 “I'm up to my eyes in something”，意思就是 “为了一件事情而忙得不可开交”。这个表达通常用来向他人抱怨一件需要花很长时间或者十分耗费心力的事情。

Beth
We follow the phrase with a noun, so I could say 'I'm up to eyes in housework' and you could say you are up to your eyes in holiday preparation.

Feifei
That's right. It's quite a visual phrase. Imagine me piling up all the family's clothes, all the way from the floor to my eyes. That's a lot of clothes and a lot of packing. 所以 “up to my eyes in something” 这个表达十分具有画面感。想象一下，如果你的作业或者工作文件从地上一直堆到了你的头顶，把你的视野都挡上了，那你得有多忙啊。

Beth
Right, I think we need to go. We have too much to do! We'll be back next week with another useful English phrase. See you soon!

Feifei
Bye-bye!