内容简介

在对 “How are you? ” 这个问候作答时，除了 “I'm fine” 之外，我们可能会听到有人说 “I'm muddling along.” 这是什么意思呢？听节目，跟主持人菲菲和 Beth 学习短语 “muddle along” 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 phrases used by fluent English speakers so that you can use them too. I'm Feifei.

Beth
And I'm Beth. Feifei, how are you today?

Feifei
Oh, you know, muddling along. Everything's fine – the same as usual.

Beth
Ah, you're 'muddling along'! Well, that's what we're looking at today, and it's a phrasal verb. If you say you're 'muddling along', it means you're coping fine with something – things aren't great, but things aren't bad either.

Feifei
And it can also be used when you're doing something without a plan or in conditions which aren't perfect.

Beth
Yes. So, for example, I don't have enough money to spend on a new phone at the moment, so I am muddling along with my old one for now. It's not a great phone, but it's OK for now.

Feifei
Yes. So, when working on projects, I prefer to have a very detailed plan. I don't like to muddle along.

Beth
I'm the same.

Feifei
Let's hear some more examples of 'muddle along'.

Examples
I've just moved into a new house, and I don't really have any plates or dishes or anything or any furniture, but I think we'll muddle along somehow.

I could really do with a new job at the moment, but there's nothing out there, so I'm just muddling along for now.

I'm very disorganised. I don't really have a plan for my life. I just muddle along.

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短语动词 “muddle along” 的用法。“Muddle along” 通常可以用来表达 “一件事情的进展或者一个人的处境既不太好也不太坏，勉强混着向前推进或者发展”，或者 “正在做的事情没有一个清晰的目标，走一步看一步”。

Beth
Now, we can also say 'muddle on' with the same meaning.

Feifei
短语动词 “muddle on” 的意思和 “muddle along” 相同。

And we also have 'muddle through'. 还有一个包含单词 “muddle” 的短语动词是 “muddle through”，它的意思也和 “muddle along” 类似，但主要强调的是 “在没有详细计划或不知道该如何做某事的情况下应付过去”。

Beth
So, my Spanish is quite low level. I could muddle through if I had to speak Spanish, but it would be difficult for me!

Feifei
Beth, I'm sure your Spanish is just fine. We'll be back next time with another useful English phrase. See you soon!

Beth
Bye!