BBC地道英语｜Hot potato 是什么意思呢？
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Hello and welcome to The English We Speak.I’m Neil.
大家好，欢迎收听地道英语。我是尼尔。
Hello everyone.I’m Helen.
大家好。我是海伦。
Oh what’s the matter, Helen?You look really tired.
海伦，你怎么啦？你看上去累极了。
Is it that bad?
有那么严重吗？
You’ve got very dark shadows under your eyes.
你黑眼圈很重。
Oh dear.Well, I’ve been pushed into a role and I don’t really want it.
哎呀。好吧，我被推到了一个位子上，但我确实不想干。
What is it?
什么呀？
To be the treasurer for the school’s parents associationand you know I am hopeless with numbers.
给学校的家长委员会当会计，可你知道我在数字方面真的是无可救药啊。
Sounds like it could turn into a hot potato for you.
听上去这对你来说快变成一个热土豆了。
Hot potato?Do you mean a jacket potato?No I am not hungry,I am nervous.
热土豆？你是说烤土豆吗？但是我不饿呀，我只是很紧张。
I’m not talking about food.I am talking about this job.I can see it’s going to be a problem for you.
我不是在说吃的啦。我是在说这个工作。我能看出来，这对你来说是个问题。
I’m thinking the same.
我也是这么想的。
You need to think about it very carefully before it becomes a hot potato.When something becomes a ‘hot potato’,it becomes a problem and difficult to handle.
在它变成一个烫手山芋之前，你要仔细考虑。一件事情成为“热土豆”，就是说它变成了难以处理的问题。
I see.You can’t hold a hot potato in your hand.It would burn you.
我明白。你不能把一个烫手山芋拿在手里。你会被烧伤的。
Exactly, you’ve got it.A hot potato is a phrase we use to refer to difficult or tricky situations,or even people.Here are a few examples:
非常对，你已经理解啦。我们用烫手山芋这个短语来指困难或是棘手的情况，甚至可以指人。这儿有几个例子：
The shortage of housing supply is fast becoming a hot potato for the council.
住房供应短缺正快速成为委员会的一个棘手难题。
The pay rise issue is a hot potato for management;I don’t know how they are going to sort this one out between the staff,the union and the shareholders.
对管理部门来说，加薪问题是一个棘手难题。我不知道他们要怎么样解决这个问题，这个问题涉及到全体员工、工会和股东。
Helen, my word of advice is…
海伦，我建议……
Please, I’m listening.
请讲，我听着呢。
Just tell the school you can’t do it.Drop it before it becomes a real hot potato for you.
就告诉学校你做不来。在这件事变成一个真正的烫手山芋前就放弃吧。
You are right.That’s what I will do.Thanks.
你说得对。我会这么做的。谢谢。
You’re welcome.
不客气。