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我们讲的英语第233期:Red tape 繁文缛节

2015-08-27来源:和谐英语

Rob is annoyed. He has spent hours filling in forms for his small house extension. Can Feifei help him? Listen to the programme to find out.
罗布非常生气。他花了数个小时的时间填写小型房屋扩建申请表。菲菲能帮他吗?请收听本期节目并找出答案。

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.
注:文本与音频并不完全对应。

Feifei: Hello Rob. You look so busy, what are all these papers?
菲菲:你好,罗布。你看起来很忙,这些纸是什么?

Rob: Oh, Feifei, I have to get a permit to build an extension to my house. It's a very small bit of building work but I have to fill in all these forms.
罗布:哦,菲菲,我要申请扩建我的房子。虽然是一项小建筑工程,但是我要把这些表格都填了。

Feifei: What is this one for?
菲菲:这张是什么表?

Rob: Well, this one here is for my local council. I need to apply for planning permission. And then they want lots of supporting documents to make sure it fits in with building regulations.
罗布:那张是地方议会要求的表格。我要申请建筑许可。他们需要大量证明文件,来确保房子符合建筑规范。

Feifei: It sounds exhausting.
菲菲:听起来很累。

Rob: It is. I hate red tape. If I could cut through this red tape it would be brilliant!
罗布:的确很累。我讨厌繁文缛节。我要是能减少这些繁文缛节就太好了!

Feifei: So your problem is red tape? Say no more, Rob! The solution is in my bag! Ah, here they are!
菲菲:你的问题是红色胶带吗?罗布,不用多说了!解决方法就在我的包里!给你!

Rob: A pair of scissors and blue tape?
罗布:一把剪子和蓝色胶带?

Feifei: Yes. You use the scissors to cut through your red tape and... if you don't like red tape, use blue. I love the colour blue!
菲菲:对。你可以用这把剪子把你的红色胶带剪了……如果你不喜欢红色胶带,那就剪蓝色胶带吧。我喜欢蓝色!

Rob: Thank you, Feifei. You're a good friend. But in English we call the rules and processes required to get official permits — which usually seem to be pointless — 'red tape'.
罗布:谢谢你,菲菲。你真是我的好朋友。不过在英语中,我们称那些要经过官方许可、但通常不值得这样做的规范和流程为red tape。

Feifei: Ah, bureaucracy! So let's hear some examples of how this expression is used.
菲菲:啊,官僚作风!我们来听些句子,看看这个表达方式如何应用。

Examples
例句

Small firms won't be subject to new regulations under a government plan to cut red tape and boost the economy.
小公司不受政府计划简化手续、促进经济的新规的约束。

Andrea almost gave up studying abroad. The amount of red tape to get a visa was unbelievable!
安德莉亚几乎要放弃留学了。为了得到签证而要经过的手续简直多得无法想象!

Feifei: I think most people hate bureaucracy, Rob.
菲菲:我认为大部分人都讨厌官僚作风,罗布。

Rob: I'm not surprised. Some people say this expression might come from the 16th century, when bundles of documents were held together with red tape. I hate all these forms!
罗布:我对这点并不感到惊讶。有些人说这个表达方式起源于16世纪,当时文件是用红色带子打包成捆的。我讨厌这些表格!

Feifei: Well, it's the 21st century now and we still have red tape. Good luck with your red tape, Rob. I'm off to paint the town red!
菲菲:现在已经是21世纪了,我们仍然还有繁文缛节。罗布,希望你能处理好你的繁复手续。我要去狂欢了。

Rob: Oh, no more idioms with red for me today please, Feifei.
罗布:哦,拜托今天不要再跟我说有关红色的习语了。

Feifei: Bye.
菲菲:再见。

Rob: Good bye.
罗布:再见。