Got to make allowances
文章来源: 文章作者: 发布时间:2009-03-02 06:41 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Reader question:

In this sentence – You've got to make allowances for their British accents – what does "make allowances" mean?

My comments:

It means you've got to tolerate their British accents – sounds like some American talking.

When one makes allowances for someone or something, one takes into consideration things that they normally ignore. For instance, one audio version of the Harry1 Potter books is read by Stephen Fry, a British comedian2, actor and writer. He's brilliant but if you're, say, American, you have to make allowances for his British accent – got to get used to a bit of Fry – before you can fully3 enjoy it.

People make all kinds of allowances every day. If, say, you've got an appointment this evening with a friend at the other part of town, you've got to make allowances for Beijing's notorious rush hour traffic – that is, if it normally takes you 45 minutes to get there, you may want to leave a full hour in advance this time just to be on the safe side.

Mark Twain even made allowances for kings. "All I say is," Twain wrote in Huckleberry Finn, "kings is kings, and you got to make allowances. Take them all around, they're a mighty4 ornery lot. It's the way they're raised."

And Rudyard Kipling advised us to make allowances for practically everything in his poem If:

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you

But make allowance for their doubting too,

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master,

If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves5 to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue6,

Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes7 nor loving friends can hurt you;

If all men count with you, but none too much,

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And – which is more – you'll be a Man, my son! 



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 harry heBxS     
vt.掠夺,蹂躏,使苦恼
参考例句:
  • Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天,人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
  • Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。
2 comedian jWfyW     
n.喜剧演员;滑稽演员
参考例句:
  • The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
  • The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。
3 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
4 mighty YDWxl     
adj.强有力的;巨大的
参考例句:
  • A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
  • The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。
5 knaves bc7878d3f6a750deb586860916e8cf9b     
n.恶棍,无赖( knave的名词复数 );(纸牌中的)杰克
参考例句:
  • Give knaves an inch and they will take a yard. 我一日三餐都吃得很丰盛。 来自互联网
  • Knaves and robbers can obtain only what was before possessed by others. 流氓、窃贼只能攫取原先由别人占有的财富。 来自互联网
6 virtue BpqyH     
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力
参考例句:
  • He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
  • You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。
7 foes 4bc278ea3ab43d15b718ac742dc96914     
敌人,仇敌( foe的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
  • She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战,挫败过很多对手。
上一篇:Off the charts 下一篇:Words and rhetoric
TAG标签:
发表评论
请自觉遵守互联网相关的政策法规,严禁发布色情、暴力、反动的言论。
评价:
表情:
验证码:点击我更换图片