“To be seen and not heard” 这个短语源自英国维多利亚时期的一句老话 “Children should be seen and not heard.” 它的字面意思是 “孩子要被看见，而不被听见”，实际用来督促孩子们在大人面前应该保持安静，行为端正。

 

“To be seen and not heard” 是被动语态，因为强调的重点对象是 “children（孩子）” 或与小孩处境相同的大人。根据上下文，这个短语也可以用来提醒大人 “不要多嘴”。

 

例句

My mother was very strict when we were little. She thought that my brother and I should be seen and not heard whenever our parents had guests.

我们小的时候，我母亲非常严格。她认为只要家里有客人，我和弟弟就应该保持安静，不吵闹。

 

Attitudes¹ to parenting have really changed in recent years. In our grandparents’ time, children were expected to be seen and not heard.

近年来，人们对养育子女的态度确实发生了变化。在我们祖父母的年代，人们希望看到孩子们不多说话，行为举止端庄得体。

 

Our boss² doesn’t really want to hear what we think about his ideas. In meetings, he would rather we were seen and not heard.

我们的老板并不想听我们对他的想法有什么看法。开会时，他更希望我们能安静点，不要多嘴。

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