John: Hello. You’re listening to Real English from BBC Learning¹ English. I’m John.
Helen: And I’m Helen.

John: Here on Real English, you can learn words and phrases which you might not find in your dictionary.

Helen: That’s right. 希望您在今天的地道英语节目中能学到一些平时在字典里找不到的英语表达。So, what’s our interesting phrase of the day?

John: Today we’re going to learn about rats.

Helen: Oh no, rats 老鼠，I’m very scared of rats. 为什么我们今天要谈老鼠啊？

John: Well, we’re not just talking about rats, we’re talking about being a love-rat.

Helen: I don’t find rats lovely at all. 爱情老鼠 love-rat, 听起来我就全身不舒服。

John: I know how you feel. Love rats are terrible, they’re people who cheat on their partners, and they’re quite often men.

Helen: 这么说 love-rat 爱情老鼠的真正意思就是爱情骗子，指那些经常在恋人背后出轨的人。Let’s hear an example.

Example

A: Have you read the story on Britain’s biggest love-rat in the papers this morning?

B: No, not yet. What did it say?

A: Well, apparently² Britain’s biggest love-rat has 12 children with 12 different women, all of whom he has cheated on at least five times.

B: That’s disgraceful. He shouldn’t be getting away with it.

John: We also hear the expression love-rat used quite often in popular newspapers.

Helen: 爱情老鼠这个表达也经常出现在那些通俗小报上。

John: Have you ever met someone who’s a love-rat, Helen?

Helen: Not yet, how about you?

John: Yes, I’ve met people who just can’t stop cheating on their partners. They’re love-rats and they’re getting away with it.

Helen: 好了，我们今天的地道英语就到这儿，别忘了你还可以在我们的网站上下载更多的地道英语。我们的网址是 www.bbcchina.com.cn

John: See you soon.

Helen: See you, bye.