Helen:Hello, welcome to Real English from BBC Learning¹ English. I’m Helen.

Oliver:嗨，我是 Oliver。

Helen:Today we’re going to look at words and phrases that you might not find in your dictionary.

Oliver:地道英语和大家一起学习现代英式英语中经常出现的流行词汇和实用表达。那Helen, 今天给我们带来的新词是什么呢？

Helen:Today we are going to talk about being a teacher’s pet.

Oliver:这个短语和学校生活有些关系。

Helen:Yes, it’s an expression we often hear in schools, especially among students.

Oliver:那么请告诉我们 a teacher’s pet 究竟是什么意思呢？

Helen:The definition² of a teacher’s pet usually refers to a student who is popular with the teachers, and probably not popular with fellow students.

Oliver:老师就是 teacher, a pet 就是宠物, 放在一起，这个短语就是说那些老师很喜欢或者说经常能得到老师特别照顾的学生。

Helen:And it’s not a particularly nice phrase to say to someone. It has a negative meaning.

Oliver:对，这是个贬义的短语，千万不要用在表扬那些学习好的人啊。小心会惹火上身哦。

Insert

A: How did you do in your essay?

B: I got an okay grade, but Mr Jones gave Sarah Evans top marks though.

A: I’m not surprised, she’s a teacher’s pet, you know. They always give her good marks.

Oliver:通常来讲，如果一个学生在学校表现很好，特别是在主课上表现很好，就很容易得到老师的喜欢。

Helen:Then other students might brand him or her a teacher’s pet.

Oliver:Helen, did anyone ever call you a teacher’s pet?

Helen:Once or twice. I was quite good at maths.

Oliver:And how did you react?

Helen:I just ignored their comments. I think my classmates were just jealous³ of my results.

Oliver:嗯，我们今天学到得短语就是老师的宠物。

Helen:A teacher’s pet. You’ve been listening to Real English from BBC Learning English. Join us next time.

Oliver:我们下次节目再会。