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Don't we all want to have the cake and eat it?
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Diarmuid: Hi, and welcome to BBC Learning English. I’m Diarmuid.
Feifei: 大家好，我是冯菲菲。
Diarmuid: In this Real English programme we’ll be looking at an English idiom.
Feifei: 还有对应的汉语成语谚语。
Diarmuid: Today’s English idiom is you can’t have your cake, and eat it.
Feifei: 什么意思呢？
Diarmuid: It means that you can’t have everything, or you can’t have things both ways.
Feifei: 意思是你不可能什么都有，或两者兼得。
Diarmuid: You can’t have your cake, and eat it.
Feifei: 这个成语的字面意思是, 你不可能吃了蛋糕，同时又想拿着蛋糕。
Diarmuid: Do you have an equivalent idiom in Chinese?
Feifei: Yes. 汉语我们说鱼和熊掌，不可兼得。我觉得也可以翻译为，世事两难全。
Diarmuid: Let’s hear some examples of people using this idiom in conversation.
Examples
A: I’d love to spend more time with my daughter, but I’d miss out on my career if I worked part time.
B: Yeah, it’s tricky. You can’t have your cake and eat it.
A: I’ve saved loads of money because I’ve stopped going out. The problem is, now I’m really bored with staying in!
B: Well you can’t have your cake and eat it.
Feifei: 第一段对话中的母亲特别想多和女儿共度时光，可是又不想改半天上班，怕耽误了自己的事业。
Diarmuid: She can’t have her cake, and eat it.
Feifei: 第二段对话中的女孩子说，她攒了不少钱，因为她不在外出社交，省了不少开销，可是日久天长，没有社交的生活又让她感到烦了。
Diarmuid: She can’t have her cake, and eat it.
Feifei: 她不可能社交，省钱两者兼得。
Diarmuid: The English idiom is: You can’t have your cake, and eat it.
Feifei: 汉语我们说鱼和熊掌，不可兼得。换句话说就是世事两难全。
Diarmuid: Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed our programme. You can get a new programme every day on our website.
Feifei: www.bbcchina.com.cn 下次节目还有更多成语，千万不要错过收听，再见。
Diarmuid: Goodbye! |
