我们听个例子。说话的人是一位科学家。正当他准备宣布自己和手下的研究人员发明了一种有可能治愈癌症的新药, 却发现刚进他那研究小组的一名成员已经把这项研究成果窃为己有了。那是怎么回事呢? 他马上要告诉你。
例句-1：I couldn"t believe how he stole our thunder - he told a reporter about the new drug, so the papers gave him the credit but not all the people who actually did the work.
原来这个人抢先一步对记者宣告这种新药。这一来报刊就把功劳都归给他, 却忽略了真正为此付出辛劳的人。
刚才说过这家伙刚加入研究小组不久, 却把小组其他成员长期研究的成果拿去宣扬, 并且居他人之功, 可见stole someone"s thunder意思是: 窃取他人的尚未发表的观点或发明, 居他人之功。
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其实刚才那位科学家还可以那样描述这个窃取他们成果的人: steal the spotlight。Spotlight是聚光灯, 舞台上的聚光灯时常对准了大明星, 因为他是重要人物, 但是有时候一个配角却会硬挤到中心位置来, 想把观众的注意力从主角转移到自己身上来。我们就说他steal the spotlight。
这个习惯用语已经从演艺界流传到其它领域。 例如, 在竞选中政敌之间也会steal the spotlight。
我们来听一位竞选干事诉说一次失败的经历。他在帮一位大都市的市长争取州长职务。为了收到最佳宣传效果, 他精心策划款待全州大人物的餐会, 让市长在要人济济一堂时当众宣布参选。想不到政敌耍弄手腕破坏了他的巧妙安排。我们来听听政敌使出了什么计谋。
例句-2：Our rival called a surprise press conference that night to announce his plan to cut state taxes 25 percent. So he stole the spotlight from us on TV that night and in the papers the next morning.
他说：我们的政敌那天晚上出乎意料地召开记者招待会, 宣布他要把州税削减百分之二十五的计划, 于是他在当天晚上的电视和第二天早上的报上都抢走了我们的风头。
他们的政敌通过记者招待会宣布减税引起新闻界的注目和轰动, 使人们的注意力集中到这个政敌身上而忽略了他们的餐会。政敌使的是转移注意力的一招, 所以steal the spotlight from someone意思是施展手腕抢他人的风头。
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刚才学到的两个习惯用语都带有负面的意思, 不论是剽窃他人的研究成果，还是耍手段抢他人的风头都不是光明正大的行为。但是我们接着要学的习惯用语有所不同。它是：steal the show。 Show原本的意思是表演。有些配角的演技实在精彩, 深深地吸引观众, 以至配角的光彩使得主角黯然失色, 这就是steal the show这个短语原来的意思, 但是它不仅可以用在戏剧界也能用于商界或运动场等其他场合。
比方说, 一名默默无闻的球员在一场足球赛中以出色的球艺一举成名, 就可以说: He steals the show。然而我们要给大家的例子说的还是表演艺术。这是在评论一部以家庭关系为主题的新电影。剧中有个十多岁的儿子对生活困惑不解, 不理解人生的意义何在。
我们仔细听这个例子, 特别注意其中的习惯用语steal the show和刚才的steal the spotlight有什么不同。
例句-3：The two stars who play the father and mother are good in the lead roles but this young man who plays the son steals the show. I never heard of him before, but I predict he"ll be a real star.
他说：扮演剧中的主角, 父亲和母亲的两位明星都相当称职, 但是扮演儿子的这位青年却崭露头角, 虽然他原来没什么名气, 但是我预计他会成为真正的明日之星。
电影中的儿子虽还不是明星, 但是演技崭露头角, 甚至令头牌明星黯然失色，所以steals the show意思是崭露头角, 令他人相形失色。这位青年演员依靠自身的才华压下了他人的光彩；他没有耍弄任何计谋手腕去不公平地占别人的便宜。他跟刚才的那个政敌不同。那名政敌通过政治手腕来steal the spotlight。所以steals the show是褒义的说法, 而steal the spotlight是贬义的说法。
礼节美语040讲
陈豪在北京的ABC美国公司工作，他看见美国同事Amy正跟办公室另外几个人一起出去。
(Office ambience)
CH：Amy, Are you guys going to lunch?
A：Yes. Would you like to join us?
C：好啊。我跟你们一起去。
A：I have to make one phone call before I leave. Would you like to wait for me or go ahead with everyone else?
C：我等你。
A：Thank you.
C：No problem.
A：Say, Chen Hao, my phone call can wait a few minutes. I need to tell you something while it is on my mind.
C：Uh-oh. 我做错什么事了吗？
A：No, you said something wrong. Actually you said two things that caught my attention.
C：嗯....可我刚才没说什么啊？
A：First, you used the expression "You guys."
C：我那些同事经常把you guys挂在嘴边上，我这可是跟美国人学的。
A：I know they do, but that doesn"t mean it"s correct or polite.
C：为什么不对呢？
A：Because the word "guy" is an informal term that refers to a man or boy. People today use the plural "guys" without regard for gender. That is not correct usage of the word and it demonstrates a lack of polish.
C：那要是有男有女应该怎么说呢？
A：You could have simply asked, "Are you going to lunch?" Or you could have said, "Are you ALL going to lunch?"
C：我知道了。
A：Now please excuse me while I make that quick phone call. Otherwise we"ll miss lunch altogether.
C：No problem.
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Amy打完电话跟陈豪一起去吃午饭。
C：Amy, 你刚才不是还要纠正我另外一个错误吗？
A：Yes. I have noticed that when someone says "thank you", your response is always "no problem."
C：我经常听别人这么说啊，难道这也不对吗？
A：Lots of people say that in response to "thank you." However, that is not the correct reply. The correct response to "thank you" is "You are welcome."
C：Amy, 你是不是太挑剔了？
A：No, it"s being polite and polished. "You guys" and "no problem" are slang phrases which are not formal.
C：俚语？
A：That"s right. Slang expressions will detract from your professional image. "You guys" is only acceptable with a group of men in a very informal setting like the locker room.
C：那"no problem"呢？
A：It is only acceptable when someone asks if you have problem with something.
C：我明白了，就是说一定要注意区分俚语和正规语言，特别是不能在正式场合乱用俚语。
A：You got it! Now let"s eat. I am starving.
礼节美语041讲
陈豪在北京的ABC美国公司工作。美国同事Amy今天来找他。
(Office ambience)
A：Chen Hao, how is everything going with your new responsibilities? I heard that you have been asked to handle our customer complaints.
CH：这个差事可真不好干。不知道老板干嘛让我跟投诉的顾客打交道。
A：I think you were asked because you are concerned about being courtesy and polite.
C：可是顾客在电话里大吵大闹的时候，要继续保持礼貌，还真需要训练有素才行。
A：What kind of challenges have you had?
C：很多时候，投诉的人打电话过来，其实我已经知道该怎么解决他们的问题了，可他们就是不听我讲话，没完没了地抱怨。
A：You need to let them vent.
C：Vent? 什么是vent?
A：It means to let people express their feelings or emotions.
C：那我就得耐心等他们把怨气全都发泄出来吗？
A：That"s right. Don"t interrupt them even when you understand the problem and the solution.
C：那不是浪费时间吗！
A：When people are angry or upset, they need to talk about it. If you listen patiently, by the time most people get to the end of their tirade, they feel better and are not nearly so upset.
C：我要是中途打断他们呢？
A：They think you are not listening to them. And when you interrupt, you may miss an important detail that will help you deal with the problem.
C：那倒是。有时候我没听完就下结论，往往都是错的。
A：When your customers realize that you are listening and caring about their problem, they often calm down.
C：你在这方面好像很有经验，下午有时间再给我讲讲！
A：Sure.
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下班后，陈豪又碰到Amy。
C：Amy，今天天气真好，咱们走路回家吧！
A：That sounds good to me. So what other questions do you have about handling difficult situations with good manners and customer service?
C：有时候顾客蛮不讲理，就好像一切都是我的错。
A：You need to realize that the customer does not care whose fault it is. It"s ABC"s fault and you represent ABC to them.
C：那我该怎么跟他们解释呢？