美语情景对话 第407期:Embarassing Moment 尴尬的时刻

My most embarrassing moment was probably when I lived in Germany. One day I decided to go shopping and I drove into town. I had a car. And I was very, very pleased because I found a parking space immedately which was rather unusual. I did my shopping, which only took half an hour and I went back to my car, and to my absolute horror it was no longer on the ground but it was suspended in the air. I really did not know what to do at this point so I walked back into town and I went to the police station. The police were very kind to me and I was very grateful for that and they interviewed me.

我最尴尬的时刻发生在我住在德国的时候。有一天我决定去购物，于是我开车去了城里。我有一辆车。我非常非常高兴，因为我很快就找到了停车的地方，这相当不寻常。我购物的时间大概只用了半个小时，然后我回去找我的车，让我感到非常可怕的是，我的车已经不在地上了，而是被悬挂在半空中。当时我真的不知道要做什么，所以我走回城里去了警察局。警察对我很友善，我对此很感激，然后他们询问了我情况。

They asked me what had happened and I said 'I'm really sorry, I didn't buy a parking ticket' and they said 'We hadn't even noticed that!', they said 'Do you realise where you had parked?' and I said 'Well no, I have no idea' and they said 'Well actually you parked into the entrance to a car park and as a result nobody could get out of the car park because you were parked in the entrance'. So I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time then. It was very embarrassing: I hadn't seen the sign, I hadn't noticed the car park which was rather silly. Erm, but now my friends think it is really funny when I tell them the story. I also think it's funny but it was an expensive mistake!

他们问我发生了什么，我说“我很抱歉我没有买停车票”，他们说“我们都没注意到那个！”，他们问我“你意识到你停在哪里了吗？”我回答说“不知道，我不清楚”，他们说“实际上你停在了停车场门口，这导致没有人能把车开出停车场，因为你把车停在了门口处。”我当时真是又想笑又想哭 。这真让人感到难为情：我没有看到标志，我没注意到停车场的标志，这真是太愚蠢了。额，但是我跟我的朋友们说这件事的时候，他们都认为这非常有意思。我也觉得那很有趣，但是那是让我付出了很大代价的错误！

重点讲解：
1. no longer
不再；已不；
eg. The construction industry is no longer as depressed as it was.
建筑业不再像以往那样萧条了。
eg. This word is no longer in current use.
这个词现在已经不再使用。
2. on the ground
（相对于空中的）地面；
eg. Coordinating airline traffic on the ground is as complicated as managing the traffic in the air.
协调地面的航空交通与管理空中交通一样复杂。
eg. Vendors displayed their wares in baskets or on the ground.
小贩们把他们的商品摆放在篮子里或地上。
3. be grateful for
感激的；表示感谢的；
eg. All of that is awesome and I'm grateful for the support.
这一切都棒极了，我很感激这些支持。
eg. We all have something to be grateful for but we don't realize it.
我们都拥有值得感激的东西，但我们没有认识到这一点。
4. as a result
结果，因此；
eg. As a result, services have been drastically reduced.
结果是服务业急剧萎缩。
eg. Millions of people are threatened with starvation as a result of drought and poor harvests.
几百万人因干旱和歉收而受到饥饿的威胁。
5. at the same time
同时；
eg. Never before has the industry had to cope with war and recession at the same time.
这个行业以前从未有过必须同时应付战争和萧条的经历。
eg. At the same time, rulemaking can provide individuals with important protection.
同时, 规则制定可为个人提供重要的保障。