讲话夸张、表情丰富的人总是比较受欢迎的,这是我多年来慢慢累积出来的心得。记得上次跟一群美国朋友去看电影,回来之后别人问我们这部电影好不好看,是觉得蛮好笑的,所以我就平铺直述地说:"It was fun. I like it. (很好笑,我很喜欢。)" 但是当他问另一个美国人时,那个美国人的回答则是:"I laughed incredibly hard last night. I almost died. (我笑得很夸张,差点没笑死。)" 当场我就觉得自己被比下去了,因为你光听他的回答,都可以深深地感觉到这部电影有多么地有趣。另外,跟这句话意思很相似、而且在美国也常听到的另外一种讲法,叫 "I almost died laughing." 翻译成中文就是"我差点没笑死"的意思。
从这件事上我学到的心得是:1. incredibly 是个很好用的副词,三不五时可以拿出来加强自己说话的语气 2. "I almost died." 是句很有戏剧效果的话,如果一句话说完自己觉得不够夸张,立刻在句末加上一句 "I almost died." 或是 "I almost died +V-ing" 立刻就有画龙点睛之效。比方说吧,你要跟美国人强调昨晚去吃的 "All-you-can-eat buffet" 实在是"太好吃了,害你实在是吃得太饱太饱了",如果平铺直述的话,就是 "I was so full last night." 但是呢,如果你把之前学到的句法活用一下,就变成了:"I was incredibly full last night. I almost died." 效果是不是要强烈很多呢?