Don't Believe Those 'Crocodile Tears'

 

Don't Believe Those 'Crocodile Tears'不要相信“鳄鱼的眼泪”

Today we continue to talk about an expression the crocodile has given us : crocodile tears.

"Crocodile tears" are fake sadness. You pretend to cry and feel bad for something when in fact ... you could not care less. A great word to describe crocodile tears is insincere.

continue /kənˈtɪn.juː/ v.（使）继续，（使）持续，（使）延续

Do you intend to continue (with) your studies?

你打算继续你的学业吗？

If the rain continues, we'll have to cancel tonight's plans.

如果雨还下个不停，我们只好取消今晚的计划。

The article continues/is continued on page ten.

这篇文章续载在第10页。

continue to do sth继续做……

expression/ɪkˈspreʃ.ən/ n. 词；词语；措词

He uses a lot of unusual expressions.

他总是用很多生僻的字眼。

"A can of worms" is an expression that means "a difficult situation".

A can of worms这个短语的意思是“棘手的局面”。

fake /feɪk/ adj.（情感）虚假的，伪装的

a fake smile/laugh虚情假意的微笑／大笑

She's so fake, pretending to be everybody's friend.

她太矫揉造作了，假装每个人都是她的朋友。

sadness/ˈsæd·nəs/ n.悲哀

And we can share our pleasure and sadness with him.

我们可以分享我们的快乐和悲伤与他。

pretend /prɪˈtend/ v. 假装，伪称；（游戏中）装扮

[ + (that) ] He pretended (that) he didn't mind, but I knew that he did.

他假装不在乎，但我知道他很介意。

The children pretended (that) they were dinosaurs.

孩子们装扮成恐龙。

[ + to infinitive ] Were you just pretending to be interested?

你只是在假装感兴趣吗？

pretend to do sth假装做某事

describe/dɪˈskraɪb/He described the painting in detail.

他详细地描述了那幅油画的内容。

[ + question word ] Let me describe (to you) how it happened.

让我来（给你）讲讲事情的经过吧。

However, sometimes crocodile tears are worse than insincere. For example, you are showing sadness but actually in your heart, you are quite happy about the situation.

Well, the expression "crocodile tears" comes from an old myth that crocodiles would cry tears while eating their prey. The story goes, if a crocodile found a man by the water, it would kill him if it could. Then the crocodile would cry tears on the man, but then finally – swallow him.

actually /ˈæk.tʃu.ə.li/ adv. 实际上；事实上；的确

I didn't actually see her - I just heard her voice.

实际上我并没有看见她，只是听到了她的声音。

situation/ˌsɪtʃ.uˈeɪ.ʃən/ n. 处境，情况，形势

Her news put me in a difficult situation.

她的消息让我陷入困难的境地。

myth /mɪθ/ n. 神话

ancient myths古代神话

prey/preɪ/ n. 被捕食的动物，猎物

swallow/ˈswɒl.əʊ/ v.吞咽，吞下，咽下

n.燕子

My throat is so sore that it really hurts when I swallow.

我的喉咙很痛，吞咽起来很难受。

He put a grape into his mouth and swallowed it whole.

他把一颗葡萄放进嘴里，整个儿吞了下去。

Of course, we know now that these stories are not true. Scientists explain that crocodiles DO create tears. The tears helps to clean its eyes. But crocodiles do not cry. Crying is only used to describe human’s feelings and is only for us humans.

This is a common expression and we use it in any situation. So, I could say it to my best friend or colleagues at work. For example, you can say, “Those crocodile tears ain't gonna work this time on me”.

explain/ɪkˈspleɪn/ v.解释；说明；阐明

If there's anything you don't understand, I'll be happy to explain.

如果你有什么不懂的地方，我会很乐意为你讲解。

The teacher explained the rules to the children.

老师向孩子们说明规则。

create/kriˈeɪt/ v.创造；创建；创作；发明

The Bible says that God created the world.

《圣经》上说是上帝创造了世界。

He created a wonderful meal from very few ingredients.

他用很少的几种食材做了一顿美餐。

be used to do sth被用于做某事

ain't/eɪnt/没有

am not、is not、are not、has not或have not的缩略形式

He ain't going. 他不会去了。

gonna/ˈɡə.nə/ （going to的非正式说法）

What are you gonna do?你要干什么？

译文：

今天我们继续谈论鳄鱼给我们的一个短语:鳄鱼的眼泪。“鳄鱼的眼泪”是假悲伤。你假装哭着为某件事难过，其实……你一点也不在乎。用一个很好的词来形容“鳄鱼的眼泪”是不真诚的意思。

然而，有时候“鳄鱼的眼泪”表示的意思比虚伪更糟糕。例如，你表现出悲伤，但实际上在你的心里，却对这种情况感到很开心。

“鳄鱼的眼泪”这个词来自一个古老的神话：鳄鱼在吃猎物的时候会流泪。据说，如果鳄鱼在水边找到一个人，如果可能的话，它会杀死他。然后鳄鱼会为这个人哭泣，但最后还是把他吞下了下去。

当然，我们现在知道这些故事不是真的。科学家解释说鳄鱼确实会流泪。眼泪有助于清洁它的眼睛。但是鳄鱼不会哭。哭只是用来形容人的感情。是我们人类独有的。

这是一个常见的表达，我们在任何情况下都会用到它。所以，我可以很容易地对我最好的朋友说，对同事说也是一样。例如：你可以说鳄鱼的眼泪这次对我不起作用了。