Words and idioms:The blind leading the blind

女：各位听众，现在播送<美国习惯用语>第 942讲。我是杨琳。<美国习惯用语>

M：我是 Doug Johnson.

女：前几天我生病了，从没下过厨房的女儿很贴心地给我做了一顿饭，我感动得不行，可实话实说，那饭菜的味道实在是不怎么样。我一问才知道，是老公教女儿做的。怪不得! 我老公的做饭技术就非常初级，在他的指导下，女儿哪能做出什么美味呢？这个事情让我想到了一个习惯用语：

M:The blind leading the blind. Blind is spelled b-l-i-n-d, and leading; l-e-a-d-i-n-g. The blind leading the blind.

女：The blind leading the blind 字面的意思是盲人指引盲人，其实就是指“外行指导外行”。我老公做饭水平很低，结果还去教别人. It was the blind leading the blind. 这完全是外行教外行。下面这个句子谈到了一位很有自知之明的家长。我们来听一听：

M:"When my son's coach called me about substituting for him at this weekend's soccer practice, I had to turn him down. Sure, I had watched him a few times work with the kids. But I didn't know enough about the game to train or teach them the skills they needed. That would have been THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND!"

这段话是说：[我儿子的足球教练给我打电话，让我周末替他带孩子们练球，可我不得不拒绝了他。没错，我确实看过几次他教孩子们踢球。可我的足球赛知识有限，不够训练或者教孩子的。如果我真成了教练，那可就是盲人导盲了。]

女：这真是个负责任的好爸爸。顺便说一下，像他这种每个礼拜带孩子去练足球的爸爸在美国有个特定称呼，叫soccer Dad, 当然，妈妈就是Soccer Mom。这种“足球父母”一般都开着大面包车，把自己的孩子和孩子的朋友同学一块儿带上，接送他们练球。好，我们再来听听刚才那段话：

M:"When my son's coach called me about substituting for him at this weekend's soccer practice, I had to turn him down. Sure, I had watched him a few times work with the kids. But I didn't know enough about the game to train or teach them the skills they needed. That would have been THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND!"

女: 旅行大家都喜欢。为了行程轻松和获得更多知识，人们通常会找个熟悉当地环境的导游来一起旅行。可如果导游不给力，会怎么样呢？我们来听一听：

M:"My friends and I were promised an experienced guide on our trip to Alaska. Instead, we ended up with someone who didn't know the area any more than we did. She even got us lost. It was THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND. Now we want our money back from the tour company."

这段话是说：[旅行社本来说好要给我和朋友们派个有经验的导游，带着我们在阿拉斯加玩儿。结果，我们的导游对当地情况的了解和我们一样少。她甚至带着我们走迷路了。这可真是瞎子给盲人引路。现在，我们要求旅行社退款。]

女: 这样的导游根本不能让旅行轻松愉快，反而会成为你的累赘，而且让你心情变糟。所以现在的游客在出发前都会去网上找些游记，攻略什么的，自己多储备一些知识。好，我们再来听听刚才那段话：

M:"My friends and I were promised an experienced guide on our trip to Alaska. Instead, we ended up with someone who didn't know the area any more than we did. She even got us lost. It was THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND. Now we want our money back from the tour company."

女：各位听众，今天我们学习的习惯用语是the blind leading the blind，意思是“外行指导外行”。

A:Jessica, 其实我认识一个朋友，他特会炒股。

B:是么？介绍给我啊！

A:But he's not a real financial advisor, I mean, he doesn't have any credentials. 他就是业余股民。

B:也许他是股市天才？

A:有可能！我问过他选股票时依据什么数据

B:What did he say?

A:两个字──直觉。

B:啊？I don't believe him. 他那是唬你的！

A:有可能！人家也许就是在打发我。不过说到“直觉”，今天的“美语怎么说”节目就教大家用美语说这个词！

How to say it:hunch

DONNY 在北京学汉语，他的中国朋友要是遇到了不知道用美语怎么说的词，就会来请教他。今天是于苗要问的：直觉。

YM:DONNY, 你知道么？我要去参加“价格猜猜猜”节目啦!

DONNY:“价格猜猜猜”?! I know that show! You guess the price of a product, and if you get it right, you take the product home. Right?

YM:没错！我直觉一向很准，我去一定会赢! 对了，直觉用美语怎么说啊？

DONNY:You can say hunch. h-u-n-c-h, hunch.

YM:那"我直觉一向很准"，就是"My hunch is always right." 对吗？

DONNY:That's correct. Or you can use the phrase "gut feeling". It also means hunch.

YM:Gut feeling? Gut 肠子，Gut feeling 肠子的感觉，就是直觉喽!

DONNY:没错! For example, I have a gut feeling that I'm gonna fail my mid-term exam.

YM:Haha, but I have a hunch that you're gonna pass!

DONNY:Then I hope your hunch is right! 对了，于苗，Before you go on the show, we should practice. How much do you think my glasses cost?

YM:啊？你的眼镜啊......你冷不妨叫我猜，我还真有些紧张。

DONNY:Don't worry. Take a wild guess!

YM:什么叫 wild guess? 狂野的猜测？

DONNY:A wild guess means you have little evidence to support your guess.

YM:哦，take a wild guess 就是随便瞎猜! 那可不行，瞎猜赢不了比赛! 我的猜测一定要有根据，靠点谱儿，那又该怎么说呢？

DONNY:That would be an educated guess. "Educated" is spelled e-d-u-c-a-t-e-d.

YM:educate 是教育，an educated guess 就是根据经验、常识作出的猜测。

DONNY:That's Right!

YM:Hmm, well, I am guessing your glasses are worth 25 dollars!

DONNY:Wow... Yumiao, you're really good at this! The correct answer is 26 dollars!

YM:Yeah! I won! I won!

DONNY:别激动了! Tell me what you've learned today!

YM:第一，直觉叫 hunch 或 gut feeling；

第二，瞎猜叫 take a wild guess；

第三，有根据的推测是 an educated guess!

A:这么说，如果我那个股民朋友选股票的时候真的只靠直觉，他也是took an educated guess, not a wild guess. 怎么说也得有点根据。

B:I agree. Okay, enough with the stock market. I don't want to remind myself that I lost money. 杨林，Tell me something to get my mind off the stock market.

A:Jessica, 不要灰心嘛！这样吧，咱们来听听下面这个故事，有人坐飞机回家，结果一路上倒透了霉。跟他比比，或许你就不觉得自己最惨了！

B:Hmm, I like that idea! I could use other people's sad story to cheer myself up.

A:好吧，那咱们就来听“美语三级跳”。