致超人般的你—7 個形容忙碌生活的英文用語!

不管你是考卷寫不完的學生、家事做到煩的家庭主婦,
還是手邊任務一整疊的上班族,
謝謝你每天都這麼努力
在自己的位子上發光發熱
今天就一起來看看除了 busy 以外,「忙碌」還能怎麼用英文形容!



be snowed under

我們都曾經歷過那種被待辦事項壓得喘不過氣的感受,整個人彷彿被厚厚的積雪壓住而動彈不得,因此動詞片語 be snowed under 其實就同義於 overwhelmed (負荷大到難以承受的),後面可以搭配介係詞 with 加上使你備感壓力的事物。

I’m afraid I have to turn down your invitation. I’m completely snowed under with several course assignments at this moment.
很抱歉我沒辦法接受你的邀請,我現在手邊有好幾份課堂作業等著我完成。

juggle between

動詞 juggle 原本指的是「雜耍、玩特技」,後來引申成「努力同時應付」多項任務,如同小丑忙著向上拋接好多顆球。後面搭配介係詞 between 連接你忙著應付的事物 (通常是兩種以上)。補充 juggling act 這個單詞,它就是指同時有很多事情待處理的「棘手情況」。

Being a stay-at-home mom is far from easy. They have to juggle between endless house chores, household budgets, and any emergencies their husband or children throw at them.
當家庭主婦一點也不輕鬆。她們同時應付做不完的家事、盯著家庭開銷,以及老公或小孩臨時丟出的難題。

As an active member of two student societies and the captain of the swimming team, she finds her college life a constant juggling act.
同時身為兩個學生社群的活躍會員,又是泳隊隊長,她的大學時光往往忙著應付各種事項。

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be tied up

動詞 tie 除了有一般「繫住;綑綁」的意思之外,也可以解釋為一件事情「束縛、限制」某人。因此 be tied up 這個動詞片語就用來描述一個人「忙得不可開交」,被一件事情綁住而「無法抽身」;後面可以搭配 with 或 in 來加上某個事物。

Sarah is tied up in a meeting now. Can I take a message for you?
Sarah 正在開會無法抽身,我幫你記錄留言好嗎?

to have one’s hands full with sth.

這句話字面上的解釋為「手上滿滿的都是東西」,意思也就是「忙到窮於應付」。還有另外兩個意思相同的說法:to have a lot on one’s plate,或是直接說 my plate is full 都是指同時有很多事情要忙。

You already have your hands full with a full-time job and an online diploma course; think twice before you sign up for the volunteering work.
全職工作以及線上學位課程已經夠你忙了,報名那場志工活動前還是先考慮清楚吧!

pull an all-nighter

名詞 all-nighter 的意思是「通宵活動」,尤其專指「考試前的通宵溫習」,因此動詞片語 pull an all-nighter 就是描述一個人忙到「熬夜工作」,同義於 sit/stay up late。

The boy completely forgot about his homework until the last day of summer vacation. His mother had no choice but to pull an all-nighter with him.
男孩直到暑假最後一天才想起有作業要寫。男孩的母親只好陪著他熬夜寫完。

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as busy as a beaver

名詞 beaver 指的是「海狸,河狸」,大家應該都看過生態紀錄片裡牠忙進忙出打造家園的畫面吧!片語 as busy as a beaver 就是指像海狸一樣「忙於工作」,類似的說法還有 as busy as a bee。而在口語上 beaver 也被引申來形容「勤奮工作的人」。

She wanted this promotion so badly that she had been as busy as a beaver for months.
她非常想獲得這次升職機會,所以幾個月來都盡心盡力地忙於工作。

The busiest men have the most leisure.

這句俚語也可以寫成 The busiest men find the most time,兩者都用來描述「勤奮工作的人實際上擁有更多自由」,鼓勵大家有效率地把該做的事情做完,才有空閒從事自己真正想做的事情。

A: He seems to have a perfect balance between his career and family life. How does he manage to do so?
B: Well, people always say that the busiest men have the most leisure.
A: 他似乎在職涯與家庭生活之間取得了完美平衡。到底是怎麼做到的?
B: 也許就像人們所說,「越忙碌的人越有閒」吧!

學完 7 種表達「我很忙」的英文之後,也別忘了在超人般的忙碌生活裡穿插喘息空間,就像羅馬詩人奧維德 (Ovid) 所言:
“Take a rest. A field that has rested yields a beautiful crop.”
(休憩片刻吧,休耕過的土地方能孕育出美麗莊稼。)

迫不及待想馬上開始練習嗎?

快打開 VoiceTube App 練英文!

立即下載 >>> https://bit.ly/myenglishissogood

英文單字不要硬背! 藉由 VoiceTube App 看影片,不會的單字反覆聆聽,加上單字測驗練習,聽寫齊下,立刻熟記!

文/ Jessie Huang
圖/ Canva, CC licensed
來源/ Get More Vocab.
作者簡介/ VoiceTube 看影片學英語