短语洞察 31 | Make up my mind：如何摆脱“选择困难症”？| 英语口语

🎧 节目简介你有没有过这种经历：站在餐厅的点餐台前，盯着菜单看了十分钟，还是不知道吃什么？或者在两个工作offer之间犹豫不决，迟迟无法定夺？这种“选择困难症”在英语里该怎么描述？本期 Beyond English 不止英语，Mandy 和 Patrick 聊聊 "Make up my mind" 这个短语，并分享另外两个帮你描述纠结状态的地道表达。📖 CORE VOCABULARY• Make up one's mind: [下定决心/拿定主意] - To reach a final decision after some thought• On the fence: [犹豫不决/观望] - Unable to decide between two options• Weigh the pros and cons: [权衡利弊] - To look at the good and bad points before deciding________________________________________🗣️ BILINGUAL SCRIPT (中英对照 · 辅助理解)Patrick: Hello everyone. Good to be here with you. Welcome to Beyond English. I'm Patrick.Patrick: 大家好。很高兴和你们在一起。欢迎来到 Beyond English 不止英语。我是 Patrick。Mandy: And I'm Mandy. Patrick, honestly, I almost didn't make it to the recording today.Mandy: 我是 Mandy。Patrick，老实说，今天我差点没来成录音。Patrick: Oh? Why is that? Traffic?Patrick: 哦？为什么？堵车了吗？Mandy: No, not traffic. I was standing in front of my closet for twenty minutes. I just couldn't decide what to wear. The blue shirt? The white one? It was a crisis.Mandy: 不，不是堵车。我在衣柜前站了二十分钟。我就是决定不了穿什么。蓝衬衫？还是白的？简直是个危机。Patrick: Ah, I see. You were struggling to make a choice. We have a perfect phrase for that mental struggle. You couldn't: Make up your mind.Patrick: 啊，我明白了。你在纠结做选择。我们有个完美的短语来形容这种心理斗争。你无法：Make up your mind（下定决心/拿定主意）。Mandy: Make up my mind. Does it mean I am creating a new mind?Mandy: Make up my mind。意思是由于我创造了一个新大脑吗？Patrick: Not exactly. Think of "make up" here as "completing" or "forming." When you make up your mind, you are finalizing your thoughts into a decision. It implies a process of thinking before the result.Patrick: 不完全是。这里的 "make up" 可以理解为“完成”或“成形”。当你 make up your mind，你就是把你的想法定型为一个决定。它暗示了结果之前的思考过程。Mandy: That fits. It really was a process. So, Patrick, what if I am stuck right in the middle? Like, I like the blue shirt AND the white shirt equally?Mandy: 很贴切。那确实是个过程。那么，Patrick，如果我卡在中间怎么办？比如，我同样喜欢蓝衬衫和白衬衫？Patrick: In that case, we have a great visual idiom: You are sitting on the fence.Patrick: 在那种情况下，我们有一个很棒的形象化习语：You are sitting on the fence（你正坐在栅栏上/犹豫不决）。Mandy: On the fence. Like I can't jump to the left side or the right side?Mandy: 在栅栏上。就像我没法跳到左边，也没法跳到右边？Patrick: Exactly. You are undecided. And to get off the fence, usually you have to do something else: Weigh the pros and cons.Patrick: 没错。你还没决定。要从栅栏上下来，通常你得做另一件事：Weigh the pros and cons（权衡利弊）。Mandy: Weigh the pros and cons. That sounds very logical. Like putting good things on one side of a scale and bad things on the other.Mandy: 权衡利弊。听起来很合乎逻辑。就像在天平的一端放上好处，另一端放上坏处。Patrick: Precisely. Now, Mandy, can I use "make up my mind" for small things? Like ordering dinner?Patrick: 确切地说。现在，Mandy，我可以用 "make up my mind" 来形容小事吗？比如点晚餐？Mandy: I think so. I often say, "I can't make up my mind between pizza or sushi."Mandy: 我觉得可以。我经常说，“我在披萨和寿司之间拿不定主意。”Patrick: Yes, that is very natural. And what about big things? Like changing jobs?Patrick: 是的，那非常自然。那大事呢？比如换工作？Mandy: Definitely. "It took me months to make up my mind to move to London."Mandy: 绝对可以。“我花了好几个月才下定决心搬到伦敦。”Patrick: Perfect. Now, a quick warning. Don't confuse "Make up my mind" with just "Make up."Patrick: 完美。现在，给个快速提醒。不要把 "Make up my mind" 和单独的 "Make up" 搞混了。Mandy: Oh right. "Make up" can mean to apologize and be friends again, right?Mandy: 噢对。"Make up" 可以表示道歉并重归于好，对吧？Patrick: Yes. Or "Make up a story," which means to lie. So you must include "my mind" to talk about decisions.Patrick: 是的。或者 "Make up a story"，意思是撒谎。所以谈论决定时，你必须加上 "my mind"。Mandy: Got it. The "mind" part is essential. So, Patrick, how is this different from just saying "Decide"?Mandy: 懂了。"Mind" 这个部分必不可少。那么，Patrick，这和直接说 "Decide"（决定）有什么区别？Patrick: "Decide" is the action. It can be fast. "I decided to go."Patrick: "Decide" 是那个动作。可以很快。比如“我决定去”。Mandy: And make up my mind?Mandy: 那 make up my mind 呢？Patrick: "Make up my mind" highlights the difficulty or the time it took. It feels more personal and resolved. "I finally made up my mind."Patrick: "Make up my mind" 强调了难度或者花费的时间。它感觉更私人，也更坚决。比如“我终于拿定主意了”。Mandy: It implies a struggle. Well, listeners, we hope you make up your mind to practice English today.Mandy: 它暗示了一种挣扎。嗯，听众朋友们，希望你们今天下定决心练习英语。Patrick: Yes. Don't sit on the fence!Patrick: 是的。别犹豫不决了！Mandy: Catch you later!Mandy: 回头见！Patrick: Take care.Patrick: 保重。________________________________________如果你喜欢我们的节目，欢迎你推荐给更多感兴趣的朋友，也欢迎你在我们的评论区留言交流。在小宇宙查看该单集文稿