20190122 sidetrack

sidetrack

【英英释义】

v. if you are sidetracked by something, it makes you forget what you intended to do or say, and start instead doing or talking about a different thing.

用法：be V-ed /  V n  / V n from n / be V-ed into n/-ing

to direct someone away from an activity or subject toword another one that is often less important.

【词义深度解析】

sidetrack的意思是“使分散思路，使转变话题，使转移目标”，被动语态中也表示“受到了……的干扰”，从英文释义看这种干扰一般会影响到迫切或重要的事情。

【例句学习】

1. I am terribly sorry I didn't send you the file right away. I got sidetracked and forget it.

2. Sorry I got completely sidetracked and didn't attend to your request immediately.

attend to n  处理、满足、照料……

3. Sorry I got sidetracked and talked about my lousy experience at the bar. Where was I?

lousy /ˈlaʊzɪ/  adj.

if you describe something as lousy, you mean that it is of very bad quality or that you do not like it. 糟糕的

……someone as lousy, you mean that they are very bad at something they do. 蹩脚的

……the number or amount of something as lousy, you mean it is smaller than you think it should be. 微薄的

if you feel lousy, you feel very ill. 极不舒服的

4. Live streaming hosts are prone to be sidetracked by questions from the audience.

直播间的主播往往因为观众抛出的问题就跑题了。

【词汇运用】

1. 翻译：约翰本来想找一个信封，但没想到读起了一些旧事的信件。

John planned to look for a envelope, however, he got sidetracked reading some old letters. （自己）

John was looking for an envelope and got sidetracked reading some old letters. （参考翻译）

分析：用be looking for 更好，显示出正在做这个动作时却转向其他事情，被旧信件干扰了原计划。

2. 生活场景应用

I was filling in a excel form and got sidetracked by a call from our client.