生活英语对话 Episode 71: Paul confesses

本单元是关于保罗坦露真相的对话。

Alice: Look Paul, we've been seeing each other for quite a while, and I think we've been getting on well together...
Paul: I think so too!
Alice: Paul, there's something I want to ask you, and even though I'm afraid of the answer, I really need to know the truth. Paul, are you seeing anybody else?
Paul: No! Alice, there's no-one else, at least not in the way you think.
Alice: Not in the way I think? What does that mean? Just tell me Paul, what's going on?
Paul: Alice, I've been trying to tell you this for weeks now, but I've been afraid of your reaction. The truth is...the truth is that I was married for several years, but my wife left me eighteen months ago.


Vocabulary 字汇

to confess¹: 坦白，招供
to tell somebody that you have done something that you think is bad, or that you feel guilty² about

to be seeing somebody: 与某人谈恋爱，约会，交往
to be having a romantic³ relationship

what's going on? 怎么啦？
what's happening?

本单元的语言点是关于不定代词的用法，请看下面关于常见的不定代词 Somebody, anybody, nobody, everybody Every, some, any, no 等用法。

Somebody, anybody, nobody, everybody

Every, some, any, no 每一，一些，任何，无

'Every', 'some', 'any' and 'no' can be used with 'one', 'body' and 'thing' to form compound⁴ pronouns⁵, such as everyone, somebody, anything and nothing.
'Every', 'some', 'any' and 'no' can also be used with 'where' to form adverbs such as everywhere, somewhere and anywhere.

Pronouns such as somebody, nothing and everything usually take a singular⁷ verb⁶, even though they may seem to refer to more than one thing.

Don't touch that computer: somebody is using it. Don't worry. Nothing has happened.
Is everything ready for the party?
Everybody has arrived.

However, after everyone/everybody, we use they/their/them, even though the verb is singular.

Everyone has to take their shoes off before they come in.
Could everybody please put their names on the list?
Everybody enjoyed themselves at the party.


Somebody, someone, something, somewhere 某些人，某些东西，某处

These words refer to a person, thing or place, without identifying which person, thing or place.

somebody / someone: an unidentified person
something: an unidentified thing
somewhere: an unidentified place

Alice says 'there's something I want to ask you.' She is saying that she has a question, but she hasn't yet identified the topic of the question.

When she says: 'There's somebody else, isn't there?' this is a positive statement⁸, followed by a question tag⁹. Alice is saying that she believes that Paul is seeing another woman, but she doesn't know who.

More examples:

Somebody called yesterday, but I don't know who it was.
He had something to eat before he went home.
Have you seen my phone? I put it down somewhere and now I can't find it.


Anybody, anyone, anything, anywhere 任何人，任何事，任何地点

These words are used in questions and negative sentences, to refer to a person, thing or place, without identifying which person, thing or place.

anybody / anyone: an unidentified person
anything: an unidentified thing
anywhere: an unidentified place

Are you seeing anybody else?
I've just moved to a new town, and I don't know anyone.
I haven't had anything to eat since I arrived.

'any-' words are also used to express conditions:
'You can park anywhere' = 'if you need a place to park, use some of this space.'
'It's easy to find. Ask anyone' = 'if you can't find it, ask someone: everybody knows where it is.'


Nobody, no-one, nothing, nowhere 没有人，没有事物，没有地点 （表示否定）

These words are used in positive sentences, but they have negative meanings: they refer to an absence of people, things or place.
No-one is written with a hyphen between the two 'o's.

Nobody knows where it is.
No-one came to the party.
He says he knows nothing about the crime¹⁰.
They are homeless. They have nowhere to live.


Everybody, everyone, everything, everywhere 所有的人，每个人，每件事，每个地方
These words are used to refer to all people, things or places. Everybody and everyone have the same meaning.

Everybody likes chocolate.
Everything closes at the end of the holiday season.
We need to tidy up. There's rubbish everywhere.

1 confess   

vt.承认，坦白；vi.承认，坦白，忏悔

参考例句：

• Many Christians regularly confess their guilty actions and thoughts to a priest.很多基督徒都定期向牧师忏悔他们的罪行和恶念。
• I confess to some suspicion of your honesty.我承认对你的诚实有所怀疑。

2 guilty   

adj.犯罪的；有罪的；内疚的

参考例句：

• There wasn't enough evidence to prove him guilty.没有充分的证据证明他有罪。
• Really honest people are ofter made to feel guilty.真正老实的人常被弄得感到犯了罪似的。

3 romantic   

adj.浪漫的，风流的，传奇性的，夸大的，想象的，浪漫派的

参考例句：

• She thinks it will be romantic to be an actress.她认为当个女演员会很浪漫。
• Her husband is very romantic.她丈夫非常浪漫。

4 compound   

n.化合物；大院；adj.化合的；vt.加重；使化合

参考例句：

• Air is a mixture,not a compound of gases.空气是气体的混合物，不是化合物。
• How many households in the compound?院内有几家住户？

5 pronouns   

n.代词( pronoun的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Relative pronouns and adverbs introduce attributive clauses. 关系代词和关系副词引导定语从句。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• "I", "you"and "he" are all personal pronouns. I，you和he都是人称代词。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 verb   

n.[语]动词

参考例句：

• The sentence is formed from a verb and two nouns.这句子由一个动词和两个名词构成。
• These are the finite forms of a verb.这些是一个动词的限定形式。

7 singular   

adj.个人的，单数的，独一的，唯一的，非凡的；n.单数

参考例句：

• The young man has a singular ear for music.这个年轻人对音乐有非凡的欣赏力。
• The noun is in the singular.这个名词是单数形式。

8 statement   

n.陈述；声明；综述

参考例句：

• The government will put out a new statement tomorrow.政府将于明天发布一项新声明。
• Put down your statement in black and white.把你的话用白纸黑字写下来。

9 tag   

n.标签，附属物，名称，谚语；vt.附以签条，尾随，添饰，指责，连接；vi.紧随，尾随

参考例句：

• Please tag your baggage.请在你的行李上贴上标签了。
• The clerk attached a price tag to each article.店员给每一件商品系上标价签。

10 crime   

n.犯罪，罪行，罪恶

参考例句：

• You'll have to pay for your crime.你得为你的罪行付出代价。
• Crime in our big cities is on the increase.在我们大城市里犯罪率正在增长。