Chen Li: 我是陳鸝。 在今天的節目中， 我們要學的是什么呢？

Vicki: Today’s new expression is keep a straight face.

Chen Li: Keep a straight face. 你能解釋一下嗎?

Vicki: Well, it’s quite simple really. Keep a straight face means that you don’t laugh or smile, even though you are amused.

Chen Li: 據個例子怎么樣？Vicki?

Vicki: Yes. When you were at school, if you laughed you might get in trouble and be punished, so you had to keep a straight face.

Chen Li: 我明白了。 ‘keep a straight face’ 就是說強忍著，不讓自己笑出聲或者是露出笑臉來，即使覺得十分滑稽可笑。Is it easy to use?

Vicki: Well, I think so, yes. Just remember ‘keep’ is a verb, so you’ll need to change the form of the verb sometimes.

So you could say ‘I kept a straight face yesterday’ or ‘I promise I will keep a straight face’.

Chen Li: 我知道了。

Insert

A: Look at that man’s hairstyle!

B: Keep a straight face! If he sees you laughing, he might get angry with us!

Vicki: When I was at school I often used to get in trouble for laughing when I should have kept a straight face.

Chen Li: 那你曾經是個壞學生哦!

Vicki: No, of course not – I just couldn’t keep a straight face sometimes!

Chen Li: 我知道有這個問題的。

Vicki: It can be hard to keep a straight face.

Chen Li: 但是這卻是很重要的。

Vicki: Yes. If you don’t keep a straight face sometimes, people may get angry with you.

Chen Li: 是這樣的。

Vicki: But, Chen Li, sometimes it’s ok to laugh.

Chen Li: 是的，看來我們所剩時間不多了。讓我們復習一下:

Vicki: To keep a straight face

Chen Li: 意思就是忍住不笑出來。

Vicki: You’ve been listening to Real English from BBC Learning English. Join us again soon for more up-to-the-minute Real English. Bye.

Chen Li: 再見。