Chris: Hi Helen. Wow, what's that?
嗨，Helen。哇，那是什么？
Helen: This is a present for you, Chris.
Chris，这是给你的一份礼物。
Chris: A present for me? Oh, that's very kind of you! Helen: Here you go.
给我的礼物？哦，你真好！ 给你。
Chris: A new dictionary - how nice! That's such a lovely present, and it's not even my birthday. But hang on, why have you stuck all these pieces of string onto the book?
String attach
Chris: Hi Helen. Wow, what's that?
嗨，Helen。哇，那是什么？
Helen: This is a present for you, Chris.
Chris，这是给你的一份礼物。
Chris: A present for me? Oh, that's very kind of you! Helen: Here you go.
给我的礼物？哦，你真好！ 给你。
Chris: A new dictionary - how nice! That's such a lovely present, and it's not even my birthday. But hang on, why have you stuck all these pieces of string onto the book?
一本新字典——真好！这份礼物真棒！都不是我的生日呢！ 但是等一下！你为什么把这些线粘在书里面？
Helen: There are strings to your present.
这份礼物是带有线条的。
Chris: I see. Do you mean there are certain conditions that come with this present?
我明白了。你的意思是说，你送这份礼物是有一定的条件的？
Helen: Yes, strings to your present!
是的，这份礼物带了线。
Chris: Ahh, you mean there are strings attached.
哦，你的意思就是there are strings attached？
Helen: I see – so it's an expression in English?
我明白了。这是英语中的一个短语吗？
Chris: That's right. Having strings attached doesn't actually mean you need to stick pieces of string on the book. You can just tell me what the conditions are.
是的。Having strings attached其实并不是指你需要把一些线条粘贴在书里面。 你可以直接告诉我条件是什么。
Helen: Oh, OK. Well, the conditions are that I can borrow your dictionary whenever I need to use it.
哦，好吧。条件就是我可以随时随地借用你的字典。
Chris: That's absolutely fine. You can borrow it anytime.
这完全没有问题。你可以随时借用。
Helen: Great! Do you have any headphones I can use too? I want to listen to my mp3 player.
太好了！那你有没有什么耳机我也可以借用的？ 我想听我的MP3。
Chris: Yes, here you go. Helen: Are there any strings attached?
是的，给你！ 附带条件的吗？
Chris: No, you can use the headphones for as long as you like - no strings attached. Helen: Wonderful, thanks very much.
不用，你可以随便用多长时间，没有额外附加条件。 太好了！非常感谢。
Chris: Let's take a listen to some examples of how strings attached or no strings attached can be used:
让我们来听几个关于strings attached或者no strings attached的用法的例句。
Make sure you read all of the contract before you sign it, there could be strings attached.
在签约之前要确保你阅读了所有的内容，因为也许会有附加条件。
We're giving away our brand new toy to the first fifty customers who visit our shop - no strings attached.
我们会把我们的新品牌玩具赠送给我们的头50名顾客，没有什么附加条件。
Helen: So it can be a warning about whether there are restrictions to something or not.
也就是说这可以是一种关于是否有限制条件的警告了？
Chris: That's right. When something has strings attached, it often means there are hidden commitments and you should find out what they are. Helen: That's good to know. Is it just used when talking about money?
是的。如果什么东西有strings attached，总是意味着有什么隐含的条件，而你应该找出这些条件。 还好知道了。那只是在谈到金钱的时候才会使用这个短语吗？
Chris: It can often be used when talking about financial agreements or negotiations, but it can also be based on personal relationships too, like when you gave me the present. Here's another example:
这个短语经常是在谈论经济协议或者商业洽谈的时候使用，但是也可以根据关系来使用，例如当你给我礼物的时候。 这里有另外几个例子：
A: My brother said I could use his car this weekend, no strings attached. B: Really? That's a nice thing to do. A: Well, he does owe me a favour after I washed the car last week.
我的哥哥说，我这个星期可以无条件使用他的车。 是吗？这可真是太好了。 额，上个星期我帮他洗了车，他欠了我一个人情的嘛。
Chris: So Helen, now that you've finished with your mp3 player, can I listen to it?
那，Helen，你已经听过你的MP3了，我可以听一下了吗？
Helen: You can, but there are strings attached. Chris: Oh, OK. What are they?
你可以，但是是有条件的。 哦，好吧。什么条件呢？
Helen: My mp3 player has only got classical music on it! Chris: Oh no, I hate classical music!
我的MP3里面只有古典音乐。 哦，不要啊。我讨厌古典音乐！