A spanner in the works
Jen: Hi, I'm Jennifer and I'm on the lookout for Helen – someone said they saw her going into the basement earlier… Oh wait, there she is, with… a tool kit? What on earth are you doing? There are pipes all over the floor!
大家好，我是Jennifer。我正在找Helen。有人说他们看见她早些时候去地下室了…… 哦，等等，她在那里……拎着……一个工具箱？ 你到底在干嘛？地板上全是管子！
Helen: Oh hi Jen! I'm quite busy down here trying to fix these pipes.
哦你好啊，Jen！我正在下面忙着修理管子呢。
Jen: Fix the pipes? But you're not a plumber, you don't know anything about pipes!
修理这些管子？但是你不是水管工啊，你根本不动水管！
Helen: I know, but the boss asked me to try and fix them.
我知道，但是老板让我试着修理一下。
Jen: Really? Are you sure that's what he said? It seems strange he'd ask you to turn your hand to plumbing.
是吗？你确定他是这样说的？ 很奇怪他会让你接触管道！
Helen: I knew you'd say that, so I printed off his email to show you. Look, it says "About the project - someone has thrown a spanner into the works, and I'd like you to sort it out"…
我就知道你会这样说， 所以我把他的电邮打印出来给你看。 看，上面说，‘About the project - someone has thrown a spanner into the works, and I'd like you to sort it out…’
Jen: But Helen…
但是，Helen...
Helen: ….so I'm looking for the spanner in the works!
所以咯，我正在这些东西里面找旗帜呢。
Jen: Oh Helen, you shouldn't take it literally! In English, if someone throws a spanner into the works, it means they do something to spoil a plan or make it more complicated.
哦，Helen, 你不应该按照字面来理解。 英语中，如果我们说，someone throws a spanner into the works，我们指的是做了什么破坏计划的事情或者让情况变得更糟了。
Helen: Oh… A spanner in the works… So there isn't a real spanner in here.
哦，A spanner in the works（从中作梗）原来并不是说这里真的有旗帜啊。
Jen: I don't think so… Let's hear some examples to help explain the phrase. The budget cuts have thrown a real spanner in the works for the future of the project.
是的。让我么来听几个例句帮助理解吧。 预算的减少使得工程的前景收到干扰。
This hospital appointment on the 15th has thrown a real spanner in the works for our holiday – we'll have to come back early.
15号与医生的预约真的搅乱了我们的假期——我们得因此而提前回来。
Helen: So this is a phrase we can use to describe something which has gone wrong. The boss said that someone had thrown a spanner in the works of our project…
也就是说，我们可以用这个短语来描述什么东西变得不对劲了。 老板说someone had thrown a spanner in the works of our project…
Jen: He means that something has happened that will make the project more complicated. Perhaps you should talk to him to find out what the problem is before you start taking the building to pieces!
他的意思就是发生了什么会让项目变得复杂的事情。 也许在你开始拆平这栋楼之前，你应该问清楚到底发生了什么事情。
Helen: You're right. So I suppose we'd better clear up some of this mess… But I can't remember where all the pipes go!
你是对的。我得赶紧把这个烂摊子给收拾好…… 但是我想不起来这些管子都是哪里接哪里了。
Jen: Oh no! Well let's just try and fit them in as best we can. V/O: Some time later…
哦，不会吧。我们一起尽力试着找到并复原它们吧。 一会儿之后……
Jen: Well the pipes are all in, but nothing's working. We're going to be in so much trouble.
嗯，所有管子都接好了，但是好像没有动静啊。 我们死定了。
Helen: We're not defeated yet. Stand back…
我们还没失败！推后！
Jen: Helen… what are you doing with that huge spanner….
Helen，你拿着那面大旗干嘛？
Helen: I'm throwing… it… into… the… works…
我要……把……它扔到……水管上……
Helen: It works! I did it!
运转起来了！我成功了！
Jen: You did! With a real life spanner in the works!
是的！简直是货真价实的spanner in the works！呀。