Fly by the seat of your pants
Chris: Hi, I’m Chris and I’m here today with Li.
大家好，我是Chris。今天跟我一起主持的是Li。
Li: Hello.
大家好！
Chris: Did you see that Superman film on television last night? I love Clark Kent. By day, he’s just a regular guy, but he also has the power to fly! It’s a classic movie.
昨天晚上你看了电影《超人》没？ 我爱死Clark Kent了。 白天，他不过是个普通的男人，但是他有飞的能力。 真是部经典之作啊。
Li: No, I didn’t see it. The aerial on my roof is broken and I don’t really know how to fix it, so I can’t watch anything at the moment.
没有，我没有去看。 屋顶的天线坏了，我不知道怎样修理，所以，当时我看不了电视。
Chris: That’s a shame. If you want, I could have a look to see if I can fix it for you? I’d be flying by the seat of my pants, but it’s worth a try.
太可惜了。 如果你需要的话，我可以去看看能不能为你修一下。 虽然我是什么都不懂，但是倒是可以凭感觉试一下。
Li: You can fly? Like Superman? Do you have to wear your pants on the outside like him, too?
你能飞？能想超人那样飞？ 那你是不是也得像他那样底裤外穿呀？
Chris: No, I don’t mean I can actually fly – and I’m certainly not putting my underwear on over my trousers! The phrase ‘to fly by the seat of your pants’ means to do something difficult without being trained to do it or really knowing how.
不是的，我并不是在说，我可以飞行。我当然不能把内裤穿在裤子上面。 to fly by the seat of your pants这个短语的意思是没有经过任何培训或者在一无所知的情况下去做有难度的事情。
Li: So I don’t have to worry about actually seeing your pants?
也就是说，我不用担心看到你的底裤咯？
Chris: No, Li, you don’t have to see my pants – it’s just a phrase.
对呀，Li，不用担心会看到我的内裤，这不过是个短语而已。
Li: I see – so you’ll have a go at fixing my TV aerial, even though you aren’t quite sure what you’re doing.
我明白了。也就是说，你会试着修理我的电视天线，尽管你也不知道该怎么修。
Chris: Exactly. Let’s hear some more examples of the phrase in action.
是的。让我们来听听几个实例吧：
This report has to be finished today but no one is here to show me how to do it. I’ll be flying by the seat of my pants, but I’d better try.
这个报告必须在今天完成，但是没有在这里告诉我怎样做。 我得凭着感觉试试该怎么做！
John is trying to put new tiles in the bathroom, as he won’t pay for a decorator to do it. He really is flying by the seat of his pants.
John正在试着给浴室装新的瓷砖，这样的话，他就不必花钱请装修工人做了。 他真的是在全靠自己摸索着来弄。
Li: So this is a phrase that we can use when you know very little about something, but you’re going to do your best to complete the job.
在只是略知一二的时候，我们会使用这个短语，指的是虽然不懂但是你会尽力完成这个工作。
Chris: People often use this phrase when they have to do a job quickly, but don’t know how.
人们通常在不知道怎样做某事又想在短时间内完成这件事情的时候，会使用这个短语。
Li: So, do you think you can fix my aerial?
那，你觉得你能够修理我的天线吗？
Chris: Well, I’ll certainly give it a try – have you got a ladder, then…?
嗯，我肯定会去试一下——你有梯子吗？
Li: Sure.
当然啦。
Later…
过了一会儿。
Chris: Well, there you go. I really did fly by the seat of my pants, but it looks like it’s fixed.
嗯，好了。 我真的是在凭感觉摸索着做，但是看来好像修好了。
Li: Let me turn on the TV… It works! Great picture. You know Chris, even though you don’t have your pants like Superman, you really are my hero.
让我打开电视看看，呀，好了，画面很好哦。 你知道吗？Chiris，尽管你没有超人那样的内裤，但是你就是我的救星我的英雄。
Chris: Erm… thanks, Li.
嗯，谢谢你，Li。