Dip your toe into 嘗試，摸索

內容簡介

英語表達 “dip your toe into…” 的字面意思是 “把腳趾頭伸進……” ，就好像泡腳時先把腳趾頭伸進熱水中試試溫度的動作。嘗試新事物會讓你感到害怕嗎？一開始你是不是會小心摸索前進？本期節目中要介紹的表達 “dip your toe into…” 就可以用來比喻 “小心嘗試，摸索前進”。

文字稿

（關於臺詞的備註: 請註意這不是廣播節目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能沒有體現錄制、編輯過程中對節目做出的改變。）

Feifei
大傢好，歡迎收聽 AYYBLOG英語教學的 “地道英語” 節目。在每期節目中，我們都會介紹一個英語母語人士或講英語流利的人會用到的表達。I’m Feifei and I’m here with Phil.

Phil
Hello. How are you, Feifei?

Feifei
I’m actually feeling incredibly relaxed. I’ve just started doing a painting course. I haven’t done it before, and I wasn’t sure if I’d like it. So, I’m just dipping my toe into it at the moment. But you know what, it’s actually quite relaxing.

Phil
Uh-huh. Well. The expression that we’re learning in this programme is ‘dip your toe into’ or ‘dip a toe into’. We’ll look at what it means and how to use it. Depending on who we’re talking about, it can be ‘dipping my toe into’, ‘dipping your toe into’ or ‘dipping his, her, or their toe’. Feifei, you said you’re dipping your toe into painting at the moment. But what does that mean here?

Feifei
Well, dipping your toe into something here means to start something slowly and gradually. Think about going to the beach, especially in England when it’s not that warm. If you want to go for a swim, but you’re worried about the temperature, you might start by dipping your toe into the sea to see how cold it is.

Phil
So, this expression means starting something gradually to see if we like it or not. And, actually, we often use this with things like hobbies – like painting. So, you can say that you’re dipping a toe into painting to see if you like it or not.

Feifei
Yes, that’s right. There are two things that are important to remember about this expression. One: it means to start gradually, and two: you’re starting gradually because you’re unsure if you’d like it or be successful at it.

Phil
OK. So, if I give you an example about me. Someone suggested to me that I try cycling to work. I thought they were crazy. It’s a long way. There’s bad traffic. Why would you do that? But, I thought I’d try it, so I got an old bike, and I just tried it to see if I’d like it. I was dipping my toe into cycling and it turned out to be really good.

Feifei
Yes. So, Phil was dipping his toe into cycling. Here are some more examples of the expression ‘dip your toe into’.

Examples
I really like reading romance novels, but I think I might dip my toe into true crime and read one of those next.

I’ve always done ballet, but I’ve decided to dip my toe into tap, and I’m starting a class next week.

My mum’s always worked as an estate agent, but recently, she’s been thinking about dipping her toe into hairdressing.

Phil
In the examples we’ve heard, people are dipping their toe into different new activities. Are there other ways of saying it?

Feifei
Yes, we also say ‘dipping a toe into the water’ or ‘dipping my toe into the water’. Now, this is when it’s clear from the conversation what the new activity is. It’s also possible to use the verbs ‘stick’ or ‘put’.

Phil
OK. So, we can be sticking, putting, or dipping our toe into the water or whatever it is that we’ve just started to do.

Feifei
是的，“dip your toe into something” 這個表達很有意思。它用把 “腳趾頭伸進一個物體” 這個動作來形象地比喻 “小心嘗試做某事，摸索前進”，就像要進入冰冷的海水前，先把腳趾頭伸進水裡，試試水溫。所以當你想表達慢慢開始嘗試接觸某個新事物，但不確定自己喜不喜歡，甚至能不能做成的時候，就可以說 “I’m just dipping my toe into it.”

Phil
And that’s all from us. We’ll be back next time with another useful English phrase. See you then.

Feifei
Bye-bye.