BBC Learning English - The English We Speak: Try one’s patience

Episode 261012 / 12 Oct 2026

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核心介绍

项目	内容
节目	The English We Speak
集数	Episode 261012
发布日期	12 Oct 2026
级别	Intermediate (中级)
主持人	Feifei, Phil
时长	约 3 分钟
主题	习语：try one’s patience

中文简介

本期节目介绍表达 “try one’s patience” 的用法。意思是**“考验耐心/让人恼火/试探底线”，指某事物令人烦躁，让你测试自己能忍受多久**。Feifei 和 Phil 通过打印机卡纸、电脑崩溃、自助结账机等生活场景展示用法，并讲解该表达常用于否定句作为警告：“Don’t try my patience”（别考验我的耐心/别惹我生气）。

重点词汇表

单词/短语	英文释义	中文释义	来源语境
try one’s patience	to test how patient someone is; to be annoying enough to make someone lose their temper	考验耐心；让人恼火；试探底线	核心表达
test	to examine someone’s qualities, abilities, or endurance	测试；考验	Phil 解释 “try” 同义词
tolerate	to accept something unpleasant without complaining	容忍；忍受	Feifei: “how much you can tolerate”
lose one’s patience	to become angry after being patient for a while	失去耐心；发火	Feifei: “before you lose your patience”
customer service	assistance provided to customers	客户服务	Phil 例句语境

课文重点解析

1. 核心表达含义

Phil: "In this expression ’try’ has a similar meaning to ’test’. If something tries your patience, it means you get to see how patient (or impatient) you really are."

Phil: "在这个表达中，’try’ 含义类似 ’test’（测试/考验）。如果某事 tries your patience，意思是你会看到自己到底有多耐心（或不耐烦）。"

关键点：

✅ 非正式、常用 英式英语表达
✅ 核心义：考验耐心 = 令人烦躁/恼火
✅ 结构：try + 物主代词 + patience（try my patience, try your patience, try his patience）
✅ 常用于描述持续性/重复性的烦恼源（坏设备、糟糕服务、烦人行为）

2. 用法场景：日常烦恼源

场景	例句	中文	语境
办公设备故障	They really try my patience.	它们真的考验我的耐心。	Phil 抱怨打印机卡纸、没墨水
电脑问题	My computer just keeps crashing. It’s really trying my patience* now.*	电脑不断崩溃，现在真让我火大。	例句 2
自助结账机	"Unknown item in bagging area." Aargh, these self-checkouts really try my patience.	「袋装区未知物品。」啊，这些自助结账真让人抓狂。	例句 3
人际警告	Don’t try my patience – you are going to need my help.	别考验我的耐心 —— 你还得求我帮忙呢。	Phil 谈否定句警告用法

3. 否定句作为警告

Phil: "This expression often gets used in the negative, almost as a warning. ‘Don’t try my patience – you are going to need my help’. We can also use ‘Don’t try your luck’ or ‘Don’t push your luck’ in a similar way."

Phil: "这个表达常用于否定句，近乎警告。『别考验我的耐心 —— 你还得求我帮忙』。我们也能用 ‘Don’t try your luck’ 或 ‘Don’t push your luck’ 表达类似意思。"

表达	含义	语域/细微差别
try one’s patience	考验耐心/让人恼火	中性描述烦恼源
Don’t try my patience	别惹我生气/别得寸进尺	警告、威胁色彩
Don’t try your luck	别太贪心/别得寸进尺	警告别滥用好运
Don’t push your luck	别太过分/别得寸进尺	警告别越界
test one’s patience	考验耐心	稍正式同义词
try someone’s temper	惹某人生气	侧重脾气而非耐心

4. 语法要点

结构	说明	例句
try + 物主代词 + patience	标准结构，物主代词随主语变化	try my patience / try your patience / try his patience
trying + 物主代词 + patience	现在分词作形容词/进行时	It’s trying my patience
tried + 物主代词 + patience	过去式/分词	That tried my patience

批判性思考题

Try 的多义性与隐喻映射：try (v. 尝试/审判/考验) → try one’s patience (考验耐心)。这种 "semantic extension" (语义延伸) 如何将 "attempt" (尝试) 映射为 "subject to stress test" (施加压力测试)？conceptual metaphor: PATIENCE IS A CONTAINER / A RESOURCE
否定句的言语行为功能：Don’t try my patience 作为 "indirect speech act" (间接言语行为)，表层是祈使句禁止动作，深层实施 "threat/warning" (威胁/警告)。为何选 patience 而非 temper/anger？face-threatening act mitigation
耐心的商品化隐喻：try my patience 暗示耐心是 "finite resource" (有限资源)，可被 "depleted" (耗尽)、"tested" (测试)、"spent" (花费)。英语中 "run out of patience, lose patience, wear thin" 等搭配如何构建 "PATIENCE IS A RESOURCE" 概念隐喻？
科技语境下的 Patience 重构：打印机卡纸、电脑崩溃、自助结账报错 —— "friction-filled interfaces" (高摩擦界面) 如何将 "user patience" 转化为可量化指标？error tolerance, UX friction, cognitive load
跨文化"考验耐心"表达对比：中文 "考验耐心/磨性子/折磨人/让人抓狂/忍无可忍"；日文 "忍耐を試す (nintai o tamesu)" / "カチンとくる (kachi n to kuru)"；如何对应英式 try one’s patience 的 "understated British understatement" (英式低调表达)？

完整对话记录

Transcript

Feifei: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak, where we explain phrases and expressions used by fluent English speakers so that you can use them too. I’m Feifei.

Phil: And I’m Phil.

Feifei: I saw you struggling with the printer earlier, are you OK?

Phil: I hate those machines!

Feifei: You seemed quite annoyed.

Phil: I can’t stand it – paper jammed, open this bit, close this bit, put something in here, take something out of here. No ink. They really try my patience.

Feifei: I mean you should try patience. You need to calm down a bit.

Phil: No, I said ’try my patience’. In this expression ’try’ has a similar meaning to ’test’. If something tries your patience, it means you get to see how patient (or impatient) you really are.

Feifei: Don’t worry, I was just joking with you. Yes, ’try one’s patience’ is a great expression to talk about things that annoy you. If something tries your patience, then it’s something annoying. You get to see how much you can tolerate before you lose your patience – which didn’t seem to be very long when you were using that printer.

Phil: Yes, you might be right there. It’s an expression that can be used about anything that makes you annoyed, whether that’s bad traffic, annoying colleagues or terrible customer service. All of these things can try your patience.

Feifei: Let’s hear some more people using the expression ’try one’s patience’.

Examples:

Excuse me, can you sit down? Sit down! You’re really trying my patience.

My computer just keeps crashing. It’s really trying my patience now.

“Unknown item in bagging area.” Aargh, these self-checkouts really try my patience.

Feifei: We’ve been learning the expression ’try one’s patience’ to talk about things being annoying.

Phil: This expression often gets used in the negative, almost as a warning. ‘Don’t try my patience – you are going to need my help’. We can also use ‘Don’t try your luck’ or ‘Don’t push your luck’ in a similar way.

Feifei: Yes. We’re at the end of programme but do come back next time. We can help you improve your English without trying your patience.

Phil: See you next time!

Feifei: Bye bye!

网页设计建议（如需制作学习卡片/页面）

组件	设计建议
音频播放器	顶部固定播放条，支持倍速、下载、进度条
核心表达卡片	高亮大字展示 “try one’s patience”，点击可复制/发音，标注 😤🖨️💻 打印机/电脑/愤怒图标
隐喻可视化	耐心 = 容器/电池/弹簧 —— “try” 为施压测试，“lose patience” 为溢出/耗尽/崩断
场景分类卡片	4 卡片：Office Tech (Printer) / Personal Tech (Computer) / Retail (Self-checkout) / Social (Traffic/Colleagues/Service)
否定句警告卡片	对比：“Try my patience” (陈述) vs “Don’t try my patience” (警告) — 语气/语境/回应策略
同义表达光谱	try patience / test patience / try temper / push buttons / get on nerves / wind up — 正式度/强度排序
Quiz 互动	场景匹配：“Printer jams for 5th time → ___” (tries my patience) / “Warning colleague → ___” (Don’t try my patience)
关键概念图谱	节点：Annoying Trigger → Try Patience → Tolerance Test → Limit Reached → Lose Patience / Snap
思考题区	可展开的问答卡片，适合教学/自测
完整对话	双语对照模式，角色名高亮，支持逐句播放
导航链接	底部 “Previous / Next Episode” + “View All Episodes”

BBC Learning English - The English We Speak: Try one's patience