Vicki: Hello and welcome to Real English, where you can find out about English words and expressions that might not be in your dictionary. Im Vicki.
Helen: 大伙好,我是 Helen。Vicki, do you know my friend Jack1 Smith?
Vicki: No, the name rings a bell but I dont think Ive met him.
Helen: It rings a bell?
Vicki: Yes, thats an expression that means2 that something sounds vaguely3 familiar to you.
Helen: 虽然这个表达直接的翻译是铃铛响了,它事实上是说叫人回想起啥事,仿佛听说过那樣的。
Vicki: You use that expression when you dont know much about the person the other person is talking about, but you have heard of them before.
Helen: 那这个表达只适用于说人吗?
Vicki: No, you can use it with all sorts of things here are some examples.
Example 1
A: I love that new song by the Plain White Tees do you know it?
B: Not really, the name rings a bell but I cant remember the song.
A: Its called Hey There Delilah.
Example 2
A: Does anybody know where Faversham is?
B: Yeah, it rings a bell isnt it somewhere in Kent?
Example 3
A: Im thinking of writing an article about book clubs have we done anything on that before?
B: It doesnt ring a bell I dont think so.
Helen: 大家刚刚听到了品牌,城市还有作文的题目。看来这个铃铛响了的表达可以在不少状况下用。
Vicki: You can use it to talk about anything that you remember hearing about before, but you dont know very much about it.
Helen: 这个表达还可以作为一个否定语来用,意思就成了从来没听说过这个人,或者这回事儿。
Vicki: It doesnt ring a bell. That means youve never heard of it.
Helen: 大伙记住了吗? 今天大家学到的表达是:
Vicki: It rings a bell.
Helen: 意思就是仿佛听说过某个人或者某件事。就像假如你听到过某人的名字,但从来没见过这个人,你就能用这个表达了。
Vicki: Anyway, join us next time for more Real English. Bye.
Helen: 我們下次節目再见。