be down in the mouth

【讲解】

Be down on in the mouth字面意思为“耷拉着嘴”，形容人“心情沮丧”，“情绪低落”或“垂头丧气”的样子，与汉语“耷拉个脸”相似。

【对话】

A:It’sgreat to meet you, Susie. I’ve been longing to meet a sociology student on thecampus. I’d love to have a talk with you and pick your brains.

A:苏西，遇到你真是太好了。我一直希望在校园里遇到一个社会学系的学生。我很想和你谈谈并且向你请教。

B:It'smy pleasure to meet a psychology student，actually. There aremany things I seem to be unable to understand. For instance, why should we sometimesbe down in the mouth while at other times we are in the seventh heaven?

B:事实上遇到一个心理学系的学生也是我的运气。我有很多事情难以理解。比如，为什么我们有时垂头丧气，而有时却十分高兴？

A:That’sa good question. This usually has something to do with self-satisfaction. Ifyou’re not satisfied with something, you are down in the mouth and in lowspirits. And if you are satisfied with something , you may become excited or bebeside yourself.

A:问得好。这通常和自我满足有关。如果你对某事并不满意，你就会垂头丧气，情绪低落。而如果你对某事感到满意，你就会情绪高涨，不能自已。

B:Butthat depends on how you look at things, doesn’t it? So it’s personal ratherthan social.

B:这就看你凡事怎样想了，对吗？所以这个问题是个体的，而不是社会的。