下面这道题是2012年高考英语的重庆卷中的考题:
—Look, here comes your dream girl. Invite her to dance.
— ______ What if she refuses me?
A. I don’t know.
B. Why me?
C. With pleasure.
D. So what?
答案是 A。当然,这道题可以用排除法来做,B、C、D 都明显不行。但选 A 也不是很合适吧!I don’t know. 的意思是“我不知道”,放在这个对话中也不是很通顺,难道它还有什么其他的奇怪用法?
▲根据《朗文高级英语词典》,I don't know有以下几种用法:
1. used to say that you do not have the answer to a question 我不知道,我不清楚(表示不知道问题的答案):
“When did they arrive?” “I don't know.” “他们是什么时候到的?”“我不知道。”
2. used when you are not sure about something 我不清楚,我不敢确定:
“How old do you think he is?” “Oh, I don't know, sixty, seventy?” “你觉得他有多大年纪?”“哦,我不清楚。 六十,七十?”
3. used to show that you disagree slightly with what has just been said 我倒不这么认为(表示不大同意别人说的话):
“I couldn't live there.” “Oh, I don't know. It might not be so bad.” “我没法在那里生活。”“噢,我倒不这么认为,可能没那么糟吧。”
4. [BrE] used to show that you are slightly annoyed 真想不到(表示有点不高兴):
Oh, I don't know! You're hopeless! 哦,真是的! 你无药可救了!
▲你的句子中 I don’t know 的用法符合朗文以上用法归纳中的第3条:
A: Look, here comes your dream girl. Invite her to dance. 看,你的梦中女孩来了,邀请她去跳舞。
B: I don’t know. What if she refuses me? 我没把握,要是她拒绝我呢?