sleeping-beauty magic睡美人般的魔力

把二十歲的姑娘說成沉睡的公主，憐惜和無奈都在裡頭。

There's kind of a ... magic about someone

形容某人身上說不清的魅力時用；對當事人當面說會顯得輕浮。

There's a fairy-tale spell about that girl. ／ She has a kind of sleeping-beauty charm.

literary

kind of a 輕讀帶過，magic 重讀，about the kid 收輕。

There's kind of a sleeping-beauty magic about the old library. 那座老圖書館有種睡美人般的魔力。

三個短句步步逼近，把護著那姑娘的立場釘死。

Stop pushing someone into ... She's ... She said so herself.

替被小看的人說話時用；對長輩或上司這樣說會顯得衝。

Stop treating her like a child. She is twenty, she told us. ／ Quit putting her in the nursery; she's a grown woman.

口語

Stop pushing 重讀，She's 20 停頓，said so herself 放慢。

Stop calling him a kid. He's 25. He said so himself. 別老叫他小孩。他都二十五了。他自己也這麼說。

過去完成加 toward，把一份落空的期待說得格外剋制。

I'd thought I'd done something toward ...

自嘲努力白費時用；對剛認識的人說會顯得太喪。

I thought I had made a start at breaking the spell. ／ I believed I was doing something to break it.

中性

I'd thought 輕讀，toward 弱讀，breaking the spell 收平。

I'd thought I'd done something toward fixing the team. 我以為自己為整頓團隊做了點什麼。

一句拆穿把對方的硬殼掀開，也順勢承認了自己的心軟。

You were just as ... as I was.

拆穿對方嘴硬心軟時用；對不熟的人這樣說會顯得越界。

You felt just as sorry for that child as I did. ／ You were every bit as sorry for her as I was.

口語

just as 連讀，sorry for that child 重讀，as I was 收尾。

You were just as nervous about the exam as I was. 你對考試的那份緊張，跟我一模一樣。