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地道英语

中级

Leave to one's own devices 让某人自行决定，不加干预

Episode 261020 / 20 Oct 2026

节目简介

你会选择放手让别人自己解决问题吗？有时，这是出于信任和鼓励；有时，却可能显得缺乏责任感。英语表达 “leave someone to their own devices” 就可以用来形容 “让某人依靠自己的能力独自应对或处理问题”。听节目，跟主持人菲菲和 Phil 一起学习这个表达的用法。

文字稿

（关于台词的备注: 请注意这不是广播节目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能没有体现录制、编辑过程中对节目做出的改变。）

Feifei
Hello and welcome to Authentic Real English, 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
Your lunch looks interesting today.

Phil
Yeah, my kids made it for me. It's leftovers from yesterday's dinner.

Feifei
They cooked it on their own?

Phil
Yes, they really wanted to make something. We just left them to their own devices, and they looked up a recipe, bought the ingredients and made it – all on their own.

Feifei
You used the expression 'leave to their own devices'. I think we should have a look at that. It's a really interesting one. But it's got nothing to do with devices, has it?

Phil
Well, certainly not in the way that we use that word today. If you are left to your own devices, it means that you're left on your own. Sometimes, we use it to say that we trust people enough to do things on their own. We also sometimes use it to talk about being left without any help.

Feifei
So, you were able to leave your kids to their own devices because you trusted them. Another example is, if your boss gives you a massive piece of work and doesn't explain anything about it, you might be unhappy that you've been left to your own devices.

Phil
Let's hear some more people using the expression 'leave to one's own devices'.

Examples
The flight from Seoul was delayed for about two hours. We didn't have any information. They just left us to our own devices.

I've got a few things to do before everyone else arrives. So can I just leave you to your own devices for a bit?

Oh, I really love being left to my own devices, which is why I enjoy working from home so much.

Feifei
你正在收听的是 BBC 英语教学制作的 “地道英语” 节目。在本期节目中，我们正在学习表达 “leave to one's own devices” 的用法。“Leave to one's own devices” 的意思是 “让某人依靠自己的能力和资源独立处理问题或面对挑战”。

要注意的是，“leave to one's own devices” 本身是一个中性表达。它既可以表示 “出于信任而让某人自主发挥”，也可以表示 “没有给予应有的帮助或指导，让某人不得不独自应对困难处境”。

Phil
We said that one meaning was 'to be left on your own without any help', and another expression that has meaning is 'to be left to fend for oneself'.

Feifei
我们还可以用 “to be left to fend for oneself” 来表达和 “leave to one's own devices” 类似的负面含义，意思是 “被迫独自照顾自己、解决问题，没有人提供帮助”。

Phil
Well, this is the end of the programme, but we're not just going to leave you to your own devices. We'll back next time to help you learn more English phrases and expressions.

Feifei
See you then.

Phil
Bye!

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