In a mood of self-defeat, they exclaim, "How can I possibly teach my child about nature - why, I don't even know one bird from another! ""

他们自己就泄了气，喊道：“我哪能教我的孩子认识大自然！ 啊，我连两只鸟都分不清哩！”

youdao

Just as English humour can enjoy self-depreciation, so defeat at the national game brings a smile of resigned superiority as might a wet summer or a long queue.

就如英国幽默可以对自卑一笑置之一样，在国际比赛中失利英国人也只是像遇到潮湿的夏天或长长的队伍一样用一个带有听由天命的优越感一笑了之。

youdao

Victories may not come just by willing them, but prophecies of defeat are often self-fulfilling.

胜利可能不会因为你的央求而垂青于你，而失败往往是自我实现的预言。

youdao

With Fox as a congenial Hollywood superstar and Woods as a volatile New York City cop, the movie turns self-parody into self-defeat.

NEWYORKER: The Hard Way

Faced with a looming deadline and terrible data, Mr. Greenberg suggests, the DSM directors did what any reasonable, self-protecting institution would do: They lowered the statistical criteria for acceptable standards of reliability and turned defeat into victory.

WSJ: Book Review: DSM-5 | The Book of Woe | Saving Normal

Ashton said the defeat - his 10th in 21 Tests since taking over from Andy Robinson - had not affected his self-belief.

BBC: Ashton determined to make amends