“勉强说出”究竟如何说?
时间:2019-01-08 作者:英语课 分类:英语日常口语
英语课
我们的鼻子或者嘴巴在某些情况下会发出一种声响。有几个动词是用来表示口鼻这些发出某种声响的动作的。今天要讲的三个习惯用语都分别从这样一个动词发展而来。
1. cough up 勉强说出;被迫付出
Cough是咳嗽的意思。人们在着凉感冒或者发生过敏反应的时候会咳嗽,也就是会不由自主地从口腔和喉咙里突然重重地排出气流来,你想抑制也抑制不了。
Cough up作为习惯用语已经差不多一个世纪了,意思是在百般无奈的情况下交出钱款之类的东西。下面这个例子是说,华盛顿市中心上班的人都普遍有这样的烦恼,附近 到处都是车辆,找泊车的地位太难了。即使找到个地方,边上也多半竖着计时器。这意味你得定时往里投钱币,并且停了两小时后还得把车搬到其它地方去。稍有疏 忽,你就会发现前车窗上赫然一张警察罚款单,金额很可能高达五十美元。
例句-1:I forgot the tickets were there. So when it was time to renew my license 1 tags they wouldn't renew them until I paid the five tickets. And I had to cough up $500 instead of $250 because they double the fines if you don't pay them on time.
我忘了还有罚单在那儿。这一来到该更新汽车牌照的时候,他们就非要我先付清那五张罚单,否则不给更新牌照,而且逾期交付的罚款还得加倍。那就使我不得不付出五百美元而不是二百五十美元。
Cough up还可指迫不得已说出情况,例如:
After several hours' questioning, he finally coughed up the information.
经过几小时的盘问,他终于不得不提供了情况。
2. nothing to sneeze at 不得小看,不得不重视
Sneeze,是打喷嚏,什么样的东西你会对着它打喷嚏呢?那一定是你不拿它当回事、不受你重视的东西。然而前面加上了nothing成为 nothing to sneeze at, 意思就反过来了,指不得小看的事物了。它沿用至今有两百来年了,有时还可以换成这种形式:not to be sneezed at, 但是意思相同。下面这个例子,说话的人在谈论兄弟Bob挣的年薪。
例句-2:My brother Bob earns $60,000 a year. That's not as much as some other people get paid but it's certainly nothing to sneeze at, because it's still more than most people earn in 12 months.
我的兄弟Bob有六万美元年薪,那虽然不象某些人挣的那么多,但是也不可小看了,因为它还是高于大多数人的年收入。
3. sniff 2 out 机敏地察觉、发现
Sniff是鼻子使劲儿吸气的意思,就像人们欣赏芳香的玫瑰或者淡雅的香水味儿的动作,也像是小狗耸起鼻子在闻美味牛排的香气。但是习惯用语sniff out却不一定限于鼻子的动作了。例如:
The police sniff out criminals they are anxious to arrest.
警方查出他们急于捉拿的罪犯。
再举个例子。这段话谈到他的朋友Joe特别擅长在证券交易市场上发现买进股票的良机。
例句-3:I sure wish I had my friend Joe's special talent for sniffing 3 out chances to make money in the market. Somehow he can find stocks that are really worth a lot more than their price on the stock exchange and this ability makes him a nice fat profit.
我真希望自己像Joe那样具备对股票市场特别灵敏的嗅觉,能发现赚钱的机会。不知怎么的,他会察觉实际价值大大超过证券市场价格的那类股票,靠这种才能他赚了好多钱。
n.执照,许可证,特许;v.许可,特许
- The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
- The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。
vi.嗅…味道;抽鼻涕;对嗤之以鼻,蔑视
- The police used dogs to sniff out the criminals in their hiding - place.警察使用警犬查出了罪犯的藏身地点。
- When Munchie meets a dog on the beach, they sniff each other for a while.当麦奇在海滩上碰到另一条狗的时候,他们会彼此嗅一会儿。
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