时间:2019-01-16 作者:英语课 分类:美国习惯用语


英语课

今天起我们要讲由knock这个词发展而成习惯用语。它原意是“敲打,” 但是knock用在习惯用语里却表达各种不同的意思。我们先谈这样一个习惯用语: knock around。Knock around有几种不同的意思。我们先听的例子是一个人在说他想去加州避寒。加州地方不小。我们来听听他有没有确定目的地。


例句-1:I think I'll go and knock around in California 1. Hit the beach, maybe a little surfing, you know. Just take it easy, maybe spend some time at Disneyland.


原来他去加州没有明确的目的。他可能会去海滨、可能会去作冲浪运动、也可能去迪斯尼乐园玩儿。总之他想轻松一下。


可见这里knock around意思是漫游。Knock around有时意思会引伸到其它方面。我们再听个例子。这是纽约一家广告事务所的总经理在说话。他想让手下职员出出点子,怎样为一家大型肥皂公司的一项新产品打进市场作广告。我们来听这位总经理怎么说:


例句-2:I'm ordering in lunch for our writers and artists so we can take some time to knock around some ideas for TV ads for this new soap they say is so good for a woman's skin.


他给手下的写作班子和艺术设计人员叫午餐来办公室吃。这样他们能边吃边漫谈怎样为据说非常有益于女性皮肤的一种新型肥皂作电视广告。


他们是利用午休时间边吃边谈,当然不是严肃的会议,只是非正式地围绕一个主题作一些探讨,所以knock around可以解释为作尝试性地探讨、漫谈。


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我们要学的第二个习惯用语也有几种不同的意思。它是: knock off。 Knock off在口语中,有时可以解释收工下班。例如在下面的例子里。这是一个汽车机械师在跟他修车厂的同事说话。


例句-3:Joe, I'm going to knock off work early this afternoon. Last night I worked overtime 2 to put a new engine in that old white car and didn't knock off until nine o'clock.


他说: Joe, 我今天下午要提前下班了。昨晚我为那辆旧白车安装新的引擎而加班干到九点才下班。


这段话里的knock off是收工下班,但是它用在别的场合却会表示别的意思,可以表示不费力地迅速完成。例如下面的例子。这是一个出版商在谈和他有合约的专写谋杀案侦探小说的一位女作家。


例句-4:The woman really has a talent. She can knock off a new book at least once a year and we can count on it to be a best-seller 3.


他说:那位女士确实有才气。她一年至少能完成一部新书,而且还必然畅销。


这里的knock off是轻而易举地完成。


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我们再学一个习惯用语: the school of hard knocks。这里的school可不是什么提供正规教育的学校,而是指从实践的磕磕碰碰中成长,从现实的锤炼中成功。例如下面说话的人很小双亲就去世了,没留下一分钱,但是他勤奋、勇往直前,终于升上一家大公司的领导职位。我们来听听是什么样的学校把他教育成才的:


例句-5:I had to go to work when I was twelve, so the only school I graduated from was the school of hard knocks. But I worked my head off and learned 4 from my mistakes and I did just fine.


他说:我十二岁就得去工作了。我根本没从学校毕业。但是我拼命地干,而且从错误中吸取教训,就是这所现实生活学校 培养我成才的。


所以the school of hard knocks意思是逆境把人锤炼成才。

 



n.加利福尼亚(美国)
  • He was elected governor of the state of California.他当选为加州州长。
  • We were driving on a California freeway.我们正沿着加利福尼亚的一条快车道驾车行驶。
adj.超时的,加班的;adv.加班地
  • They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
  • He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。
n.畅销书,畅销货(唱片等)
  • This book is a best seller.这本书是一种畅销的书。
  • I hope for this book to become a best seller.我希望这本书会成为一本畅销书。
adj.有学问的,博学的;learn的过去式和过去分词
  • He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
  • In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里,他被视为有学问的人。
学英语单词
a-type boiler
abiding places
accelerating conductor or relay
act up to one's opinion
adamantoids
AG out
amplidyne control unit
amplitude-squeezed light
AMVER
Archaeozoon
asymbiotic nitrogen fixation
atomic packing factor
autocap
bachem
Bergerocactus
black nationalist,Black Nationalist
calate
call signal
carpenter ants
cathode ray gun
chemical fastness
citizen's advocate centre
coal briquette
count against sb
delessio
descent orbit insertion
dittogrphy
dolores vagi
dreamina
earth-eater
emergency bilge suction valve
environmental pharmacology
eye tracking unit
fara
fe-s protein
font type
generation of trip
genuine turpentine oil
goods in bulk
grandiflora
gross start-stop distortion
guest rooms
have somebody by the short hairs
illtyd
intermodel
joffes
kill the enemy
macro directory
media globalization
meningoencephalitides
minimum deflection angle
mobile-river
moon face
mutual most-favored-nation clause
nemery
neoplatin
Nerdwallet
nominal size of pipe
norbert wieners
nuclear design calculations
once-dilapidated
open the way for
orthochronous
panchetti
peloponnesos (morea)
phonon coupled level
phytoclimate
plugged steel
potential capillarity
premium digital content
prester
previous-carry digit
program manager
psychotherapy in dermatological non-disease
pulsed ring
pursuers
r.s
racial stereotype
reflecting component
science and applications
Scourge of God
self-learners
set column markers
sheep maggot
sischanensis
slaved system
snetterton
sodium cooled valves
square of Pegasus
stop-over
storified
super-long stroke crosshead diesel engine
sustained transfer rate
the victims of the earthquake
triangular plug
Trogontherium
undercut trimmer saw
unhinged
value add
voltage overshoot
with the speed of
writable control storage programming