时间:2019-02-03 作者:英语课 分类:美国习惯用语


英语课

今天我们要继续讲几个常用在美国人政治生活中的习惯用语。先要学的两个都跟惊险行动有关。第一个是:take the point。 Take the point也可以说成walk the point。 Point原意是尖端,take the point这个短语来自军事用语,意思是担任前哨或尖兵。每当巡逻队出动执行任务的时候,总会有一名士兵远远走在前面。


这名士兵就是take the point或者walk the point。 不管是谁take the point担任前哨或尖兵,可得有勇气和胆量,如果前面有埋伏的敌人,子弹肯定会首先射向他。但是这样就等于是给后面的战友发出了警报,让他们知道前面有敌军埋伏。如今,take the point 已作为习惯用语被政界和商界借用。


我们来听个例子。说话的人是一名参议员争取连任时的竞选班子成员。他和同事都清楚这位参议员在发表有关妇女问题的讲话时务必言词得当,但是这位议员大人性情暴燥,动不动就会大发雷霆,弄得谁都不敢向他进言,只有Betty是例外。好,我们一起来听这段话吧。


例句-1:Everybody was afraid to bring the subject up. But Betty volunteered to take the point and talk to him for us all. I'm afraid she has more courage than the rest of us combined.


他说:大家都不敢开口提这事,但是Betty却自告奋勇,要代表我们大家一马当先向他进言。我们所有人的勇气合在一起恐怕都赶不上Betty。


这里的take the point意思是敢于一马当先为众人出面。


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我们再学个也跟走险路有关的习惯用语:walk a tightrope 1。 Tightrope专指杂技演员表演走钢丝时用的钢缆。可见walk a tightrope就是走钢丝表演了。杂技演员手握平衡木在悬挂半空、又细又长的钢缆上行走可真让观众为他捏一把汗,稍有失误他就会从高空摔到地上。


走钢丝的演员得掌握纯熟的技巧、俱备绝佳的平衡能力。从政的人虽然不靠走钢丝养家糊口,但是为人处事却也像在走钢丝一样,得有巧妙和出众的平衡手腕,每当出现有争议的问题他就得采取恰到好处的立场,设法保持对立两方的选民对他的支持。


近年来美国政界争议最激烈的问题之一是堕胎,双方各持己说、争论不休。我们来听个例子,说的就是那位Blank参议员如何处置堕胎问题:


例句-2:So far Senator Blank has been able to walk a tightrope and keep support from both voters who favor the right to abortion 2 and people who oppose it. But he'll have to pick a side soon.


他说:到目前为止 Blank 参议员还能左右平衡,保住了赞成和反对妇女堕胎权的两方选民的支持。但是他很快就不得不明确表示自己站在哪一边了。


选民在堕胎问题上立场截然相反,要做到双方都不得罪实在不容易,就像走钢丝保持身体平衡一样难,所以这里的walk a tightrope意思就是四面兼顾、平衡局面。


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从政的人要善于平衡局面,就得懂得在斗争形势尚未明朗之前采取中立观望态度,不忙于倚重任何一方。这就是我们今天要学的第三个习惯用语:fence-sitter。 Fence是用来分隔场地的栅栏、篱笆,fence-sitter是骑在栅栏上的人,也就是还没决定究竟打算立足于栅栏的哪边、采取观望态度的人。


Fence-sitter这个习惯用语其实相当于中文里的“骑墙派”或“脚踩两头船的人。” 在政治领域,人们谈到那些态度暧昧、遇事不置可否的人或者团体时就可以用fence-sitter这个词来代表他们。


我们来听个关于工会的例子。美国的工会向来倾向于民主党候选人,因为民主党比较照顾他们的利益,所以总的说来工会领导人会要求会员投民主党的票,但是有时候工会在两党竞选中会一反常态,采取中立观望态度。


例句-3:Here our Unions are fence-sitters on the vote for Congress. The incumbent 3 is a Republican, but he's been a pretty good friend of the working man. So they would just as soon see him win again.


他说:当地工会在议会选举中脚踩两头 船。现任议员是共和党人,但是他一向跟职工阶层关系融洽,所以工会宁愿他当选连任。


有时不表态反能取得意想中的效果。这里的fence-sitter就指采取中立观望态度的人或组织。

 



n.绷紧的绳索或钢丝
  • The audience held their breath as the acrobat walked along the tightrope.杂技演员走钢丝时,观众都屏住了呼吸。
  • The tightrope walker kept her balance by holding up an umbrella.走钢丝的演员举着一把伞,保持身体的均衡。
n.流产,堕胎
  • She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
  • A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。
adj.成为责任的,有义务的;现任的,在职的
  • He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
  • It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。
学英语单词
acanthochiton
acception of persons
act according to
actvs
aetr
Akropong
ann c.
arteriae ulnaris
Asian cholera
atmosphere analyser
automatic monitoring
b-complex vitamins
barrow's
bill of lading copy
blow-run method
bricked it
brown smoke
chassepots
chewability
chirometer
civil time
clowers
Cogolin
consciousness-threshold
counterlaths
diameter ratio
differential block
doner kebabs
electronic journalism
ELEP (expansion-line end point)
employee business expenses
endomesoderm cell
euaugaptilus mixtus
factor of evaluation
finish gauge
fire extinguisher system
fordwine
globeflowers
GM_past-perfect-continuous-i-had-been-working
granoblastic texture
gross thickness
heavy-liddeds
horny-handed
hutzpah
hwyls
included angle
instantaneous frequency stability
insulating soft wire
isogermidine
Khārchok
land use mapping
lazy leucocyte syndrome
line of engagement
link (li)
Lithocarpus jenkinsii
lower end of duct
mediumfit
microscopics
microviscosity
mini-burgers
monotonic functional
morning draughtboard
nipponium
oligarchies
operatorship
Orissi
pharmacological compound
phosphatidylinositol(PI)
pole trawl
private listing
proton stream
psychorrhagia
qualified director
qualitative property
quartz watch
radio-thermoluminescence
Rhododendron jinxiuense
Sankt Gallenkirch
sarcinodes yeni
saturation patrols
scrap metals
shamshir
shyryf
specified point
Stewartia gemmata
sun-burned
super-huge turbogenerator
supply-demand relation
sylph-like
tandem milking parler
theos
thirled
trachy-pitchstone
two-way omnibus
unregimented
unvailing
valeryl phenetidine
washed down
whisenhunt
Wilkins Micawber
wintams
Zabud