时间:2019-02-18 作者:英语课 分类:美国习惯用语


英语课

今天我们要讲的习惯用语都有air这个词。大家都知道air是“空气”。早在十七世纪,意大利科学家伽利略发现空气似乎没有实质却有重量。后来人们进一步发现高山顶上的空气要比海平面上的空气轻,于是人们就说高处的空气稀薄,也就是thin air。我们要学的第一个习惯用语是由thin air发展而来的。它是: pull something out of thin air。


Pull something out of thin air按照字面意思就是从稀薄的空气里抽取什么东西。你想空气本就是看不见摸不着的,要从稀薄的空气里抽取东西岂不更是难上加难吗。


让我们来听个例子。说话的人是一家公司的雇员。他很担心自己会失业,因为这家公司付不出欠帐即将破产。


例句-1:The company is flat broke. Unless the boss can pull something out of thin air and borrow a lot of money by Friday, we'll have to go into bankruptcy 1 and I'll have to look for other work.


他说:这家公司现在已是财源枯竭,除非老板神通广大能在星期五之前筹措到大笔钱款摆脱困境,否则我们就只得陷入破产的境地,而我也必须另找工作了。


这儿pull something out of thin air意思是要解决问题脱离困境就得勉为其难地想方设法甚至得神通广大了。


我们再听个例子。这段话说的是一个创作电视剧的天才作家Susan。她的创造力丰富,一无是处的底稿经过她的神来之笔略加修改,就能拍成一鸣惊人的好戏。好,我们来听这段话吧:


例句-2:Susan is one of the best TV script 2 writers. She'll take an absolutely hopeless script by somebody else, pull some new ideas out of thin air, and end up with a first-class show.


他说: Susan是最优秀的电视剧作家之一。她会设法从别人写得一无是处的原稿中挖掘发展出新意,而拍成第一流的节目。


这样看来,Susan的生花妙笔简直有妙手回春的功力,能在枯燥乏味的文章里挖掘灵感,这就是这儿pull some new ideas out of thin air所表达的意思。


******


我们再学一个带有air这个词的习惯用语, come up for air。 Come up for air这个习惯用语对游泳的人说来很熟悉,你在水里的时候必须时时把头伸出水面来换气。即使是深海作业的潜水员,到一定时间也必须升上水面呼吸新鲜空气,休息一下。当然come up for air已经被广泛应用。我们知道美国人得纳税,而每年四月十五号是美国人递交税表的最后限期。在这个日子迫近的时候,不少美国人都会为了准备那一大堆表格文件而忙得焦头烂额。说话的人就是其中之一。


例句-3:Oh, boy, I've spent the whole day on my tax return. I still have more to do, but I simply have to come up for air. Let's go out for dinner so I can forget about taxes for a little while.


他说: 咳,我整整一天都在埋头做我的报税单,我还有不少没完成,但是我可真得喘口气歇一下了。我们出去吃顿饭吧,这样我至少可以暂时把报税的事儿丢在脑后。


所以come up for air意思是“喘口气、调节一下精神”。


让我们再听个例子。这是个学生在评论念书特别专心致志的同学,而跟我们说话的那位显然在这方面和他的同学不一样。好,我们来听他怎么说吧。


例句-4:My classmate can sit and study for three or four hours without coming up for air. Not me! After an hour I have to get up and get a coke or a snack or just walk around for a while.


他说:我的同学能马不停蹄地一口气学习三四个小时,我可不行,读了一小时的书我就必须起来拿杯可乐、吃块点心,或者只是逛一圈歇口气。


这里coming up for air也是歇口气的意思。

 



n.破产;无偿付能力
  • You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产,就必须节省开支。
  • His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。
n.剧本,广播稿;文字体系;笔迹,手迹
  • It's easy to identify his script.他的笔迹容易辨认。
  • The script is massaged into final form.这篇稿子经过修改已定稿。
学英语单词
AC45
acceptance of persons
actual authority
address identification
alternating current distribution
aminosugars
amoebous
anaerobic glycolysis
antural-circulation steam generator
arithmetical continuum
ask price
b.d.i.
b.o.q.
batallion
bellows-operated pilot valve
benthonic plaukton
Borassoideae
brickshaped
cancel status word
carbonated spring(carbon dioxide spring)
carboxybiotin
chaotic inflation
Chinese technology
chowing down
CI-719
concrete workability
controlled burn
conveyance of production payment
device address
dictation machines
Dirico
domestictraffic
early soil
economic theoreticians
educational managerialics
electroly
eligible corporate bond for collateral for a loan
emergency pulses
exercise limit
experimental structural geology
fiese
flat riser
fore-inclined
front and rear
garden city
genizah
gibco-brl
Gurye-gun
haveing
idler carrier
in patches
increment due to increased light
insured amount
lightning flash-over
literary sketch
lookforward
methylol
molded piece
Monozon
nailery
no pain
nonchromogenic bacterium
o.t.
oscillating separator
overcontributions
pain sense
panter
partial desiccation
pattern maker's lathe
permuted indexes
pestilence-wort
petrol garage
Phenoverm
pilot hole diameter
piston heat set screw
postponement
psychogenic headache
random - access memory
ranulas
re-crossed
reseated
rough-lookings
sadly
Santa Maria Novella
Saxifraga lepidostolonosa
side-draw tray
stainch
stop someone in mid career
submarine base
susperior aurioular muscle
systematic screw series experiments
throw sth in sb's teeth
thynnic acid
to one ear
transmitting directivity
Tsunemi
tube seam
Urds
vacuum control modulator valve
virtopsies
virtual partitioned access method
walu