时间:2019-03-14 作者:英语课 分类:美国习惯用语


英语课

 美国习惯用语第845:气数已尽,要倒霉了(音频)


somebody's number is up
在美国,一到星期五,很多公司里的员工都会轮流带多纳圈到办公室,跟同事分享,我们办公室也不例外。老实说,我本人并不喜欢多纳圈,太甜,而且离我家最近的一家多纳圈专卖店开车二十分钟才能到,很不方便。你猜,明天轮到谁带多纳圈?没错,又轮到我了。这倒让我想起一个有趣的习惯用语,叫:somebody's number is up.  Somebody's number is up这个习惯用语的意思是气数已尽,要倒霉了。
就好比我,虽然自己并不喜欢吃多纳圈,而且又要绕道去买,但是轮到我了,没办法。在这种情况下,就可以说, my number is up! 不过,跟下面例子里的这些人相比,我恐怕还算是幸运的。我们一起听下面这段话。
例句-1:We knew to expect another round of layoffs 1. So I had a bad feeling when my coworker got called in to meet with the boss. Sure enough, his number was up. He and five other associates were given one hour to clean out their desks and turn in their office IDs. I'm just lucky I still have my position.
这个人说:我们都知道,还要裁一批人。所以,我的同事被老板叫去谈话,我就有一种很不好的预感。果不其然,轮到他倒霉了。他和另外五个人被要求在一个小时内整理好自己的东西,交还工作证件。我的运气还不错,至今还有工作。
现在经济不景气,谁都可能会丢饭碗。我的一个朋友就担心,她老公如果在三个月内找不到新工作的话,their number will be up,他们就要惨了。
******
不过,也不是所有人都这么倒霉。比如说我的邻居Judy Allen就刚刚当选连任了市议员。我们一起来听听下面这段政治评论:
例句-2:Judy Allen's reelection to the city council 2 confirms that her number isn't up yet. It's true that she may have made some political enemies in her first term. But the majority of voters still felt she did a good job. And what they want now is to see her build on her success.
这个人说:Judy Allen当选连任市议员说明,她的政治生涯还没有走到尽头。不错,她在第一个任期内确实树了一些政敌,但是大多数选民还是觉得她干得不错。他们希望她能在成功的基础上再接再励。
我的另外一个邻居可就没这么走运了。她儿子开车回家的路上跟一个醉酒开车的人撞上。按我邻居的话说,现在马路上这么多危险驾驶的司机,You never know when your number will be up. 谁也不知道什么时候会轮到自己倒霉。
大家也许会问,这个习惯用语是怎么来的呢?根据我的研究,这个习惯用语最早是十九世纪早期出现的。Number当时指的可能是没中的彩票上的数字。也有人说,Number是指任何可以用来辨别某个人身份的数字。

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 ); 停工,停止活动
  • Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
  • Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时,股票价格便大跌
n.理事会,委员会,议事机构
  • The town council passed a law forbidding the distribution of handbills.市议会通过法律,禁止散发传单。
  • The city council has declared for improving the public bus system.市议会宣布同意改进公共汽车系统。
标签: 习惯用语
学英语单词
affiliatory
alphatic mercuration
angiocardiograms
antineutropenic
Apneumony
Arapiles
argentocyanide
Aufkirch
biathlon
bigamously
blown someone off
cactoids
carandente
catalytic amount
clean-up operation
coil dissipation
colloidal mud
colter drill
computer assisted personal interviewing
Constantine-Silvanus
cottonwoods
current indicator lamp
daryaganj
DB list
delay-line helix
discrete maximum principle
dussert
electro-thermal equivalent
electronic millsecondmeter
Epilast
equivalent articulation loss
Eritrichium spathulatum
exactly right
extended port
false impression
fine-mapping
flabellinids
gamma radiometer in borehole
genetic differences
Hammond postulate
high-temperature-oxidation resistant coating
hollow stalk
HWL (hot water line)
indicator plankton
Kalkchabasit
Knoop hardness
lag wood screw
lambdoid suture
limp standard
Manganoandalusite
Meyer atomic volume curve
minimum wall thickness
mnemonic instruction code
multiplatinum
Neumann method
nicalex
occidentalol
ochterus marginatus
optimal Bayes control
oscillator stage
outgoing current
peachwort
photoelectric tristimulus colorimetry
plastic mortar
plastic-faced plywood
polyether ester thermoplastic elastomer
pootas
prices guard wire
print line length
production force
progress variable
pseudoinclusion
quality ranges
repetitive transportation
ring-shaped placenta
Roan Mountain
roll-tech
Rubik's cubist
saline contamination
Sc. D. Med.
scotist
section column
sexadecimal number
split pin for set piston rod
spring free end
staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome
Strunian Stage
subflare kernel
superantigenicity
telepherage
temperature vibration
the deceased
three-step
to go out
tombolas
travel bag
two-periods
vermiculture
wave shaping electronics
woman power
yeast autolysate