时间:2018-12-16 作者:英语课 分类:美国习惯用语


英语课

   今天我们要学的一个美国习惯用语是: to leave the door open。大家知道, door就是门, open是开着。To leave the door open就是把门开着,但是作为一个习惯用语,它的意思就是不排除任何可能性。


  比如说,美国大学一般规定报考的学生必须在一月或二月之前交上申请材料。可是有些大学在期限过后仍然接受申请。也就是说: they leave the door  open for more applications 1。不过,大多数想上大学的人都及早动手。
  我们再来举个例子。美国篮球明星迈克.乔丹1994年宣布从NBA退休,结束他的篮球生涯。在迈克.乔丹发表告别讲话之后,一位体育评论员是这样说的:
  例句-1:I hope everyone noticed when Michael Jordan said it would be almost impossible for him to return instead of saying it would be impossible. This of course means 2 that he is leaving the door open to a comeback.
  他说:我希望大家都注意到,麦克.乔丹说他要返回篮球生涯几乎是不可能的。他没有说这是绝对不可能的。这当然意味着他还有复出的可能性。
  果然,就在迈克.乔丹退出求坛的第二年,也就是1995年,他又宣布复出,直到1999年才正式退休。看来乔丹在第一次退休得时候,he did leave the door open, 他是留有余地的。
  ******
  近年来,美国不断有人状告一些烟草公司,指控它们明知香烟有害,还继续推销。下面我们来听听一位烟草公司的老板是怎么说的。
  例句-2:It is true that this is just one lost case against a smoker 3 with cancer, but it leaves the door open for future such cases, and that is the real worry.
  这位老板说:是的,这只是一个我们败诉的案子,我们输给了一个患癌症的吸烟者。可是这为将来发生这类案件铺了路。这才是真正让人担心的。
  这就是为什么烟草公司竭尽全力要赢这些案子,因为败诉就等于是为将来的类似案件打开大门。

1 applications
n.申请;申请书;申请( application的名词复数 );[计算机]应用;施用;动用
  • A special subcommittee adjudicates on planning applications. 有一个特别小组委员会裁决规划申请项目。
  • Applications with a full curriculum vitae and two references should reach the Principal by June 12th. 申请书连同完整个人简历和两份推荐信必须在6月12日以前送达校长处。
2 means
n.方法,手段,折中点,物质财富
  • That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
  • We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。
3 smoker
n.吸烟者,吸烟车厢,吸烟室
  • His wife dislikes him to be a smoker.他妻子不喜欢他当烟民。
  • He is a moderate smoker.他是一个有节制的烟民。
学英语单词
amatory
attic base
Bafq
baumann
bed-pans
bidirection chain
BIXen
Bridge Battery
Canberra homopolar generator
candy-asses
chemical engineerings
debris glacier
deep-sea salvage tug
dekalb-peachtree
donor-acceptor chromogen
doppelgnger
down-crested
economy of mechanism
elastic come back
encounter with
energy-charge relation
faks
flecklessly
fluorescent brightener
G/M
gas-cooled nuclear reactor
Gempyllus
genus chrysemyss
glass fibre filter bag
gramajoes
hefters
hemianopsia nasalis
henry
hiyat
hog plum
hydropigenous nephritis
hyperquantization
indenes
intraformational contortion
inverse densitydependant mortality
issue value
jumpsuit
kenwood
leukopoiesis
lightweight laser
line blanketing index
lixiviating
lobulus biventer
mcdermid
methyl pelargonate
midpoint of ball
minor patent
multichannel window method
multislacked
myoclonus multiplix
NATDC
nimbus
odd field
on-
one second
online news
pan-wangle
perisutural basin
pharyngolith
postperforated space
prescriptive.
principle of limiting factor
psychic fit
radical of ring
raise on the bottle
redupl.
reserved portions
restriction servitude
retail mark-up
sanchai
sand grains
sankowich
scatter matrix
Schizoblastosporion
scoptophiliacs
series compensated amplifier
soft fiber core
soldering time
sons and lovers
start from
strutbeam
submerging method
symmetric (al) vibration
t3 carrier system
tenny
the Frog
trans-activator
uk army
unreddened
vertical bus
vygotskian
Wabash River
water-gas generator
weakly measurable
weepinesses
winnow out
Y-cross