时间:2018-12-16 作者:英语课 分类:美国习惯用语


英语课

   今天我们要讲的美国习惯用语是:once in a blue moon。Once就是一次, blue moon翻成中文就是:蓝色的月亮。 Once in a blue moon是一个习惯用语,意思是很少发生的事, 也就是中国人所说的千载难逢。


  
  下面我们来听一个例句。 这是一个人在说他和他家人的关系。他能经常见到他家里的任何人,就是不能经常见到他姐姐。为什么呢?
  
  例句-1:We all live fairly close to each other, so I get to see everyone quite regularly - everyone except for my older sister Rachel. She moved out to San Bernardino, which is miles away, so we only see each other once in a blue moon.
  
  这个人说:我的家人都住得比较近, 所以我能和每个人经常见面,我是说除了我大姐Rachel以外的每个人 。我大姐Rachel搬到了San Bernardino去了。那里离我们很远,所以我们很少见面。
  
  家里的人住得很近,能够经常能见面是很幸运的。有不少美国家庭的成员分散在各地,往往要等到感恩节或圣诞节才能合家团圆。
  
  ******
  
  Once in a blue moon这个习惯用语是在19世纪初开始出现的,可是到现在人们还在普遍使用。许多人知道once in a blue moon这个习惯用语的意思,可是却不知道它跟天文学之间的关系。
  
  原来blue moon指的是在一个月里出现第二次全月。这种现象是很少发生的,每隔32个月才出现一次,所以美国人用once in a blue moon来形容很少发生的事情。
  
  我们再来举一个例子。美国的房租是很高的。租金越高,房客对居住的条件,对房主提供的服务也期望更高。
  
  下面是一个人在抱怨他的房东没有把他住的公寓大楼保持在一定的水平。
  
  例句-2:I think that for the price we pay, the landlord 1 should do a better job of maintaining 2 the building. But he never does anything other than having the hallway carpets cleaned once in a blue moon. It's just not good enough.
  
  这个人说:我们付了这么多房租, 房东本应更好地保持这房子应有的条件才对。可是他只是难得清洗一次楼道的地毯。除此之外,他什么也不做。这是远远不够的。
  
  在美国通常有两种房东。一种是房地产公司,还有一种是私人房主。不管是从公司还是向私人租房子,双方都要签合同, 其中包括房东应尽的责任。

1 landlord
n.地主,房东,(旅店)店主
  • He is the landlord of this pub.他是这家酒店的店主。
  • He used to be a long - term labourer for a landlord.他早先给地主扛过长活。
2 maintaining
保持( maintain的现在分词 ); 保养; 坚持; 保卫
  • We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem. 维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。
  • It's endless work maintaining the house in good repair. 要让房屋保持得很好是件干不完的活。
学英语单词
-phasia
advanced rural transportation system
ancillary resources
andrologia
arcus frontalis
bacteriomes
battlestars
betula populifolias
Big, large,
Castiglioncello
CC (channel controller)
chinne
Chlormuron-ethyl
chromospheric bubble
close in for the kill
colloidal graphite for fibre glass
conjunctive proposition
Cruikshank
delete capability
disassure
double heterojunction diode
electronic ceramic device
fat vacuole
follicular hydrops
footpad
formals
fourvey
fruitbat
Fua'amotu
geochemical dispersion
glaucarubin
green water deck wetness
grid plate characteristics
inch-meal
inference procedure
intermediate frequency signal
irregular nature of traffic
jumptv
La Virgen, Cerro
Lagarosolen hispidus
landside slope
lead compensation
lignaloe oil
logic control
logrolling legislation
maunching
mearstone
mincing knife
Mitteleschenbach
mole blade
myrons
narrow-leaved white-topped aster
natural theology
Neonalium
neuroautoimmune
new-land
niche differentiation
No power
occupation forces
octothorpe
out of collar
parthenocarpous fruit
Pedicularis pseudocephalantha
pension program
photoepinasty
polar distribution
Portballintrae
property insured
quasi peak
radiation analyzer
reverse conducting thyristor
Rhogogaster dryas
rubidium indium alum
saouma
Saxifraga aristulata
Simchat Torah
simulation centre
sinusoidal trace
skirt
soil erodibility
sour mushroom
stochastic perturbation
submerged coastal plain
taxed product
telectorate
tephrosia
through phrase
thudding
top-hinged swinging door
truth table reducibility
understudies
UnitName
virtual core
virusin
wavelength plate
wild apples
WILKIE
windowless presenter
withdraw an action
workers' management
working dogs
worth his salt