VOA流行美语 Unit 358:沧海一粟&昙花一现
日期:2012-03-23 15:52

(单词翻译:单击)

Larry和李华一起去看职业棒球赛。今天我们要学两个常用语:a drop in the bucketa flash in the pan.

LH: Larry, 世界杯结束了,咱们该看棒球了吧?我估计,棒球比赛肯定没有世界杯那么紧张。

L: I agree. Baseball games are much slower, and each game isn't very important.

LH: 对。每个队一年要打162场比赛,所以输个一两场的没什么问题。不像世界杯,输一场比赛就被淘汰!

L: You're exactly right. Each game is just a drop in the bucket.

LH: A drop in the bucket? 这是什么意思?

L: You can say that something is just a drop in the bucket if it is only a very small or insignificant part of something else.

LH: 哦,a drop in the bucket就好比一桶水里的一个水滴,指无关紧要。我们中文里把这个叫沧海一粟

L: Right! Here is another example. Joe donated $20 to help people in Haiti after the earthquake, even though $20 was just a drop in the bucket.

LH: 海地地震后,Joe给灾民捐了20美元,尽管这只是很小的一笔钱。

L: Exactly. So Lihua, you're going to support the Nationals, right? They've got a great new pitcher named Stephen Strasburg.

LH: 我听说这个新投手特别棒! 不过 Larry, the Nationals去年打得那么差,换个新投手真能管用么?

L: Yeah, he is probably just a drop in the bucket, but if the Nationals can get some more good players they might be better in a couple years.

LH: 这么说,我们买票的钱就可以被用来聘请优秀的棒球队员喽?

L: I guess that's true, but of course, the price we paid for our tickets is just a drop in the bucket.

LH: 可不是么。The Nationals要想签下身价几百万美元的球星,可不能只靠咱俩这门票钱。哎?为了在经济上支持他们,你给我买一件有他们队标的T恤衫吧!

L: Well sure! But you have so many clothes, one more shirt is just going to be a drop in the bucket.

******

比赛结束了,Larry和Lihua从棒球场往外走。

LH: Larry, 这个新的投手可真棒!

L: Yeah, he played really well. If he keeps pitching like that, he is going to have an amazing career. I sure hope he's not just a flash in the pan.

LH: A flash in the pan? 什么意思?

L: A flash in the pan is something that starts out really well, but lasts for only a very short amount of time.

LH: 哦,就是昙花一现!你是说,你希望这个新投手不要在开始的时候表现很出色,但很快就默默无闻了。

L: Right. Here is another example. The new author's first book got a lot of praise from critics, but he turned out to be a flash in the pan because his other books were terrible.

LH: 我明白了。这位作家的第一本书一鸣惊人,可这只是昙花一现,因为他后来写的几本书都很差。

L: That's right.

LH: Larry, 你注意到了么?这片地方自从盖了新棒球场以来,漂亮多了!饭馆、商场什么的都多起来了!

L: Yeah, a lot of people thought it would be a flash in the pan, but there is still a lot of development even a few years later.

LH: 是啊,这个地区的发展可不是昙花一现,而是持续下来的。虽然现在经济不景气,但我还是希望他们能坚持下去。

L: Well, there were some signs that the economy was improving a few months ago. But unfortunately, it looks like they may have just been a flash in the pan.

LH: 是啊,当时那些经济指标似乎都挺鼓舞人心的,谁知没过多久情况又变坏了。

L: Well spending $5 on dinner will only be a drop in the bucket for the economy. But a hamburger does sound great.

LH: 好啊!咱们虽然不能改善全国的经济,但总可以先满足一下自己的胃吧!

今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是a drop in the bucket,表示无关紧要,沧海一粟。另一是a flash in the pan,意思是昙花一现

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重点单词
  • bucketn. 水桶 vt. 装在桶里 vi. 急急忙忙
  • earthquaken. 地震
  • baseballn. 棒球
  • insignificantadj. 无关紧要的,可忽略的,不重要的,无用的
  • pitchern. 水罐,[棒球]投手,[植]瓶状叶