「美国习惯用语」第十九讲
To bail out
Nose dive
每一种语言都反映了各个民族的文化习俗和社会发展。美国的许多成语和俗语也不例外。它们不仅表现了美国历史上各个不同阶段的特点,而且也反映了这个国家当代的特色。四十年前,乘飞机在美国还是少有的事,现在已经成了人们旅行的一种很普通的交通工具。对于某些经常到外地去的人,坐飞机已经像乘公共汽车一样。有些夫妻分居两地的人,每个周末乘飞机回家也不是很特殊的事了。今天我们要讲两个由飞行俗语而变成日常用语的词汇。过去,当飞行员在空中发现汽油不足或是机器出了故障,他们就不得不用降落伞,以保生命的安全。这在英文里就叫:To bail out。To bail out 用在飞行方面就是从飞机上跳伞。可是,现在除了军用飞机外,很少飞行员还带着降落伞飞行。To bail out 现在已经成了一个日常用的词汇,它的意思就是摆脱一些麻烦或危险。比如说,一个人在谈到他的朋友的时候说:
例句-1: "Smith was lucky enough to bail out and quit the company just before it went bankrupt."
他说:“施密斯还算是运气,在那个公司倒闭前就辞职了。”
下面一个例子是说怎么样帮助别人渡过经济难关:
例句-2: "After his restaurant failed, Bill couln\'t pay back the money he had borrowed from the bank. He was afraid the bank would take the house he\'d put up as security. But his dad bailed him out and paid the loan off for him."
这句话的意思是:“比尔的饭馆倒闭后,他没有钱来还银行贷款。他当时很害怕,担心银行会把他的房子拿走,因为他把房子当做他贷款的担保。后来,他爸爸替他还清了银行的钱,这样才把他从危机里解救了出来。”
另外一个来自飞行的俗语是:Nose dive。Nose就是鼻子,dive是俯冲,或者是跳水。不管是俯冲,还是跳水,他们都是指急剧地往下降。当一架飞机开始nose dive的时候,它突然尾巴向上,鼻子向下快速地往地面下降。可是,nose dive也可以用在生活的其他各方面。例如,一家报纸报导说:
例句-3: "Today the stock market took a nosedive and dropped 25 points."
这句话的意思是:“今天股票市场的价格猛跌,下降了二十五点。”
一个人的工作,或事业也可以出现nose dive这样的现象。美国报纸可能会这样报导有关好莱坞电影明星的情况:
例句-4: "Everyboday thought this young actor would have a brilliant future after he starred in two pictures that made a lot of money. Then he appeared in three films that nobody want to see, and his career took a nose dive -- no producer wants him any more."
这句话是说:“大家都以为那个年轻演员,在演了两部盈利非常高的电影后,一定会前途无穷的。可是后来,他又演了三部谁都不要看的电影。这样,哪个制片人都不要他了,他的影台生涯从此就一落千丈。”
今天我们讲了两个来自飞行的习惯用语。一个是:To bail out,这是指跳伞,或解救困难。另一个是Nose dive,意思是急剧下降,或一落千丈。
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