Reader question:
Please explain this sentence: The financial world is moving in quicksand.
My comments:
The financial world is moving slowly, hence the economy is stagnant, and perhaps dangerously so.
Likened to a person, the financial world progresses as someone moves in a swamp, struggling with each and every step – if he could move at all.
The “quick” in quicksand is a misnomer. It doesn’t mean fast. The “quick” here means “live” as in the old English expression “the quick and the dead” (all people including the alive and the dead).
And there isn’t much liveliness about a quicksand, of course. Quicksand, technically, is like a swamp, or muddy seashore full of wet, muddy silt.
If you ever find yourself in a swamp you’ll know how it feels to walk on such squishy-squashy surface. The mud sucks your feet in – giving you a sinking feeling. The more you struggle, the greater the pull you seem to feel at the feet.
And people sometimes sink and lose their lives in quicksand.
So, in short, to move in quicksand is to move slowly – not fast – if you can move at all. Or figuratively speaking, to find oneself in quicksand is to be in a difficult position, or a situation of downright danger.
Hence, to say the financial world is moving in quicksand is to suggest that the financial world (the stock market, bank borrowing/lending etc) is slow moving, and that the economy is stagnant, and perhaps even dangerously so – no light at the end of the tunnel detected yet.
Here are two more media examples:
1. Talks for worker concessions at General Motors of Canada dragged on yesterday with some minor progress but no tentative deal.
Ken Lewenza, president of the Canadian Auto Workers, said last night that although there were some signs of movement, there would be no deal on big cuts in labour costs at the teetering automaker until at least today.
“We’re still moving in quicksand,” said Lewenza at a downtown hotel.
The union says the federal and Ontario governments and Washington, which are considering billions of dollars in public aid to GM, are trying to impose on workers here concessions similar to those of their U.S. counterparts.
The CAW, which represents more than 7,500 GM workers, has rejected “the cookie-cutter” approach. It is also resisting proposals that would make active employees pay into a pension plan for the first time and make retirees accept significant reductions in benefits to address the fund’s huge deficit.
The two sides and governments have been negotiating since May 11.
- Minor progress as CAW and GM talk concessions, Toronto Star, May 21 2009.
2. The Los Angeles Lakers have lost four straight for the first time since April 2007.
Their latest loss, a 109-99 defeat by the injury-depleted Houston Rockets on Wednesday night, prompted a reporter to ask Kobe Bryant if the Lakers have considered that they aren’t as good as they think they are.
“How do you know how good we think we are? We’re fine,” an obviously annoyed Bryant said. “Are we going to win a three-peat today? Probably not, but the (expletive) is not played today.”
...
Bryant is concerned about the play of the Lakers’ defense.
“We’ve got to do a better job,” he said. “Houston shot 50 percent tonight... that’s unacceptable for our defense. We’re slow. We’re slow on rotations. It looks like we’re kind of running in quicksand a little.”
- Rockets hand Lakers fourth straight loss, AP, December 2, 2010.
频繁参加婚礼 英国一女子快把自己整破产!
哈里和梅根结婚为什么不邀请政界人士?
国内英语资讯:China to enhance peace and security cooperation with the AU: envoy
研究:蒙娜丽莎是否“微笑”要看观众情绪
About Reading 关于读书
The Bucket List 遗愿清单
An app to calm you down 聊天机器人为你提供心理咨询服务
Acquired taste?
国内英语资讯:China, Indonesia to enhance law enforcement cooperation
探秘:人类神秘失踪的15个地方
网友晒出贴心的酒店服务,这些设计也太人性化了吧
How to Improve Human Relations in Business? 改善人际关系
写书第一步:看看世界名著都是怎么开头的[1]
晚上洗澡好,还是早上洗澡好?
老外在中国:养蛙是一种怎样的体验
国内英语资讯:China Focus: Xi, Modi to meet in central China
国内英语资讯:Belt and Road Initiative facilitates China-CEE cooperation: PwC
Making Dumplings 包饺子
国内英语资讯:China-Serbia economic forum focuses on investment potential
体坛英语资讯:Japan wins champion of 2018 AFC Womens Asian Cup
体坛英语资讯:Aguero to miss rest of season due to knee surgery
“小猪佩奇游春”新奇珐琅白瓷杯走红
2018年6月英语四级作文模板:表示数量
换一种语言读金庸(三)
研究显示 给孩子大声朗读能提升他们的注意力
体坛英语资讯:Former Brazil keeper Julio Cesar to retire
《纽约时报》补发林徽因、梁思成讣告:夫妻携手,用一生探索中国建筑史
美国女子做瞳孔变色手术却几乎失明
国内英语资讯:Xinhua Headlines: China plans to build Hainan into pilot free trade zone
国际英语资讯:Hanover trade fair opens as Germanys Merkel advocates free trade
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |