令人迷糊的常用英文字眼(二)

新会员

9. real bomb ：当口语时，是指在大众面前或舞台上表演失败或表现欠佳。 (generally refers to a poor show or performance before audience) ( 通常与 real 用在一起 ) 例如：

The show was a real bomb, so I cut out early. ( 戏剧不好看，所以我提早离开。 )(cut out = left)
His recent presentation was a real bomb. ( 他最近的演出很不理想 )
但是 bomb 当名词用是炸弹；当动词用，是轰炸，或失败、极坏的意思。 (very bad) 例如：

A U.S. fighter dropped a bomb over Iraq. ( 一架美国轰炸机往伊拉克扔炸弹 ) ( 当名词用 )
= A U.S. fighter bombed Iraq. ( 当动词用 )
The play has bombed. ( 这戏剧演糟了 )
My student bombed his exam. ( 学生考试失败了 )
要注意的是：「 real bomb 」有时也指「真正的炸弹」。例如：

The police found a real bomb in the building. ( 警察在建筑物中发现一颗真炸弹 )
( 所以要看上下文的意思，才能知道单字的真正含意。 )

10. neck and neck ： 意思是不相上下，难分高低，相差无几，或并驾齐驱。 (remain tie in any competition) 例如：

He was running neck and ncek in competition. ( 他参加竞赛，难分高低。 ) (running 意思是 participating)
The horses came in neck and neck across the finish line. ( 赛马到达终点时是难分上下 )
Last year George Bush and Al Gore almost remained neck and neck in the race for White House. ( 去年布希与高尔在总统竞选时相差无几 )
( 注：也有人写成： neck-and-neck)

11. through thick and thin ：意思是甘苦与共，历尽辛酸或忠贞不渝地受苦受罪 (go through all adversity) 例如：

She feels like a fool for sticking with her husband through thick and thin. ( 她觉得像傻瓜一样与老公厮守一起受苦受罪 )
He has walked through thick and thin during the past five years. ( 过去五年中，他历尽辛酸。 )
The old man obtained his academic degree through thick and thin. ( 老先生历尽艰难，取得学位。 )


12. cry wolf ：这是指「狼来了」的假警报；做不真实的惊恐或假惊慌 (false alarm; call attention for something which is not true or not serious) 例如：

Don't cry wolf unless you really need help. ( 除非你真正需要帮忙，不要发「狼来了」的假警报 )
Crying wolf is not a responsible behavior. ( 发假警报是不负责任的行为 )
Parents should teach their children not to cry wolf. ( 父母要教孩子不可喊「狼来了」的假警报 )

13. banner year ：意思是特别得意或特别好的一年（诸如升官、加薪、赢得锦旗、横幅等等） (a wonderful or fantastic year) 例如：

This has been a banner year for Mrs. Lin. ( 这是林太太最得意的一年 )
With a promotion and marriage, he really had a banner year in 1998. (1998 年的升官和结婚，使他有个特好的一年。 )
有时老外也用 banner month ，但不用 banner day 例如：

Mr. A had a banner month at his car dealership. (A 先生一个月来车子卖得很好）

14. shell company ：这是指假冒或有名无实的公司行号，也就是所谓「空壳」公司。 (fake company; just make it up) 例如：

They used fake receipts from shell companies with no staff or premises. ( 他们以没有员工或没有经营场址的假公司名义使用假收据 )
Shell companies are illegal in the U.S. ( 在美国空壳公司是违法的 ) (company 的复数是 companies ）

15. no dice ：意思是不可能发生的事情，不会改变的，徒劳的，无用的；也就是「不行」。（ something not going to happen; not going to change; absolutely not ）（ dice 本意是骰子，单复数相同。）例如：

No dice, I will not change my position on this matter. ( 不行，我不会对这件事改变立场。 )
There was no dice he would be able to get this job. ( 他不可能得到这份工作 ) (no dice = no way)
He asked her for more money, but she said no dice to him. ( 他要她多给些钱，但她对他说不行。 )
I tried to contact Mr. Wang, but no dice. ( 我设法与王先生联络，但是徒劳无功。 )
When he asked me to smoke a cigarette, I told him, “ no dice. ” ( 他要我吸根菸，我说不要。 )

16. dislocated worker ：这是指一些失业或正在找工作的人（ refers to a person who lost a job or still looking for a job) ( 老外为了礼貌和含蓄，故有此说法。 ) 例如：

There are 200 dislocated workers in our community when the company closed its door. ( 公司关闭後，我们社区里有两百人失业。 )
To avoid being a dislocated worker, one needs a good education with skills. ( 为了避免失业，个人需要有技能的良好教育。 )

17. stick-in-the-mud ：这是指一些落伍保守，墨守成规者；或是思想落後，毫无进取心的人，就像陷入泥淖一样。（ old fashioned or unprogressive person ）（多半当名词用 ) 例如：

He is a boring stick-in-the-mud. ( 他是一位墨守成规令人厌烦的人 )
Being a stick-in-the-mud, people don't value his opinions. ( 他是位呆头呆脑的人，大家不重视他的意见。 )
注：如果是专指「老顽固」，通常是用 old fogy 或 old fogey ；不过 stick-in-the-mud 可指年轻人或老人。 )