神秘内容 Loading...

to put on the back burner

to drag one's feet (来源:英语杂志 http://www.EnglishCN.com)

我们经常说做事要看轻重缓急,有的时候不得不把正在做的事或计划要做的事先搁置一边。美国人把这叫做:to put on the back burner。

Back就是后边,而burner在这儿的是指做饭的炉子。美国的厨房里,炉台上一般都有四个炉口,前面两个,后面两个。人们往往把很快能煮好的东西放在前面炉子上煮,把一些要慢慢煮的东西放在后面的炉子上。这就是to put on the back burner这个俗语的来源。下面这个例子是一个广告公司的老板在给会计下指示:

例句-1: Joe, I know you're working on the Anderson contract, but let's put it on the back burner for now. We need your help on the new Jones contract--it's worth more than five million dollars.

这个老板说:乔伊,我知道你现在正在处理安德森合同的事情,但是,让我们先把它放一放。我们要你来帮忙处理和琼斯签订的新合同。这个合同价值达五百万美元。

每个家庭也经常会把马上想干的事推迟一段时间。下面是一个丈夫在对妻子说话:

例句-2: Honey, the boss told me today he can't give me that pay raise I was expecting. I'm afraid that means we'll have to put our plans to buy a bigger house on the back burner until next year.

这个丈夫说:"亲爱的,老板今天告诉我他不能满足我的愿望给我加工资。所以我们想买栋大房子的计划恐怕不得不等到明年再说了。"

好多人在做一些事的时候会表现出拖拖拉拉,很不愿意的样子。美国人把这种现象称为:to drag one's feet。你听了下面这位母亲的话就会明白什么是to drag one's feet了:

例句-3: Billy and Sally always drag their feet when I tell them it's bedtime. They love to watch TV after dinner and they'd stay up till midnight if I didn't chase them off to bed.

这位母亲说:每当我叫比利和萨利上床睡觉的时候,他们总是拖拖拉拉。他们喜欢吃完晚饭后看电视,要是我不催着他们上床的话,他们可以一直看到半夜。

下面的例子是一个百货公司的雇员正在罢工,要求增加工资。这个公司的经理说:

例句-4: The union is dragging its feet on agreeing to a settlement. They think the company is getting desperate to get people back to work because Christmas is coming and that's our busiest time of year.

他说:工会拖拖拉拉地不肯就解决方案达成协议。他们认为,公司一定会迫不及待地要雇员回去工作,因为圣诞节快来了,这是我们一年最忙的时候。

这回我们给大家介绍了两个俗语,它们是:to put on the back burner和to drag one's feet。

To put on the back burner是先搁置在一边的意思;to drag one's feet是拖拖拉拉的意思。

「美国习惯用语」第九十八课就讲到这里。欢迎下次再一起来学习美国习惯用语。再见。

 
神秘内容 Loading...

你可能对下面的文章也感兴趣:

·American Idioms 97 - SMART (AS INTELLIGENCE /
·American Idioms 99 - TURN ONE'S BACK ON SB. GE
·American Idioms 96 - BASKET CASE / ALL WASHED
·American Idioms 100 - NAG / GET OFF ONE'S BACK
·American Idioms 95 - ON A CLOUD / UNDER A CLOU
·American Idioms 101 - GET ONE'S BACK UP / SCRA
·American Idioms 94 - CLOUDY / IN THE CLOUDS
·American Idioms 102 - BRAINCHILD / PICK ONE'S
·American Idioms 93 - CRY IN ONE'S BEER / CRY B
·American Idioms 103 - GIVE UP THE GHOST / GHOS

上一篇:American Idioms 97 - SMART (AS INTELLIGENCE / FASHIONABLE)  
下一篇:American Idioms 99 - TURN ONE'S BACK ON SB. GET ON ONE'S BACK
[返回顶部] [打印本页] [关闭窗口]