外國同事電腦壞了,John以為他要找人來修,沒想到同事居然自己修好了。John覺得太不可思議了,一直稱讚同事很厲害。同事回答:
"It’s duck soup for anyone with the right tools."
Duck soup? 鴨子湯?這是什麼大力神湯?Duck soup真正的意思,你一定想不到。
It’s duck soup for anyone with the right tools.
(X)有了好工具就能做出鴨子湯。
(O)有了對的工具,這事就變得輕而易舉。
"Duck soup" 是美國慣用語,指「容易處理的問題;容易打敗的對手」,相當於中文裡的「輕而易舉」。例如:
Winning this game is going to be duck soup. 贏得這場比賽是輕而易舉的事。
After years of professional experience, solving these complex math problems is duck soup for her. 有了這麼些年的專業經驗,對她來說,這些複雜的數學問題是輕而易舉。
Get your ducks in a row.
(X)讓鴨子排成一排吧。
(O)做好準備吧!
"Get your ducks in a row" 是一個意象鮮明的慣用語。鴨子過馬路時,母鴨會在前面帶路,後面的小鴨整齊排成一列,這句話意思是「把事情整理得井井有條」。Get 可以換成have,have your ducks in a row,意思一樣。
They should have had their ducks in a row beforehand, so they were ready to start the job when required. 他們應該提前準備好,這樣一接到要求就立刻可以開始工作。
Mike is organized. He really has all his ducks in a row right away. Mike做事井井有條。他很快就能將他的事情安排得有條不紊。
Don’t just duck the issue.
(X)別把鴨子當件事。
(O)不要迴避問題。
Duck大家熟悉的名詞用法是「鴨子」,它也可以當動詞,是「突然低下頭或身體,刻意避開某個東西」,例如:
She ducked her head to avoid being hit. 她迅速低下頭避免被擊中。
也可以引申為躲避;迴避
He ducked the reporters by sneaking out the back door. 他迴避記者,從後門溜出去了。
The plan is a dead duck: there's no money.
(X)計劃中的鴨子死了,無法賣錢。
(O)沒有錢,計劃告吹了。
"Dead duck"指某人或某事「已經失敗、沒有成功希望」。例如,如果一個案子因為沒有足夠的支持或資源而無法繼續,人們可能會說這個項目是"dead duck"。意思相當於中文裡的「無力挽救、注定失敗」。
After the major sponsor pulled out, their festival plans became a dead duck. 當主要贊助商退出後,他們的節慶的案子沒法繼續了。
If we don't get the approval by next week, our project is a dead duck. 如果我們下周之前拿不到批准,我們的案子就注定要失敗了。
商業英文學得又快又準:http://bit.ly/2HSHW7p