1. stand-out 才華出眾的人
這兒在stand和out之間有一個(gè)連詞符號(hào)。 Stand-out當(dāng)名詞用,它和形容詞outstanding意義相關(guān)連。不少人知道outstanding是“杰出的”。那么stand-out就必然是鶴立雞群的人或者物了。例如:
Jennifer gets all A's in her courses. In the fall, she's going to Harvard to study chemical engineering. She's a real stand-out.
Jennifer學(xué)業(yè)成績(jī)?nèi)珒?yōu)。今年秋天她將上哈佛大學(xué)學(xué)化學(xué)工程。她真是個(gè)杰出人才。
2. stand the heat 吃苦耐勞、經(jīng)得起批評(píng)和種種考驗(yàn)
在這兒stand是動(dòng)詞,意思為“忍受”。Stand the heat來(lái)自這樣一句俗語(yǔ): If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen. 這句話如果直譯就是:要是你受不了熱,就別待在廚房里。誰(shuí)都知道大熱天在火辣辣的爐子旁操作的廚師是多么能吃苦耐勞,所以這句話的含意就是,如果你吃不起苦就別干那一行。例如:
The president is always complaining about the way the press treats him. He asked for the job, though, didn't he? What I say is, if he can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.
總統(tǒng)老是抱怨報(bào)界對(duì)他的態(tài)度,可不是他自己要當(dāng)總統(tǒng)的嗎?我的意思是,他要是受不了批評(píng)指責(zé),就別坐總統(tǒng)這個(gè)位子。
3. stand somebody up 存心失某人的約
A stand-up comic指在夜總會(huì)對(duì)觀眾說(shuō)笑逗樂(lè)、表演幽默獨(dú)腳戲的演員??墒莝tand somebody up跟逗樂(lè)卻沒(méi)什么關(guān)系了,多用來(lái)表示“放某人鴿子,失約”等意思。例如:
I had a date with Lisa at the movies last Saturday but she never showed up. She said her car broke down, but I think she's lying - I'm afraid she stood me up for some other guy.
我和Lisa約好上星期六去看電影,但是她根本沒(méi)來(lái)。她說(shuō)她的車拋錨了,但是我覺(jué)得她在撒謊,恐怕她是為了跟別人約會(huì)而存心失約的。
4. stand pat 打定主意,決不動(dòng)搖
Pat是打撲克拿到的一手好牌。Stand pat這句話起源于十九世紀(jì)晚期。玩撲克的時(shí)候如果輪到你補(bǔ)牌但是你有一手pat, 也就是手上的牌很好,你拿定主意不補(bǔ)牌,你就說(shuō),stand pat。慢慢地,stand pat被用來(lái)表示堅(jiān)定不移、決不改變主意。例如:
Look, I'm not going to argue with you any more - no, you can't use the car tonight! That's my decision and I'm standing pat on it.
我可不跟你多費(fèi)口舌了,你今晚絕對(duì)不能用車! 我已經(jīng)決定了,不會(huì)改變主意。