Helen: 我們剛才聽到一位孕婦正好在孩子出生前一刻趕到醫院，而另一對戀人差點沒趕上 Beyonce 的演唱會。

Rob: That would've been awful. You hear this phrase often used to suggest a disaster had been averted. If the action happened any later, then something awful could happen.
那還不錯。你挺這個 短語常用來表示“不好的事被避開了”。如果行動晚些，一些不好的事就會發生。

Helen: I see. 這個短語的意思是剛好，恰好，最后一刻趕到了。那么這是在英式英語嗎？

Rob: I don't think the phrase 'in the nick of time' is specifically British. It originated from the UK, but English speakers from all over the world use it now.
我認為in the nick of time這個短語并不特別像英式英語。它源自美國，但是全世界說英語的人現在都這么用。

Helen: 讓我們聽聽例子吧。

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Example

Man: We arrived just in the nick of the time. Another five minutes, our plane would have left without us.
我們在最后一刻趕到了。再玩5分鐘，就會錯過飛機。

Woman: Sam was experimenting with stir frying last night and the wok caught fire. Luke rushed in with the fire blanket just in the nick of time.
Sam 昨晚正在試著炒菜，但是著火了。Luke 在最后可是拿著防火毯沖了進來。

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Helen: That was close. 熱鍋燒菜起火了，還好 Luke 機靈沒澆水滅火。就差那么一點點，不然就闖大禍了。

Rob: That would have been a catastrophe. So Helen, are you the kind of person who likes to do things at the very last minute?
是啊，差點就釀成災難。Helen，你是那種喜歡在最后的時間是才去做事的人嗎？

Helen: Well, I'd like to think of myself as a person who can do things in the nick of time. Thanks for listening. Bye.
我認為自己能在最后一刻做事的人。感謝收聽，再見。

Rob: Bye.