Larry和李華一起去看職業棒球賽。今天我們要學兩個常用語：a drop in the bucket和a flash in the pan.

LH: Larry, 世界杯結束了，咱們該看棒球了吧？我估計，棒球比賽肯定沒有世界杯那么緊張。

L: I agree. Baseball games are much slower, and each game isn't very important.

LH: 對。每個隊一年要打162場比賽，所以輸個一兩場的沒什么問題。不像世界杯，輸一場比賽就被淘汰！

L: You're exactly right. Each game is just a drop in the bucket.

LH: A drop in the bucket? 這是什么意思？

L: You can say that something is just a drop in the bucket if it is only a very small or insignificant part of something else.

LH: 哦，a drop in the bucket就好比一桶水里的一個水滴，指無關緊要。我們中文里把這個叫滄海一粟。

L: Right! Here is another example. Joe donated $20 to help people in Haiti after the earthquake, even though $20 was just a drop in the bucket.

LH: 海地地震后，Joe給災民捐了20美元，盡管這只是很小的一筆錢。

L: Exactly. So Lihua, you're going to support the Nationals, right? They've got a great new pitcher named Stephen Strasburg.

LH: 我聽說這個新投手特別棒! 不過 Larry, the Nationals去年打得那么差，換個新投手真能管用么？

L: Yeah, he is probably just a drop in the bucket, but if the Nationals can get some more good players they might be better in a couple years.

LH: 這么說，我們買票的錢就可以被用來聘請優秀的棒球隊員嘍？

L: I guess that's true, but of course, the price we paid for our tickets is just a drop in the bucket.

LH: 可不是么。The Nationals要想簽下身價幾百萬美元的球星，可不能只靠咱倆這門票錢。哎？為了在經濟上支持他們，你給我買一件有他們隊標的T恤衫吧!

L: Well sure! But you have so many clothes, one more shirt is just going to be a drop in the bucket.

******

比賽結束了，Larry和Lihua從棒球場往外走。

LH: Larry, 這個新的投手可真棒!

L: Yeah, he played really well. If he keeps pitching like that, he is going to have an amazing career. I sure hope he's not just a flash in the pan.

LH: A flash in the pan? 什么意思？

L: A flash in the pan is something that starts out really well, but lasts for only a very short amount of time.

LH: 哦，就是曇花一現！你是說，你希望這個新投手不要在開始的時候表現很出色，但很快就默默無聞了。

L: Right. Here is another example. The new author's first book got a lot of praise from critics, but he turned out to be a flash in the pan because his other books were terrible.

LH: 我明白了。這位作家的第一本書一鳴驚人，可這只是曇花一現，因為他后來寫的幾本書都很差。

L: That's right.

LH: Larry， 你注意到了么？這片地方自從蓋了新棒球場以來，漂亮多了！飯館、商場什么的都多起來了！

L: Yeah, a lot of people thought it would be a flash in the pan, but there is still a lot of development even a few years later.

LH: 是啊，這個地區的發展可不是曇花一現，而是持續下來的。雖然現在經濟不景氣，但我還是希望他們能堅持下去。

L: Well, there were some signs that the economy was improving a few months ago. But unfortunately, it looks like they may have just been a flash in the pan.

LH: 是啊，當時那些經濟指標似乎都挺鼓舞人心的，誰知沒過多久情況又變壞了。

L: Well spending $5 on dinner will only be a drop in the bucket for the economy. But a hamburger does sound great.

LH: 好啊！咱們雖然不能改善全國的經濟，但總可以先滿足一下自己的胃吧！

今天李華學了兩個常用語。一個是a drop in the bucket，表示無關緊要，滄海一粟。另一是a flash in the pan，意思是曇花一現。