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Words and Idioms 977
現(xiàn)在播送<美國習(xí)慣用語>第 977講。我是楊琳。
M：我是 Dan Markus.
最近我的一個朋友心情特別差，因?yàn)樗呀?jīng)工作了10多年的服裝店要關(guān)門了。這家店多年來一直銷售手工衣物，但是現(xiàn)在服裝連鎖店越來越多，這家店已經(jīng)沒辦法繼續(xù)經(jīng)營下去了。對于這家店和店里的員工，我們可以用下面的習(xí)慣用語來形容:
M: The end of the line. End is spelled e-n-d, and line; l-i-n-e. The-end -of-the-line.
The end of the line這個短語的意思是盡頭，極限。在上面的例子里，由于服裝店要關(guān)門了，很多年的經(jīng)營走到了盡頭，所以我朋友肯定會失去工作。在下一個例子里，我們將會聽到美國臭名昭著的罪犯阿爾.卡彭是怎么倒臺的。我們來聽聽看:
M: "Al Capone became well-known for being a crime boss in Chicago when alcohol was illegal. From the early 1920s to 1931, he made a fortune smuggling and producing liquor. He reached THE END OF THE LINE, not from those activities, but from trying to avoid paying taxes. His career was over when the government finally convicted him and sent him to prison."
這段話是說：阿爾.卡彭是芝加哥有名的犯罪大佬。從1920年代初到1931年，酒精飲料還屬于非法的時候，他通過走私和釀酒賺了一大筆錢。但是他后來落敗，不是因?yàn)榉欠ㄡ劸坪妥咚骄凭且驗(yàn)橥刀惵┒悺Ｕ罱K認(rèn)定他有罪并把他送進(jìn)了監(jiān)獄。
那會兒，美國有個法令，叫PROHIBITION，中文意思就是禁酒令，根據(jù)禁酒令，制造、販賣或者飲酒都是違法的。這個法律減少了人們的飲酒量，但同時也增加了集體犯罪。And that actually contributed to Prohibition reaching THE END OF THE LINE. 成了禁酒令最終被廢除的推手。好了，我們再來聽聽剛才那段話：
M: "Al Capone became well-known for being a crime boss in Chicago when alcohol was illegal. From the early 1920s to 1931, he made a fortune smuggling and producing liquor. He reached THE END OF THE LINE, not from those activities, but from trying to avoid paying taxes. His career was over when the government finally convicted him and sent him to prison."
The end of the line 盡頭，極限 。現(xiàn)在一切都變化得特別快，一個地方今天還好好的，明天可能就會 reach the end of the line 不復(fù)存在。 下面這個例子中，講述者對童年有什么樣的回憶呢？我們來聽聽看:
M: "When I was a kid, my dad and I used to go fishing at the lake near our house. Then we started to notice that there wasn't much to catch anymore. THE END OF THE LINE came when officials declared that the water was badly polluted. Nobody could enjoy it. "
這段話是說: 小時候，爸爸常帶我去家附近的河里釣魚。后來我們注意到，河里的魚好像少了許多。直到有一天，有關(guān)部門宣布，河水污染過于嚴(yán)重，禁止釣魚了，我們爺倆兒釣魚的傳統(tǒng)也就結(jié)束了。
這可真讓人沮喪！環(huán)境污染確實(shí)使很多人失去了享受大自然的樂趣。說起來，我今天剛剛收到一封信，說我們家旁邊的郵局就要關(guān)門了。確實(shí)，現(xiàn)在人們大量使用電子郵件，郵局生意越來越差。The popularity of emails may mean THE END OF THE LINE for a lot of post offices. 好的，讓我們再來聽聽剛才那段話:
M: "When I was a kid, my dad and I used to go fishing at the lake near our house. Then we started to notice that there wasn't much to catch anymore. THE END OF THE LINE came when officials declared that the water was badly polluted. Nobody could enjoy it. "
今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的習(xí)慣用語是the end of the line 意思是“盡頭、極限”。好的，這次[美國習(xí)慣用語]就到此結(jié)束，我是楊琳，我是 Dan Markus。謝謝各位的收聽。
B: So, I have some good news. I finally find a place to settle in, so my daily 2 hour commute will finally come to the end of the line! 太高興了！
A: 這樣你就不用每天早晨3點(diǎn)半起床了呀！恭喜你恭喜你！There's no way that I can get up at three thirty am. Speaking of which, I'm going for my green card interview this Friday at 7 am! I need at least three alarm clocks to wake me up!
B: Hahaha, yeah, I don't think I've ever seen you before 11, ha? Actually, you seem a little freaking out, are you ok?
A: 哎，還好啦! 我只是有點(diǎn)緊張！God knows what they will ask? 我聽說有好多人被面試兩三個小時呢！真可怕！ I'm also a bit worried I won't be able to understand some legal terms since English is not my first language.
B: Just relax and tell the truth, I'm sure you will be fine! Or you can always bring a lawyer, that way it won't be only yourself, and you can make sure you can understand the questions correctly.
A: 請律師？Hmmm...that's a good idea! 正好，在今天的美語三級跳里，Amir就要去找他的移民律師John, 我們一起來聽聽律師的建議！
