Odds and ends 的意思是:零碎東西。比如,一個人要到外地去旅行,他可能會說:
"Okay, I'm all packed now, except for a few odds and ends I'll put in a handbag and carry on the plane with me."
這人說:“行了,我的行李都準備好了,還有一些零星小東西,我準備把它們放在手提包里,隨身帶上飛機去?!?br />你要是到美國的公司或其他機構去參觀的話,你可以看到很多人的辦公桌上很亂,紙張文件堆得很高。下面這個人就是一個例子:
"One good thing I got done at the office today was clean up my desk. I'd let so many odds and ends pile up that you could scarcely see the desk itself. But I got busy and took care of everything."
他說:“今天我在辦公室里做的一件好事是把我的桌子整理乾凈了。那些零零碎碎的東西越堆越多,簡直連桌面都看不見了??墒?,我今天抓緊時間,把所有的東西都整理好了?!?