第一， 迷你對話

A: Why do the two brothers grow cold and often quarrel with each other?

那對兄弟感情怎么冷淡起來的？而且還總是吵架？

B: Money is the matter.

是錢的問題。

A: Why?

為什么呀？

B: Because of the division of their father’s property, it is their bone of contention.

還不是因為他們父親財產分配的問題而引起的爭端。

A: So there is no brother when they come to money.

一提到錢，兄弟就不親了。

第二， 地道表達

bone of the contention

1. 解詞釋義

Bone of the contention這個習語源于夠搶骨頭，爭斗不休。其字面意思為“爭奪的骨頭”，比喻為“爭端的起因”或“爭議點”等意思，常見用于新聞報道中。類似的習語還有have a bone to pick with sb.。

2. 拓展例句

e.g. The border has always been a bone of contention between these two countries.

這兩國之間的邊界問題歷來是爭議的焦點。

e.g. The small island has been a bone of contention between the two countries for centuries.

那小島成為這兩個國家之間的爭端已達數百年之久。

第三， 詞海拾貝

1. grow cold ：（關系或感情）變得冷漠

e.g. After a certain point, she grew cold, detached utterly from him.

過了某一點后，她變得冷漠無情，對他沒有一絲戀眷。

e.g. As she came to understand her position, she grew stiff and cold.

當她漸漸明白自己的處境時，就變得呆滯，冷漠了。

2. quarrel with sb. ：與某人爭吵

e.g. He is good-natured and has never had a quarrel with anyone.

他脾氣很好,從不和任何人爭吵。

e.g. For all these reasons, he decided to pick a quarrel with Miss Wackles without delay.

基于這許多理由，他決定立即向瓦克爾斯小姐尋釁。

3. because of ：因為

e.g. His later stories are not interesting because of their poverty of imagination.

他后來寫的故事因為缺乏想像力而枯燥乏味。

e.g. The lives of many people have been enriched because of adult education.

許多人的生活由于受了成人教育而變得更加充實。

4. come to sth. ：談到某事，涉及某事

e.g. When it comes to politics I know nothing.

談到政治，我一無所知。