我们讲过两个以long,也就是长短的长这个字为主的习惯用语。在这次节目里,我们要给大家介绍两个以长短的短,也就是英文里的short这个字为主的习惯用语。第一个习惯用语是: Short and sweet的意思就是很简短,也很明确,一点废话都没有。大家都知道,sweet这个字的意思是:甜,甜酸苦辣的甜。但是,在 short and sweet这个俗语里,sweet这个字并没有听起来很甜的意思。它只是意味着能够很快地知道说话的人,或写文章的人到底要说什么。下面是一个父亲在说他儿子给父母写的一封信。他说:
例句-1: I got a letter yesterday from my son at college. It was certainly short and sweet. All it said was "Dear Dad/Mom, please send me a hundred dollars right away. Love, your son, Mike."
我们再来举一个short and sweet的例子。这是一个丈夫在工作了一天后回到家里看到他太太给他留的一张简短的条子。他现在在对他的邻居讲话。
例句2: I was really tired after a hard day at the office. But the first thing I saw after I got home was this short and sweet note from my wife. It said: I'm going out to have some fun. Please pick up the kids and get them something to eat.
我们现在来给大家介绍第二个习惯用语。这个习惯用语把长和短这两个对立面都结合在一起。The long and short of it. 这个俗语的意思就是:你把有关某一件事的基本事实和情况都说的很明白了,已经没有必要再说什么了。举例来说吧。一个家庭里的几个孩子都想让爸爸买一辆新车。他们不断地去说服他们的爸爸,把他弄得烦死了。后来,他对孩子们说:
例句3: No, we are not going to buy a new car right now. The old one still runs fine. Besides, the simple truth is we don't have the money and that's the long and short of it.
例句4: If you want to go on sharing this apartment with me, you've got to stop having parties everyday and playing music loud after midnight. If you think you're not able to observe these rules, you can move out anytime - that's the long and short of it!