英語早間課堂:A Chace in a Million
【直擊主題】 This morning I'd like to talk about an idiom which can express little possibility of doing something. What's it ? Let's listen to a simple situation dialogue.
A : Do you thing you can get the project?
B : It's a chance in a million. I hear John is interested in it. A : I see. After all , John is the boss's son.
B : But, anyway, I will have a try .
【答疑解惑】
Okay, guys , have you spotted it? It is " A CHANCE IN A MILLION". "A chance in a million" 直譯就是“一百萬中的一次機(jī)會(huì)”，wow , a million一百萬，才得到a chance, it's really hard to get it and it's really takes time. So the Chinese for it are : 很小的機(jī)會(huì)，微乎其微的機(jī)會(huì)，一絲機(jī)會(huì)，一種粗俗的說法還可以說成是：狗屎運(yùn)。
【咬文嚼字】
What's more, a chance in a million is an phrase belonging to a noun form. And in a million is preposition phrase which modifies "chance". As we know, 既然是介詞短語修飾限定了前面的名詞，some people maybe think that " a" should be changed to " the". Nope, do don't think so for an idiom is a set expression from people's life , which can't be judged if it's right or wrong in grammar rules sometimes. This is just what I want to emphasize. 這正是我要強(qiáng)調(diào)的一點(diǎn)，a chance in a million 中的 in a million 是介詞短語，作后置定語，修飾前面的 chance, 照常理來說，就然有了修飾與限制，那么就應(yīng)該定冠詞 the， 而不是不定冠詞 a. 但是我們要知道習(xí)語使人們?cè)谏钪械目陬^語言，很多是無法用語法規(guī)則去言論他的對(duì)錯(cuò)的。So it's fine that we just keep it in our mind by rote : a change in a million.
【學(xué)以致用】
How should we use it? Since it's a phrase of a noun form, verbs can be put in front of it as object . For example: HVE A CHANCE IN A MILLION which equals to have almost no chance or GIVE A CHANCE IN A MILLION. 意思是有個(gè)微乎其微的機(jī)會(huì)，給予很小的機(jī)會(huì)。Let's look at example sentences. We haven't a chance in a million of winning. 我們勝利的機(jī)會(huì)微乎其微。Political experts gave him little chance of winning the nomination, because most Democrats didn't know him. 政治家說他贏得提名的機(jī)會(huì)很小，因?yàn)榇蟛糠值拿裰鼽h人士不認(rèn)識(shí)他。 Since it is a phrase of a noun form, it can be used as predicative. For example : It's a million of chance.這是個(gè)千載難逢的機(jī)會(huì)。
【拓展視野】
Of course we have many ways to take place of " a chance in a million " . Let's have a summary.
1 a poor chanceFor example: A chance of getting the job were por, so the young man felt gloomy about the future. 得到這份工作的機(jī)會(huì)很小, 所以這位青年人感到前途渺茫。
2 a slim chanceFor example: Her chance of success is slim. 她成功的機(jī)會(huì)很小。
3 little chance ( 備注： 這個(gè)短語前面不要加 a .)For example: On the face of things, Ms Menchú has little chance of winning. 從許多方面看，門楚夫人獲勝的機(jī)會(huì)都很小。 4 little possibilityFor example: There's little posibility of being the case or coming about. 還是有很小的機(jī)會(huì)存在或發(fā)生的。
5 The odds against somebody. For example: The odds are against us. 我們成功的機(jī)會(huì)很小。
【小題大作】
Let's come to the dialogue study. Please listen to the recording and write down the key phrases. A : Do you thing you can get the project?
B : It's a chance in a million. I hear John is interested in it. A : I see. After all , John is the boss's son.
B : But, anyway, I will have a try . And now have you done. Let's come to the phrase accumulation.
【日積月累】
1 get the project 得到這項(xiàng)工程做2 a chance in a million 極小的機(jī)會(huì)3 I see . 我明白了。
4 after all 畢竟5 have a try 試一試6 be interested in 對(duì)......感興趣【口語句型】
1 I hear + 賓語從句 我聽說......
2 Do you think + 賓語從句 你認(rèn)為......怎樣?
【會(huì)話翻譯】
A: 你認(rèn)為你能得到這個(gè)工程嗎?
B : 機(jī)會(huì)很小，我聽說John 對(duì)它很感興趣。
A : 我知道了，畢竟John是老板的兒子。
B : 但是不論如何，我也要試一試看看。
All right , it's time to say goodbye to you. Have a nice day . Thank you for your listening this time. See you next time. 好了，又要和大家在空中告別了，祝您有個(gè)愉快的一天，感謝您的這次收聽，下次再會(huì)。
【溫故知新】
【翻譯練習(xí)】
1 Please translate the following sentence into English. All right , everyone have a try to translate the following sentences into English. 1 盡管巴斯曼夫人熟知這個(gè)情況,但她仍然認(rèn)為自己的想法仍有百萬分之一的可能性。 2 真是走狗屎運(yùn),他本該在那一天摔斷了他的腿。
I'll give you some tips which could help you do it. 1 第一句用個(gè)從屬連詞講真?zhèn)€句子翻譯為讓步狀語從句，從句中的關(guān)鍵短語是 “be acquainted with”, 主句用同位語從句進(jìn)行翻譯。
2 第二句要進(jìn)行意譯。真?zhèn)€句子上形式主語和主語從句進(jìn)行，在從句中用上虛擬語氣。
Let's look at the answers:
1 Though Mrs Bussman was fully acquainted with this story, she thought that there was a chance in a million that she might be right.
2 It was a chance in a million that he should have broken his leg on that particular day.
2 請(qǐng)用不同的方式改寫下面這句話。
If we have seen a black flower, it's a chance in a million.
若我們見過黑花,那是百萬分之一的機(jī)會(huì)。 Let's look at the answers: It's a poor chance in a million for us to see a black flower. We would get little chance of seeing a black flower.
There 's little possibility of seeing a black flower.
It's a slim chance for us to see a black flower.
【口語練習(xí)】
1 Please translate the dialogue in Chinese into English orally.
A: 你認(rèn)為你能得到這個(gè)工程嗎?
B : 機(jī)會(huì)很小，我聽說John 對(duì)它很感興趣。
A : 我知道了，畢竟John是老板的兒子。
B : 但是不論如何，我也要試一試看看。
2 Please read the dialogue until you can blurt it out while listening to the recording.
【聽力練習(xí)】
Please listen to the dialogue and make a dictation. A : Do you thing you can get the project?
B : It's a chance in a million. I hear John is interested in it. A : I see. After all , John is the boss's son.
B : But, anyway, I will have a try .
