我想去買輛新車,為了獲得最好的價(jià)格,我?guī)Я艘粋€(gè)朋友陪我同去。這位朋友很懂車,同時(shí)又很會(huì)砍價(jià)。結(jié)果,在我挑好車后,這位朋友上陣殺價(jià)了。她把自己肚子里和汽車有關(guān)的知識(shí)都用上了,可是,賣車的這位銷售員也相當(dāng)厲害,愣是不松口。我朋友說(shuō)得嘴都干了,也沒(méi)把價(jià)砍下來(lái)。這讓我想到了一個(gè)習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)。那就是:beat one's head against the wall.
To beat one's head against the wall, 意思是白費(fèi)力氣,徒勞無(wú)功。因?yàn)槠囦N售員不愿意降價(jià),我這個(gè)朋友花了好長(zhǎng)時(shí)間講價(jià),可是,all she managed to do was to beat her head against the wall. 她完全是白費(fèi)唇舌。
在下面這段話中,一個(gè)遇到感情問(wèn)題的女孩很希望挽回男友的心,但她這么做是不是有用呢?我們來(lái)聽(tīng)一聽(tīng):
例句-1:My sister hasn't had much luck with relationships lately. She dated a guy for a couple of months, but he broke up with her and got back together with his old girlfriend. My sister couldn't get over it. She spent weeks thinking about what she could have done differently. Why bother? I hated seeing her beat her head against the wall.
這段話是說(shuō):我妹妹最近感情生活頗為不順。她和一個(gè)男人交往了幾個(gè)月,但是這個(gè)人卻提出分手,和他的前女友復(fù)合了。我妹妹怎么也放不下,幾個(gè)星期以來(lái),她總是在想自己當(dāng)初是否做錯(cuò)了什么,導(dǎo)致男友離開(kāi)她。其實(shí)何必這樣呢?她完全是在浪費(fèi)感情,我不想看到她這個(gè)樣子。
在感情問(wèn)題上,最忌諱拖泥帶水,苦苦不放手。男友的心不能挽回,就當(dāng)是倆人有緣無(wú)份吧! 繼續(xù)浪費(fèi)時(shí)間,只可能錯(cuò)過(guò)真正適合自己的人。
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小時(shí)候,家長(zhǎng)老師常常教育我們說(shuō),要不怕失敗,百折不撓,還總用科學(xué)家的事例來(lái)鼓勵(lì)我們。雖然最后我們很多人都無(wú)法成為科學(xué)家,但是相信大家在追求自己夢(mèng)想的過(guò)程中都會(huì)有一些意外的收獲,就好像下面這個(gè)人:
例句-2:History is filled with examples of inventors who were beating their heads against the wall. Like the pharmacist in Atlanta, Georgia who was frustrated when he couldn't find a cure for a headache. Then he created something accidentally that made him world-famous: Coca-Cola.
這段話是說(shuō):歷史上有很多在開(kāi)始時(shí)白費(fèi)力氣,走進(jìn)死胡同的發(fā)明家。比如美國(guó)喬治亞州亞特蘭大的一個(gè)藥劑師,他一心想發(fā)明一種專治頭痛的藥,可是怎么也不能成功,就在他為此感到沮喪的時(shí)候,卻意外地發(fā)明了一種飲料,并為此變得世界聞名。這個(gè)飲料就是可口可樂(lè)。
不光是可口可樂(lè),橡膠、青霉素、不沾鍋等都是人們?cè)跓o(wú)意中發(fā)現(xiàn)或者創(chuàng)造出來(lái)的。所以,有時(shí)候當(dāng)你一再失敗的時(shí)候,you're not necessarily beating your heads against the wall. 你并不一定是在做無(wú)用功。