就在一個小時之前,我們辦公室這里經(jīng)歷了一場驚心動魄!同事都在伏案工作的時候,火警鈴忽然響了, 大家爭相下樓,議論紛紛。后來證實,其實是廚房微波爐里熱的東西著火了,弄響了火警。于是大家也紛紛回到辦公桌前,重新拿起手中的工作。這件小事讓我想到一個習慣用語,那就是:business as usual.
大家都知道,business是營業(yè)的意思,usual 呢,是正常的。那么business as usual, 用來形容事情經(jīng)過了異常之后恢復正常狀態(tài),可以翻譯成“一切照舊,虛驚一場”。
上面的例子中, people resumed work after a small fire incident, it was business as usual. 大家在著火小插曲之后繼續(xù)工作,辦公室恢復正常。
下面的例子講了一對父母每天早晨的大挑戰(zhàn)。我們來聽聽看:
例句-1:Imagine preparing breakfast for six kids. Then getting them washed and dressed, packing their lunches and getting them off to school. That might seem like a huge challenge. But for my wife and me, it's business as usual. It's part of our everyday routine.
這段話是說:想像一下:給六個孩子準備早餐,然后給他們洗臉穿衣服,裝飯盒,再把他們統(tǒng)統(tǒng)送到學校去。這看起來是一項巨大的挑戰(zhàn)。但是對我妻子和我來說,這是日常便飯。這是我們每天要做的工作。
想像一下,要照料六個孩子,真是不容易!不過,這與經(jīng)歷過大災難的人相比只是小事一樁。想想日本今年三月的大地震,不知道要經(jīng)過多久這個國家才能恢復原狀。It will not be business as usual any time soon for the Japanese people. 日本人民的生活近期內恐怕很難恢復常態(tài)。
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我們居住的小鎮(zhèn)是個安靜的地方,平常非常愜意。不過有一次,一個名導演看中了我們小鎮(zhèn),準備來這里拍攝。這一下發(fā)生了什么事情呢? 我們來聽聽看:
例句-2:Normally, my tiny town is a quiet place. But when a movie director chose it as the site for his upcoming picture, it became incredibly busy. Film stars and production crews flooded Main Street. The local restaurants served overflow crowds, shops saw increased sales, and news reporters came from all around seeking interviews. For three weeks, it was anything but business as usual.
這段話是說:平常,我住的小鎮(zhèn)特別安靜。但是當一名電影導演選中這里拍攝之后,這里就變得忙碌無比了。電影明星和制作團隊擠滿了城里的主路。飯館里的人目不暇接,商店營業(yè)額直線上升,新聞記者也都來到這里尋找采訪機會。三個星期以來,這里什么都有,就是沒有往日的寧靜。
被導演看中也許是好事,這樣一來可以大大提高小鎮(zhèn)的知名度,商店餐館也能更好的營業(yè)額。可是對我們這些居民來說,我們想要的只是business as usual, 以往的安靜生活。看來任何事都有兩面性。