英语博客：Playing with whales

 　　"Mum, can you put in your password?" is a question that I hear almost on a daily basis. My kids are into apps in a big way(1). We are slowly getting sucked(2) into the app market. I allow my daughter to play on my iPhone every now and then(3). That's fine. There are lots of fun, creative apps that you can download for free, so we do(4). After a few days, however, the credits, or ammunition¹, or points, or whatever currency it is that you need to play the game, run out. Then my children look around to find their saviour², me. They suddenly remember how much they love me. They become very polite and very sweet, as they ask me to solve their problem of a lack of (5)credits. They do this with one eye on me, and one eye on my purse. Ha, ha! I have their full attention, the power of an emperor. Will it be thumbs up or thumbs down(6)? Exactly how nice(7) can they be to me if they really need those credits? May be they can vacuum the lounge, or clean out the cat's litter box(8). Or maybe I'll just have them kiss the ring on my right hand. Oh the power has gone to my head(9). I do realise that the older I get, the less power I will have. So, for now, I'll make the most of it(10). A few dollars here and there for app credits is fine; I let them buy them most of the time. It would only be a problem if I had an iron will. However, it is satisfying to know that my hand holds the purse strings³(11).

　　1. 'To be into something in a big way' is an American expression for really liking⁴ something, or really practicing something.

　　a. My brother is into photography in a big way; he does it as often as he can, and he's very good at it.

　　b. They're into Minecraft in a big way; they play it everyday.

　　2. 'To get sucked into something' is an expression that means that you are slowly being forced to do something. You can get a mental image perhaps of stepping into mud and getting sucked into it. It is used figuratively, and implies that you are not happy about it.

　　a. I have been asked to be the president of the committee; I don't really want to, but I'm getting sucked into it.

　　b. He got sucked right into buying that car, but it was a bad one and broke down in two days.

　　3. 'Every now and then' is similar to saying 'sometimes' or 'occasionally'.

　　4. The verb 'to do' has many uses; one is emphasis.

　　a. They told us not to, so we didn't.

　　b. He won't let us eat in the lounge, so we don't.

　　5. 'A lack of' is not having enough of something.

　　a. The project cannot continue due to lack of money.

　　b. This talent show has a real lack of talent.

　　c. She has so many shoes that you won't believe it; she really does.

　　6. 'Thumbs up' is a phrase that is used sometimes to give approval of something. However, the 'thumbs up or thumbs down' is a reference to Roman Emperors and their 'life or death' use of this signal.

　　7. 'Exactly how + adjective / noun' is used a lot in both questions and statements to show doubt about someone's attributes, actions, abilities, or about something that has or will happen? It can show attitude, impatience⁵, or sarcasm⁶.

　　a. Exactly how clever is he supposed to be?

　　b. Exactly how late are they going to be?

　　c. Exactly where are we supposed to be?

　　d. Exactly how tall is he?

　　8. 'A litter box' is the box filled with a sandy substance that cats use as a toilet. I'm not sure why it's called a 'litter box'.

　　9. 'To have something go to your head' means that you become proud or fixated on an accomplishment⁷?desire, and because of that, your behavior is affected⁸.

　　a. He won the race, but his win went to his head and he spent the whole week bragging⁹.

　　b. Don't let your new wealth go to your head; you might do something stupid.

　　c. She let his words go to her head; she was easily influenced.

　　10. 'To make the most of ....' means to either thoroughly¹⁰ enjoy something, or to take advantage of an opportunity.

　　a. I have nothing to do tonight; I'm going to make the most of it and relax.

　　b. We made the most of our free cruise; we tried all the food, and went to every activity.

　　11. 'My (someone else's) hands hold the purse strings' is a saying which means the person has control of the money. Purses used to have string tops instead of zips or buttons, so if your hand is holding the strings, you control when the purse is opened.

1 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

2 saviour   

n.拯救者，救星

参考例句：

• I saw myself as the saviour of my country.我幻想自己为国家的救星。
• The people clearly saw her as their saviour.人们显然把她看成了救星。

3 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

4 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

5 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

6 sarcasm   

n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic）

参考例句：

• His sarcasm hurt her feelings.他的讽刺伤害了她的感情。
• She was given to using bitter sarcasm.她惯于用尖酸刻薄语言挖苦人。

7 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

8 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

9 bragging   

v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的现在分词 )；大话

参考例句：

• He's always bragging about his prowess as a cricketer. 他总是吹嘘自己板球水平高超。 来自辞典例句
• Now you're bragging, darling. You know you don't need to brag. 这就是夸口，亲爱的。你明知道你不必吹。 来自辞典例句

10 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。