美国之音《流行美语》 358

　　Larry和李华一起去看职业棒球赛。今天我们要学两个常用语：a drop in the bucket¹和a flash in the pan².
LH: Larry, 世界杯结束了，咱们该看棒球了吧？我估计，棒球比赛肯定没有世界杯那么紧张。
L: I agree. Baseball games are much slower, and each game isn't very important.
LH: 对。每个队一年要打162场比赛，所以输个一两场的没什么问题。不像世界杯，输一场比赛就被淘汰！
L: You're exactly right. Each game is just a drop in the bucket.
LH: A drop in the bucket? 这是什么意思？
L; You can say that something is just a drop in the bucket if it is only a very small or insignificant³ part of something else.
LH: 哦，a drop in the bucket就好比一桶水里的一个水滴，指无关紧要。我们中文里把这个叫沧海一粟。
L: Right! Here is another example. Joe donated⁴ $20 to help people in Haiti after the earthquake, even though $20 was just a drop in the bucket.
LH: 海地地震后，Joe给灾民捐了20美元，尽管这只是很小的一笔钱。
L: Exactly. So Lihua, you're going to support the Nationals, right? They've got a great new pitcher⁵ named Stephen Strasburg.
LH: 我听说这个新投手特别棒! 不过 Larry, the Nationals去年打得那么差，换个新投手真能管用么？
L: Yeah, he is probably just a drop in the bucket, but if the Nationals can get some more good players they might be better in a couple years.
LH: 这么说，我们买票的钱就可以被用来聘请优秀的棒球队员喽？
L: I guess that's true, but of course, the price we paid for our tickets is just a drop in the bucket.
LH: 可不是么。The Nationals要想签下身价几百万美元的球星，可不能只靠咱俩这门票钱。哎？为了在经济上支持他们，你给我买一件有他们队标的T恤衫吧!
L: Well sure! But you have so many clothes, one more shirt is just going to be a drop in the bucket.
******
比赛结束了，Larry和Lihua从棒球场往外走。
LH: Larry, 这个新的投手可真棒!
L: Yeah, he played really well. If he keeps pitching⁶ like that, he is going to have an amazing career. I sure hope he's not just a flash in the pan.
LH: A flash in the pan? 什么意思？
L: A flash in the pan is something that starts out really well, but lasts for only a very short amount of time.
LH: 哦，就是昙花一现！你是说，你希望这个新投手不要在开始的时候表现很出色，但很快就默默无闻了。
L: Right. Here is another example. The new author's first book got a lot of praise from critics⁷, but he turned out to be a flash in the pan because his other books were terrible.
LH: 我明白了。这位作家的第一本书一鸣惊人，可这只是昙花一现，因为他后来写的几本书都很差。
L: That's right.
LH: Larry， 你注意到了么？这片地方自从盖了新棒球场以来，漂亮多了！饭馆、商场什么的都多起来了！
L: Yeah, a lot of people thought it would be a flash in the pan, but there is still a lot of development even a few years later.
LH: 是啊，这个地区的发展可不是昙花一现，而是持续下来的。虽然现在经济不景气，但我还是希望他们能坚持下去。
L: Well, there were some signs that the economy⁸ was improving a few months ago. But unfortunately, it looks like they may have just been a flash in the pan.
LH: 是啊，当时那些经济指标似乎都挺鼓舞人心的，谁知没过多久情况又变坏了。
L: Well spending $5 on dinner will only be a drop in the bucket for the economy. But a hamburger does sound great.
LH: 好啊！咱们虽然不能改善全国的经济，但总可以先满足一下自己的胃吧！
今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是a drop in the bucket，表示无关紧要，沧海一粟。另一是a flash in the pan，意思是昙花一现。

1 bucket   

n.水桶，一桶之量，吊桶

参考例句：

• The bottom of the bucket has worn through after all this time.经过这么长时间，这只桶的底部终于磨穿了。
• Can you fill me a bucket of water,please?请给我打一桶水好吗？

2 pan   

n.平底锅；v.严厉批评

参考例句：

• The water had all boiled away and the pan was burned.水煮干了，锅也烧坏了。
• The eggs were frying in the pan.鸡蛋正在锅里煎。

3 insignificant   

adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的

参考例句：

• In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。
• This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。

4 donated   

v.（尤指向慈善机构）捐赠( donate的过去式和过去分词 )；献（血）；捐（血）；捐献（器官）

参考例句：

• The money was donated by a local businessman who wishes to remain anonymous . 这笔款子是当地一位不愿透露姓名的企业家捐赠的。
• He donated thousands of pounds to charity. 他向慈善事业捐款数千英镑。

5 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

6 pitching   

n.铺地石，俯仰v.投( pitch的现在分词 )；用沥青涂；排列；把…定于特定角度

参考例句：

• The ship was rolling and pitching heavily in the rough sea. 船舶在狂涛中簸荡。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He was pitching the ball. 他正在投球。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 critics   

n.批评家( critic的名词复数 )；评论员；批评者；挑剔的人

参考例句：

• He felt no animosity towards his critics. 他对批评他的人并不心怀怨恨。
• The move was widely seen as an attempt to appease critics of the regime. 普遍认为，这一举措是试图安抚批评政权的人。

8 economy   

n.经济；节俭；秩序；机体

参考例句：

• We must do our best to develop the national economy.我们必须努力发展国民经济。
• The country's economy is not very healthy.国家的经济不很景气。