【英语时差8,16】试探舆论反应

Most of us know balloons from festivals and fun fairs, where they are colorful and amusing¹, but in the 19th century, before airplanes were invented, balloons were used in wartimes to spy on the enemy position. One or two men would go up with a telescope in a balloon tied to the ground with a rope. However, because the enemy might fire a cannon² at them, this was dangerous.

So before men would go up in a balloon, they would first float (or send up) a trial balloon without any men in it to test the situation. If the enemy tried to shoot that trial balloon, the men would not go up. From this origin, today we use this idiom in any situation where we want to measure public reaction or opinion before committing a lot of money and effort to some project.

1 amusing   

adj.有有趣的，好玩的

参考例句：

• The girl was amusing herself with a doll.那女孩在玩洋娃娃自娱。
• He related some amusing stories in his childhood to his children.他向孩子们述说了他少年时代的一些趣事。

2 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。