第350期:"再看吧"的英文原来这么说

 　　NEW WORDS

　　date back to 追溯到；从…开始有

　　come into being形成；产生

　　context¹ n. 环境；上下文；来龙去脉

　　PLAY IT BY EAR

　　This saying has its origins in music, as “playing something by ear” means to play music without reference² to the notes on a page. This sense of the phrase dates back to the 16th century, but the present use only came into being in mid-20th century America, primarily³ referring to sports. These days, the expression has lost this focus on sports and can be used in any context.

　　这句话起源于音乐，字面意思“用耳朵演奏”，意思是不看谱子上的音符演奏音乐。这个短语的意义可以追溯到十六世纪，但目前的用法形成于20世纪中叶的美国，主要用在体育上。如今，这种表达已经没有了仅限于体育上的表达，并且可以在任何语境下使用。

　　在不同的语境下可以理解为下面的意思

　　随机应变；走一步看一步；现场发挥；不用看谱；随兴所至；再说吧；再看吧；

　　情景一：购物

　　1. "What time shall we go shopping?" "Let's see how the weather looks and play it by ear."

　　“我们什么时候买东西啊？” “我们看看天气怎么样再说吧。”

　　情景二：准备要开会

　　2. I've had no time to prepare for this meeting, so I'll have to play it by ear.

　　我没有时间来准备这次会议，所以我只好见机行事。

　　情景三：抚慰，鼓励等

　　We'll take it easy and play it by ear, ok?

　　不着急，见机行事好吗？

1 context   

n.背景，环境，上下文，语境

参考例句：

• You can always tell the meaning of a word from its context.你常可以从上下文中猜出词义来。
• This sentence does not seem to connect with the context.这个句子似乎与上下文脱节。

2 reference   

n.提到，说到，暗示，查看，查阅

参考例句：

• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。
• I like to have my reference books within my reach.我喜欢把参考书放到伸手可取的地方。

3 primarily   

adv.首先，主要地，基本地

参考例句：

• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people.这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。
• I am primarily interested in history.我主要对历史感兴趣。