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常用英文短语详解

　　1975年《资讯周刊》上一篇评论里的原话形象的描绘了产生brass ring一词的活动的场景：

　　THE GREAT FRENCH CAROUSEL ORGANS (RCA ). The plaintive melodies and the sounds of fife and drum are transformed into a joyous cascade by the pipes of the mechanical organ. No instrument could be less solemn. It's not so much the sounds of Rossini's "Thieving Magpie Overture" or a swinging "Valencia" we hear as those of children's laughter when the world was young and the brass ring there for the grabbing.

　　8.Burn the candle at both ends

　　看到这个短语，大家都会觉得很形象， "burn the candle at both ends"一天中日出前日落后都点蜡烛工作，那么就是说"某人工作非常勤奋"。这个短语一定在电灯发明前就出现了吧。

　　没错，这个短语的确在电灯发明前就出现了，当时蜡烛是每家每户的日常必需品。不过这个短语的最初的含义是蜡烛两端都被点着，因此很快就被用完。勤俭持家的人是不可能这样做的，所以引申义是"某人将金钱挥霍掉"，而这个短语中 "burn"本来就有"挥霍"的意思，例如在19世纪美国铁路日志上的一段话： "...they had been 'burning the candle at both ends,' and instead of holding in reserve a portion of their easily acquired earnings, they had been spending money with a lavish hand." 这里，短语被用于描述铁路方面的管理不善。