迷你對(duì)話
A: When you went to the dormitory this morning,had your roommates came like a dose of salts?
你今早去宿舍的時(shí)候,你的室友已經(jīng)來(lái)了嗎?
B: Not yet. All my roommates came like a dose ofsalts.
還沒(méi)有,但是我的室友們沒(méi)過(guò)多久就會(huì)來(lái)的。
地道表達(dá)
like a dose of salts
1. 解詞釋義
Like a dose of salts表示“很迅速有效地”,但是從字面上來(lái)看“像鹽一樣”。“鹽”跟“迅速有效”有什么關(guān)系呢?原來(lái)這一用語(yǔ)中涉及到的鹽不是普通鹽,而是瀉鹽或硫酸錳鹽。這種瀉鹽18世紀(jì)以來(lái)被作為用藥,用于治療便秘。人服了瀉鹽,便秘就自然迅速有效地解決了,由此便引申出“處理事務(wù)的迅速有效”“一下子,很快地”。對(duì)話中“ All my roommates came loke a dose of salts. ”意思是“我的室友們沒(méi)過(guò)多久就都到齊了。”
2 典型范例
e.g. He gets through his pay like a dose of salts, and by Monday he's broken.
一發(fā)工資, 他就很快花個(gè)精光, 到了星期一便身無(wú)分文了。
e.g. Good Lord! The children have gone through that packet of biscuits like a dose of salts.
老天爺!孩子們很快地吃完了那包餅干。