换句话说,如果在陈述句中使用了这个词,那么整个句子的意思就是否定的,尽管动词是肯定形式。比如说: there is nothing in the room,房间里什么都没有。这句话的句型结构there is是肯定形式,但是由于有nothing这个词汇,结果意思却是否定形式:房间里什么都没有。
好,下面我们学习习惯用语: nothing to sneeze at。Sneeze这个词的意思是“打喷嚏,”既可用作名词,也可用作不及物动词。把这个词用作不及物动词时,后面再加上介词at,构成成语动词sneeze at,意思是:看不上、哧之以鼻。而nothing to sneeze at的意思是:绝非让人哧之以鼻的东西,指那些虽然算不上是最好的、但也相当不错的事物。
下面我们听一段话,来体会一下这个习惯用语的用法。
例句-1:So you didn't win the million dollars! But you did win ten thousand, didn't you? Let me tell you, friend, ten thousand dollars is certainly nothing to sneeze at!
例句-2:Okay, honey, you came in second in the 400 meters, not first. But you won the silver medal and you're the second fastest runner in the state. I'd say that's nothing to sneeze at.
刚才我们新学了习惯用语nothing to sneeze at。接下来我们再学一个包含nothing这个单词的习惯用语:nothing to write home about。Write home是给家里写信、或者说写家信。Write home about就是:给家里写信的时候谈到某件事。不过nothing to write home about不只局限于给家里写信。它指的是:任何不值得大书特书的事情。
例句-3:The story was hard to believe, and the acting wasn't very good either. It was awfully slow. It didn't quite put me to sleep but this movie's sure nothing to write home about.
接下来我们再听一段话,帮助大家理解习惯用语nothing to write home about的用法。
例句-4:The only job Pete could find was selling magazine subscriptions by phone. But it's nothing to write home about -- long hours, low pay and most people are pretty rude when he calls them.