今天我们要讲的美国习惯用语是:bread and butter。Bread是面包的意思,butter是黄油的意思,面包和黄油都是西方人经常吃的东西;bread and butter连在一起在英语里就是生计,主要收入来源的意思。
我前两天刚刚跟美国习惯用语的作者之一Steve出去吃饭。对他来说,帮我们做节目只是兼职,并不是他的bread and butter,教外国学生学英语才是他的bread and butter. 让我们听听下面这个人邻居的bread and butter是什么。
例句-1:When I saw my neighbor Katie's artwork at a gallery, I was amazed by her talent. I assumed that painting was her bread and butter. But she told me that it's only a hobby; she couldn't live on the money she makes from the paintings she sells.
我有个表哥,从小就喜欢雕塑。有一次我过生日,他送给我一件自己的作品。我以为是一棵树,但他告诉我说,那是我在跳舞。不用说,雕塑始终也没有成为他的bread and butter.
我们刚才说bread and butter是指一个人的主要收入来源。其实,bread and butter还可以指一种工作或一个行业的基本业务。比如说农民,他们大部分时间都在耕种和收获。这就是他们工作的bread and butter. 让我们看看下面这家汽车制造厂。
例句-2:After poor sales of our economy cars, our company decided to focus once again on producing luxury vehicles. After all, it's those models that have always been the foundation of our business. They're our bread and butter.