最近我的一个朋友心情特别差,因为他已经工作了10多年的服装店要关门了。这家店多年来一直销售手工衣物,但是现在服装连锁店越来越多,这家店已经没办法继续经营下去了。对于这家店和店里的员工,我们可以用下面的习惯用语来形容:, the end of the line.
The end of the line, 这个短语的意思是尽头,极限。在上面的例子里,由于服装店要关门了,很多年的经营走到了尽头,所以我朋友肯定会失去工作。
在下一个例子里,我们将会听到美国臭名昭著的罪犯阿尔.卡彭是怎么倒台的。我们来听听看:
例句-1:Al Capone became well-known for being a crime boss in Chicago when alcohol was illegal. From the early 1920s to 1931, he made a fortune smuggling and producing liquor. He reached the end of the line, not from those activities, but from trying to avoid paying taxes. His career was over when the government finally convicted him and sent him to prison.
那会儿,美国有个法令,叫prohibition,中文意思就是禁酒令,根据禁酒令,制造、贩卖或者饮酒都是违法的。这个法律减少了人们的饮酒量,但同时也增加了集体犯罪。And that actually contributed to Prohibition reaching the end of the line. 成了禁酒令最终被废除的推手。
The end of the line, 尽头,极限 。现在一切都变化得特别快,一个地方今天还好好的,明天可能就会, reach the end of the line, 不复存在。下面这个例子中,讲述者对童年有什么样的回忆呢?我们来听听看:
例句-1:When I was a kid, my dad and I used to go fishing at the lake near our house. Then we started to notice that there wasn't much to catch anymore. The end of the line came when officials declared that the water was badly polluted. Nobody could enjoy it.
这可真让人沮丧!环境污染确实使很多人失去了享受大自然的乐趣。说起来,我今天刚刚收到一封信,说我们家旁边的邮局就要关门了。确实,现在人们大量使用电子邮件,邮局生意越来越差。The popularity of emails may mean the end of the line for a lot of post offices.