BBC地道英语:In the Nick of Time 最后一刻

Helen: 大家好，欢迎收听地道英语。我是 Helen.

Rob: And I'm Rob. Helen, you look like you've been rushing. Here, have some water.

Helen: Oh thanks. I'm a bit out of breath. 我好久没锻炼了，有点喘不上气了。抱歉，我在银行办事儿迟了。

Rob: You got here just in the nick of time then.

Helen: Just in the nick of time? Shouldn't it be just in time?

Rob: Well, you can say both.

Helen: 你刚才说的 'in the nick of time' 这个短语经常能听到吗?

Rob: Yeah, I think so. It means at the very last moment. Let's hear how this phrase is used.

Example

Woman 1: Alice gave birth to a baby girl last night.

Woman 2: I thought she wasn't due for another three weeks.

Woman 1: It was early and they got to the hospital just in the nick of time.

Man: Sarah and I were on our way to see Beyonce in concert. But she left her mobile in the office, so we had to go back and get it.

Woman: Did you miss the show?

Man: Thankfully not, we got there just in the nick of time.

Helen: 我们刚才听到一位孕妇正好在孩子出生前一刻赶到医院，而另一对恋人差点没赶上 Beyonce 的演唱会。

The couple were in the nick of time for the Beyonce concert.

Rob: That would've been awful. You hear this phrase often used to suggest a disaster had been averted. If the action happened any later, then something awful could happen.

Helen: I see. 这个短语的意思是刚好，恰好，最后一刻赶到了。那么这是在英式英语吗？

Rob: I don't think the phrase 'in the nick of time' is specifically British. It originated from the UK, but English speakers from all over the world use it now.

Helen: 让我们听听例子吧。

Example

Man: We arrived just in the nick of the time. Another five minutes, our plane would have left without us.

Woman: Sam was experimenting with stir frying last night and the wok caught fire. Luke rushed in with the fire blanket just in the nick of time.

Helen: That was close. 热锅烧菜起火了，还好 Luke 机灵没浇水灭火。就差那么一点点，不然就闯大祸了。

Rob: That would have been a catastrophe. So Helen, are you the kind of person who likes to do things at the very last minute?

Helen: Well, I'd like to think of myself as a person who can do things in the nick of time. Thanks for listening. Bye.

Rob: Bye.