VOA慢速英语:Words and Their Stories: Numbers Part Two

Last week, I told about the number one.  Today, I will tell about expressions using other numbers.
上周，我讲到了关于数字一的一些表达。今天，我将会讲一些和其他数字有关的表达。

Some problems are difficult to solve. But there are a lot of number expressions that can help. For example, if we put two and two together, we might come up with the right answer. We know that two heads are better than one.  It is always better to work with another person to solve a problem.
有些问题很难解决。但是很多关于数字的表达能提供一些帮助。例如，如果我们根据事实推理（put two and two together），可能就会得到正确答案。我们还知道三个臭皮匠顶个诸葛亮（two heads are better than one）。通常和另外一个人一起工作可以更好的解决问题。

Sometimes there are no two ways about it.  Some problems have only one solution. You cannot be of two minds over this.
有时候没有两种可行的方案并存。有些问题的解决方法是唯一的，你不能在这些问题上犹豫不决（be of two minds）。

But with any luck, we could solve the problem in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.  We could have our answers quickly and easily.
但如果运气好，我们就能够很快（in two shakes of a lamb's tail）地解决问题。我们可以轻而易举的得到答案。

Sometimes we can kill two birds with one stone. That is, we can complete two goals with only one effort or action. But we must remember that two wrongs don’t make a right. If someone does something bad to you, you should not do the same to him.
有时候我们能够一箭双雕（kill two birds with one stone），也就是说，我们只需要一次努力或行动就可以达到两个目标。但是我们一定要记住以牙还牙是行不通的（ two wrongs don't make a right）。如果别人对你做了不好的事情，你绝对不能以其人之道还治其人之身。

If you are going out with your girlfriend, or boyfriend, you do not want another friend to go along on your date.  You can just say to your friend: two’s company, three’s a crowd.
如果你和你的男朋友或女朋友一起出去，却又不想让其他朋友同行。你可以对你的朋友说：“俩人结伴，三人不欢”（two's company, three's a crowd）。

When I was a young child in school, I had to learn the three R’s.  These important skills are reading, writing and arithmetic.  These three words do not all start with the letter “R.”  But they have the sound of “R.”  My teachers used to give three cheers when I did well in math.  They gave praise and approval for a job well done.
当我还在上学的时候，我必须学习三个“R”，这三个重要技能是阅读，写作和算术。这三个词并不都以字母“R”开头，但它们的发音都含有“R”。每当我数学做的不错的时候，老师都会为我欢呼三声（give three cheers）。人们总会对圆满完成的工作给予表扬和肯定。

Some of my friends were confused and did not understand their schoolwork. They were at sixes and sevens. In fact, they did not care if they finished high school.  They saw little difference between the two choices.  Six of one, half a dozen the other – that was their position.  But they were really happy when they completed their studies and graduated from high school. They were in seventh heaven. They were on cloud nine.
我的一些朋友被学校作业弄得晕头转向，他们的状况就是乱七八糟（at sixes and sevens）。实际上，他们不在乎是否读完高中。按照他们的立场，毕业与辍学是半斤八两（six of one, half a dozen the other），没什么区别。但是，当他们能够完成学业，高中毕业了，都非常高兴。这时他们欣喜若狂（on cloud nine） ，像是处于极乐之境（in seventh heaven）。

Nine times out of ten, students who do well in school find good jobs.  Some work in an office doing the same things every day at nine-to-five jobs.  You do not have to dress to the nines, or wear your best clothes, for this kind of work.
课业优秀的学生十有八九（nine times out of ten）都能找到不错的工作。其中有一些每天朝九晚五（nine-to-five）的在办公室做着同样的工作。做这样的工作你不必衣着时髦（dress to the nines），抑或每天盛装上班。

Last year, one of my friends applied for a better job at her office.  I did not think she would get it.  I thought she had a hundred to one shot at the job.  Other people at her office thought her chances were a million to one.   One reason was that she had been caught catching forty winks at the office.  She slept at her desk for short periods during the day.  But her supervisor appointed her to the new job at the eleventh hour -- at the very last minute.  I guess her lucky number came up.
去年，我的一个朋友在其公司申请了一份更好的工作。我认为她得到这个工作的可能性很小（a hundred to one shot）。她的同事也认为这事成功机会微乎其微（a million to one）。其中一个原因是在工作时间，她在办公室趴在桌子上打盹（forty winks）被抓现行。但是，她的主管在最后时刻（at the eleventh hour）把这份新工作指派给了她，我想她是中大奖了（lucky number came up）。

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