名人教你讲英文：Bits and Pieces

名人教英文：bits and pieces

piece很多时候解作量词“块”或名词“碎片”，这个字也常见于惯用语。in bits and pieces 即“零零碎碎”，近似的说法是in dribs and drabs，例如：the government has been tackling the educational issues in bits and pieces，即是说教育政策零碎，头痛医头，脚痛医脚。我们也可以形容这做法为a piecemeal approach（零碎的做法），相反就是a comprehensive and long-term approach（全面而长远的做法）。

一些惯用语以 a piece of 开头，但都不能直译为“一块”或“一件”，以下有几个例子：

a piece of cake不单指“一块蛋糕”，也是惯用语，指“轻而易举的事情”，如：the exam was a piece of cake.（另一个说法是the exam was as easy as pie.）又例如说，一些有钱人未尝过民间疾苦，以为人生总是称心如意：some rich people have been brought up to think that life is a piece of cake.