现在我行我素的人很多，他们往往反潮流而行，这样的人在英文中我们用swim against the tide来描述。我是一个最不喜欢抽烟喝酒的人，尽管我周围的朋友都是如此，我仍反潮流而行，看看下面的句子是怎样说的： Sometimes, it is better to swim against the tide. I am firmly opposed to smoking and drinking, although all my friends do. (译文：有时反潮流而行也好。虽然我周围的朋友抽烟、酗酒，但我强烈的反对。) 从字面上我们不难理解这个片语。Tide的本意是“潮汐”，这里引申为“潮流、趋势”。 迎着潮汐而游，不正是“逆流而上，反潮流而行”的意思吗？If you say that someone swims against the tide, you mean he or she opposes what most people think. 也可以写作swim against the stream. Many high school students are swimming against the tide, they don’t pay attention to their studies but playing tricks on their teachers instead. (译文：许多高中学生逆潮流而行，他们没有把注意力放在学习上，而捉弄老师。) 顺便提及一下，与swim against the tide相反的片语是swim with the tide, 意思是“随大众，跟随潮流”。   俗话说“知足者常乐”，那些不懈追求的人很令人佩服，但他们也常使自己精疲力竭。使人精疲力竭在英文中可以用“wear oneself out”来表示，如： Now there are more and more modern things, if you want to gain them all, you can wear yourself out. (译文：现在流行的东西越来越多，如果你想全部拥有他们，你将使自己精疲力竭。) 大家知道，wear out常用来形容人们把衣服穿破了，即衣服已经最大限度发挥了其作用。用来形容人时，指耗尽了劳力，已经精疲力竭了。If you tell someone that you have worn yourself out, you mean something has made you feel extremely tired. Over the years’ Illness, she has simply worn herself out. (译文：几年的疾病使她精疲力竭。) 结束语：我的表弟在穿着上常反潮流而行(swim against the tide)，我苦口婆心的劝他不要穿一些奇装异服，尽管我的劝说已经使我精疲力竭(wear myself out)，但他仍就表示要做一个另类着装的人。

上一篇：活学活用：I owe you one 我欠你一个人情 下一篇：地道美语表达：“笨手笨脚”与“顺手牵羊”