在《三合一惯用语》中,介绍了几种三合一的常见短语。这里集中谈三合一名词组及形容词组,希望大家有更进一步的认识。

　　● odds¹ and ends:各种不值钱的小物品

　　“Every year, we have to clear the rooms of all odds and ends.”

　　● oddities and absurdities²:异样或不合情理的感觉

　　“Sometimes, we have to bear with oddities and absurdities of language use.”

　　● bits and pieces:零星物件

　　“The storeroom is filled with bits and pieces. Can't someone arrange them properly？”

　　● aches and pains:周身疼痛

　　“After a day's hardwork, the old man suffered aches and pains, especially in the limbs.”

　　● board and lodging³:食宿

　　“I paid about $200 for board and lodging when I studied in the U.S. in 1969.

　　● chapter and verse:（常和动词give或quote连用）注明……的出处或详情

　　“Jason knows all the important points in this book and can give you chapter and verse without hesitation⁴.”

　　● hammer and tongs⁵:（常和go at it连用）闹哄哄地争吵

　　“At a political meeting, many participants went at it hammer and tongs for quite a while.”

　　● heaven and earth:（常和move连用）竭尽全力

　　“When a government is good, the people will move heaven and earth to support it.”

　　● hue⁶ and cry:嘈杂声

　　“When it was learnt that some workers would be laid off, there was a hue and cry among them.”

　　● hustle⁷ and bustle⁸:喧闹

　　“One can often see hustle and bustle in a place with crowds of unruly people.

　　● ifs and buts:各种借口

　　“No ifs and buts, please ！ Just work according to the schedule.”

　　● rack and ruin:（常和go to连用）遭破坏

　　“Owing to urban renewal⁹, even historic spots are going to rack and ruin.”

　　● stuff and nonsense:胡说八道

　　“Is Tom asking to leave the company？ Stuff and nonsense！ I bet that would be the last thing for him to do.”

　　● ups and downs:盛衰；浮沉

　　“For many people, life is full of ups and downs.”

　　● wear and tear:耗损

　　“Because of wear and tear, a car needs regular servicing.”

　　● bright and breezy:活泼轻快的

　　“Joelle is bright and breezy； everyone likes her.”

　　● cut and dried:早已决定的

　　“The programme is cut and dried； it is not possible to make changes now.”

　　● rough and ready:粗略的

　　“I cannot dwell on the use of English determiners, but you can follow the rough and ready rules.”

　　● spick and span:崭新的；极整洁的

　　“Despite being busy, Mrs Chen manages to keep the house spick and span.”

　　● short and sweet:简短扼要

　　“Everybody is too busy to listen to a long-winded story, so try to keep it short and sweet.”

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