Neil: Hello, I'm Neil and this is Real English from BBC Learning¹ English. With me in the studio today is Yang Li.

Yang Li: Hello Neil. 是的，在今天的地道英语节目中我们要一起学习的是另一个英语常用表达， 那今天我们要学的是什么呢 Neil?

Neil: Hello, I'm Neil and this is Real English from BBC Learning English. With me in the studio today is Yang Li.

Yang Li: Hello Neil. 是的，在今天的地道英语节目中我们要一起学习的是另一个英语常用表达， 那今天我们要学的是什么呢 Neil?

Neil: We're taking a look at the expression – Rome wasn't built in a day. Rome wasn't built in a day.

Yang Li: 什么? 罗马不是一天建成的，这是什么意思？

Neil: It basically² means it takes a long time to do an important job.

Yang Li: 原来是这个意思，就是说我们不可能在很短的时间里做一件非常重要的事情。

Neil: So for example, you might be painting your house and it feels like it's taking a long time. Someone might say to you 'Rome wasn't built in a day you know!'

Yang Li: 如果你在重新粉刷家里的墙，感觉这个工程很大用了很长时间，这时我们就可以说,'Rome wasn't built in a day'.

Neil: Do you have a Chinese expression like this Yang Li?

Yang Li: 我们汉语里还真有一个相似的表达，不过我们说冰冻三尺非一日之寒。

Neil: Oh that's interesting – it has the same meaning using different words.

Example

A: I feel like I've been on this diet for ages and I haven't lost much weight yet.

B: Rome wasn't built in a day. These things take time. Keep trying and you'll see results soon – you're doing really well.

Yang Li: 上面的这位女士正在减肥，可是好像效果不显著，她的朋友就说 Rome wasn't built in a day! 我们不可能在很短时间内完成一件重要的事情。

Neil: So that's today's expression – Rome wasn't built in a day.

Yang Li: 汉语里我们说冰冻三尺非一日之寒。