933 be all and end all

我一个朋友找了份新工作。公司的条件可好了,薪水高,待遇好,办公楼里就有专为雇员准备的医院、健身房和幼儿园。说心里话,我真有些嫉妒这个朋友! 不过,我也想到了一个习惯用语,那就是:be all and end all。

Be all and end all,意思是“顶尖的,最好的”。Where my friend is going to be working strikes me as being the be all and end all, 我觉得,我朋友的工作待遇简直是好得不能再好了。不过,我朋友自己很谦虚,并没有把自己的好工作逢人就讲。

而下面这段话中的这位妈妈就不一样了。我们来听一听:

例句-1:My sister-in-law is constantly boasting. She doesn't know anyone who has better parenting skills. Supposedly, she's exceptionally devoted and nurturing. If you ask me, she's not the be all and end all. Many moms care just as much about their children. They're also much more humble about themselves.

这段话是说:我嫂子总是吹牛。她觉得自己教育孩子的水平世界第一,理所当然,她自己也就成了特别有献身精神,特别能付出的妈妈。可如果你问我,我觉得她并不是个完美的母亲。很多妈妈疼爱孩子的程度都不亚于她,而且人家还比她谦虚很多呢。

要我看,带孩子就要有耐心,有爱心,尊重孩子,虽然it is not the be all and end all checklist for good parenting, 这不是教育孩子的“必杀技”,但总算也是个大原则吧。

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前几天我在电视上看马拉松比赛,真的很佩服那些运动员的毅力和体能。别人跟我说,有一项比赛比马拉松更考验人的意志力,那就是铁人三项赛。咱们来听听下面这段话:

例句-2:The Ironman Triathlon consists of nearly 4 kilometers of swimming, 180 kilometers of biking and 42 kilometers of running. And it must be raced in that order without a break within 17 hours. Most athletes consider it the be all and end all of sports competitions. They don't know of any event that's tougher.

这段话是说:铁人三项赛的内容包括4公里游泳、180公里骑自行车和42公里长跑。选手们必须在17个小时候之内按照这个顺序完成比赛,不能休息。很多运动员把铁人三项看成所有体育比赛的极限。没什么比铁人三项更具挑战性了。

如果您有兴趣,铁人三项赛每年都在美国的夏威夷举行,您可以去参加,挑战自己的体能极限。我就算了,去夏威夷悠闲地度假才对。那里有自然美景、温暖气候和超级海滩,难怪Hawaii is the be all and end all for many tourists,夏威夷是很多游客最爱的去处。