今天我们要讲的美国习惯用语是:to ask for the moon。Moon是月亮。Ask for the moon按字面意思来解释就是:要月亮。
作为习惯用语,to ask for the moon就是想做做不到的事情或是想要得不到的东西。比如说,我们社区的居民要求市政府修建一个新的健身设施。可是政府预算中根本就没有这笔开支,很明显这是做不到的。所以这是asking for the moon想要得不到的东西。比如说,有个老板要求工人大量提高产量。可是工人是怎么想的呢?
例句-1:The boss announced that he expects a 40% increase in productivity this year. But without providing updated equipment or adding workers, there's no way we can meet his goal. He might as well ask for the moon.
例句-2:For their fiftieth wedding anniversary, my grandparents would like a big party with all the members of the family. But they're asking for the moon because many of our relatives either live too far away or can't afford to travel. It's simply not possible for everyone to attend.