今天我们要讲的美国习惯用语是:ahead of the game。ahead就是在前面,game就是游戏,竞争或比赛。ahead of the game就是走在前头,或处于有利地位。比如,美国公司总是想方设法研制新产品,使自己领先于竞争对手,to stay ahead of the game。在这里,game就是竞争的意思。
许多美国人冬天一到就注射流感疫苗,也就是在流感病毒袭击之前他们就作了预防,所以they are ahead of the game。下面是一个大学生在介绍他学习成功的经验。
例句-1:this semester i'll be taking a full course load and holding down a part-time job. with such a busy schedule, i plan on buying my books before classes begin and reading as much as i can. that way i'll be ahead of the game, at least for a while.
刚才我们说到有人一入冬就打了流感疫苗,抢先预防流感,to stay ahead of the game。听众们可能已经注意到了,ahead of the game之前可以用不同的动词,比如to stay ahead of the game,或者是to keep someone ahead of the game。
ahead of the game这个习惯用语在商业方面用得很多,意思是指能够成功地应对市场变化。下面是一位高科技公司的总裁在说他的公司很有竞争力。
例句-2:our company just unveiled our most advanced mobile phone that features a camera, music player, wireless e-mail, web browser and video player. we feel it's these innovations that will keep us ahead of the game. it will take some time for our rivals to come up with anything as unique.