經(jīng)常可以聽(tīng)到人們使用brass ring這個(gè)詞，大多出現(xiàn)在touch the brass ring, grab the brass ring 或 reach for the brass ring短語(yǔ)中。這些短語(yǔ)大約出現(xiàn)在20世紀(jì)70年代，時(shí)至今日它們?nèi)员活l繁使用。
從這個(gè)狂歡游戲不難看出brass ring 如何衍生出這個(gè)比喻意。Brass ring在這里用來(lái)比喻游戲參與者人人都可能實(shí)現(xiàn)的目標(biāo)，只要他努力伸手去夠并且有好運(yùn)氣。
對(duì)brass ring一詞出現(xiàn)的時(shí)間，不同的字典有不同的說(shuō)法。Merriam-Webste 10th Collegiate詞典說(shuō)brass ring出現(xiàn)在二十世紀(jì)五十年代，而Christine Ammer's 編撰的The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms則認(rèn)為19世紀(jì)晚期就出現(xiàn)了這個(gè)短語(yǔ)。兩種說(shuō)法相去甚遠(yuǎn)。
據(jù)目前我們掌握的材料來(lái)看，這個(gè)比喻用法在1959年首次出現(xiàn)， "'I guess I never got with it,' he told himself aloud, 'and the only times I saw the brass ring it was going so fast I couldn't grab it'"（《星期六晚報(bào)》），brass ring并沒(méi)用引號(hào)圈起來(lái)，說(shuō)明它可能是新造的詞。
THE GREAT FRENCH CAROUSEL ORGANS (RCA ). The plaintive melodies and the sounds of fife and drum are transformed into a joyous cascade by the pipes of the mechanical organ. No instrument could be less solemn. It's not so much the sounds of Rossini's "Thieving Magpie Overture" or a swinging "Valencia" we hear as those of children's laughter when the world was young and the brass ring there for the grabbing.
(中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)站譯)
Go to Other Sections
Story Tools
Copyright by chinadaily.com.cn. All rights reserved
版權(quán)聲明：未經(jīng)中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)站許可，任何人不得復(fù)制本欄目?jī)?nèi)容。如需轉(zhuǎn)載請(qǐng)與本網(wǎng)站聯(lián)系。
None of this material may be used for any commercial or public use. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
