100次浏览 发布时间：2024-09-06 08:34:46
lower the bar 降低标准：
Soaring rents have really lowered the bar for where people are willing to live these days.
房租的飙升确实降低了人们现在愿意生活的门槛。
During the economic boom, regulators lowered the bar for investment bankers' accountability.
在经济繁荣时期，监管机构降低了投资银行家问责制的门槛。
一提到完美，最常见的是 ideal 和 perfect。ideal 指在所有可能的选择中最好的或最适合的，而 perfect 强调完美的或无可挑剔的；由于 perfect 的意思很丰富，因此翻译的时候要随机应变，例如：
1. ideal
The program offers an ideal opportunity for students to learn about foreign culture.
该项目为学生提供了了解外国文化的极好机会。
This beach is ideal for a vacation.
这个海滩是度假的理想去处。
2. perfect
He spoke perfect English.
他英语说得棒极了。
She speaks perfect English.
她讲一口地道的英语。
That's perfect! This hair style is just what I wanted.
太完美了！这个发型正是我想要的。
习语 dressed (up) to the nines 或 * up to the nines 字面意思是“打扮（直）到九或直到九”，那可不就是打扮或（做）到极致的意思吗？例如：
dressed (up) to the nines:
The masked ball was excellent. You should have seen the costumes. Everyone was dressed to the nines.
这个假面舞会很棒。你应该看看服装的。每个人都打扮得漂漂亮亮的。
I know it takes me a long time getting ready, but nothing feels better than being dressed to the nines for a night out on the town.
我知道我要花很长时间来准备，但没有什么比在城里穿得漂漂亮亮感觉更好的了。
* up to the nines:
Stella hated getting all done up to the nines. She was much happier in jeans and a jogging top.
斯特拉讨厌穿得十分华丽。她穿牛仔裤和慢跑上衣高兴多了。
They were all done up to the nines, and there I was in my mother’s old ball gown.
他们都打扮地非常漂亮，我穿着我母亲的旧舞会礼服。
其中 to the nines 还可以用来形容把某事做到极致，也即最高的程度，多用来比喻完美的，有时也可以用来比喻不好的，例如：
They weren't kidding when they said this new club had been designed to the nines!
当他们说这个新俱乐部被设计得很完美时，他们没在开玩笑！
In our town, everybody decorates their house to the nines on the eve of Christmas.
在我们镇上，每个人都在圣诞节前夕把房子装饰得很漂亮。
After the divorce, she was grieving and stressed to the nines.
离婚后，她悲痛万分，压力大到极点。
Dress 的用法丰富多彩，对应它的短语动词 dress up 也有“装扮、乔装打扮或给别人装扮”等，所以 dress (up) to nines 顺理成章就是装扮地非常漂亮，例如：
I dressed up for the birthday party and was embarrassed to find all of the other guests in shorts and T-shirts.
我为生日聚会打扮，很尴尬地发现其他所有人都穿着短裤和T恤。
Kids love dressing up.
孩子们都喜欢装扮成别人玩儿。
The boys were all dressed up as pirates.
这些男孩子都装扮成了海盗。
正是因为 dress up 有“装扮，装饰”的意思，因此它常用来表示掩饰或美化什么东西，例如：
She has a way of dressing up her account with fanciful details.
她有一种用奇幻的细节修饰帐目的方法。
The real estate agent dressed up the truth about the old house.
房地产经纪人掩饰了那栋老房子的真实情况。
The story of my trip was pretty boring, so I dressed it up with colorful exaggerations.
我旅行的故事很无聊，所以我通过生动活泼的夸张来掩饰它。
词或词组辨析：
1. soar [sɔː(r)] 意为“急升，猛增”等
2. boom 意为“激增，繁荣；轰鸣，轰响”等
3. accountability [əˌkaʊntəˈbɪləti] 意为“责任，有义务”等
