美国习惯用语第857:quit while one's ahead

 美国习惯用语第857:见好就收(音频)

quit while one's ahead

这么多年来我最喜欢的一家冰激凌店居然要关门了。我问经理是怎么回事，经理说本来公司经营得很好，结果拓展业务，增加商品，反倒失去了很多老顾客。这让我想起了今天要学的习惯用语，叫：quit while one's ahead.

Quit, 在中文里是停止、放弃的意思。ahead意思是在前面。Quit while one's ahead, 就是中文里所说的见好就收。

就说我喜欢的那家冰激凌店吧。本来卖冰激凌挺赚钱的，可偏偏要增加产品种类，结果反而造成了服务和产品质量的下降。They should have quit while they were ahead。他们本该见好就收才对。下面例句里玩扑克牌的人就明白这一点。我们一起听。

例句-1：I'm not the greatest poker¹ player. But so far tonight, I've managed to win about $500. If I stay in the game, I stand to make even more. But I also risk losing it. I think I'll quit while I'm ahead. That way, I'm sure to walk out with a nice pot of money I hadn't expected.

这个人说：我打牌不是最厉害的，但是今天晚上已经赢了五百美元。如果继续打下去，我可能会赢更多，但也有输钱的风险。我觉得最好是见好就收。这样一来，我就能带着一笔不小的外财离开这里。

我老爸告诉过我，他年轻时有一次刚领了工资就被朋友拉着去赌场，一上来赢了不少，可是, he didn't quit while he was ahead. 最后输了个精光，整整吃了一个月的方便面。

******

我特别喜欢看电影，特别是老片子。上星期，我又把七十年代的几部经典影片拿出来看。大家一定看过 Godfather《教父》，如果没有的话，请听下面这段介绍。

例句-2：Have you watched The Godfather, a thriller² about the lives of a fictional³ Italian-American crime⁴ family? It's ranked as the second greatest film in our country's cinematic history. After it won several Academy⁵ Awards, a sequel was planned. Although producers considered quitting while they were ahead, they soon went on to make The Godfather, Part II. It also received Oscars, including one for Best Picture.

这个人说：你看过《教父》吗？教父是一部关于意大利裔美国人犯罪家庭的惊险片，是美国电影史上第二大经典影片，拿了很多项奥斯卡奖，后来有人计划排续集。虽然制片人也考虑见好就收，但最后还是选择拍了教父第二部，又赢得了包括最佳影片在内的多项奥斯卡奖。

你也许会问，那排名第一的电影是哪部？排名第一的电影就是Citizen Kane《公民凯恩》。

1 poker   

n.扑克；vt.烙制

参考例句：

• He was cleared out in the poker game.他打扑克牌，把钱都输光了。
• I'm old enough to play poker and do something with it.我打扑克是老手了，可以玩些花样。

2 thriller   

n.惊险片，恐怖片

参考例句：

• He began by writing a thriller.That book sold a million copies.他是写惊险小说起家的。那本书卖了一百万册。
• I always take a thriller to read on the train.我乘火车时，总带一本惊险小说看。

3 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

4 crime   

n.犯罪，罪行，罪恶

参考例句：

• You'll have to pay for your crime.你得为你的罪行付出代价。
• Crime in our big cities is on the increase.在我们大城市里犯罪率正在增长。

5 academy   

n.(高等)专科院校；学术社团，协会，研究院

参考例句：

• This is an academy of music.这是一所音乐专科学院。
• I visited Chinese Academy of Sciences yesterday.我昨天去访问了中国科学院。