VOA词汇掌故2022--描述快速发生的事情

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Describing Things That Happen Very Fast

And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.

The English language has several expressions that describe things that happen very fast. Today we will talk about several. Some involve body parts. And some involve acts of nature.

Let's start with our bodies.

There are some things we humans we do very quickly – namely our blinking² eyes and beating hearts. Those bodily actions happen incredibly fast. So, we use "in the blink¹ of an eye" and "in a heartbeat" to describe things that happen in no time at all.

Here are some examples:

She accepted the new job in a heartbeat. She didn't need to think about it at all.

When he hit the lottery³, all his money problems disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Now, some may say that "blink of an eye" is redundant⁴. After all, the only part of the body we can blink are the eyes. So just saying "blink" is enough. She blinked⁵ and her friend was gone! But when we use the expression, we always say the word "eye."

We also don't think about blinking our eyes or beating our hearts – well, hopefully we don't. So, the expressions also mean that no thought was involved in the action.

If something happens in the blink of an eye or in a heartbeat, it happens "in no time flat." This strange little phrase also means something happens in a very short amount of time. For example, my friend reached my house in no time flat. She wasted no time in getting here!

Okay, now let's talk about the expressions from the natural world.

If you are very fast, we might compare you to two powers in nature: wind and lightning. These two are usually used in the form of a simile⁶. A simile compares things using "like" or "as."

And we usually use them when describing a person's actions. So, we might say you move or run like the wind! Or we might say you are as fast as lightning.

With lightning, we could also the words with a hyphen and say you are lightning-fast!

Also, when lightning happens, it happens as a flash of lightning or bolt of lightning. Both these words, flash and bolt, are also used to describe fast things.

If something happens in a flash, it happens at lightning speed. And if I bolt somewhere, I run very fast to get there. For example, when it started to rain, I bolted to my car!

Now let's hear some friends use these expression together. They are waiting for a third friend in front of a movie theater.

A: Hi! Thanks for coming to the movies with me.

B: I love movies! As soon as you texted, I responded in a heartbeat.

A: It's a good thing I came early and got tickets. They sold out in the blink of an eye. Hey, where's Steve?

B: He had some work to finish up. So, he might be a bit late.

A: Oh, look there he is now! Hey Steve! Looks like you ran all the way here.

C: I was running FROM work not TO the movies. So, what's the name of the movie anyway?

A: Lightning McGrady and the Race Against Time !

B: Sounds great! I can't wait! Um ... what's it about?

C: A fast man. Now, let's go inside and get a seat.

A: He's not just fast. He's lightning-fast! When he runs, he can slow down time. Hey, who wants popcorn⁷ or a drink?

B: There's no time! People are going in! You'll miss the trailers! And you love trailers!

A: No problem. I'll be back in a flash!

C: Hold on. I'll go buy drinks and popcorn. After all, you bought the tickets. Just save me a seat.

A: Great Steve! Thanks!

Words in This Story

blink – v. to shut and open the eyes quickly

lottery – n. a drawing of lots in which prizes are distributed to the winners among persons buying a chance

redundant – adj. specifically : using more words than necessary

compare – v. to represent as similar

hyphen – n. a punctuation⁸ mark - used especially to divide or to compound words, word elements, or numbers

flash – n. a sudden burst of light flash – v. to appear suddenly

bolt – n. a lightning stroke

trailer – n. a short promotional film composed of clips showing highlights of a movie due for release in the near future

1 blink   

vi.眨眼睛，闪烁；vt.眨（眼睛），使闪烁

参考例句：

• In a blink of an eye he had disappeared.一眨眼的工夫他就没影了。
• The boy disappeared around the corner in a blink of an eye.一眨眼，这男孩就在拐角处不见了。

2 blinking   

a.(英俚)该死的，讨厌的；十足的

参考例句：

• Shut the blinking door! 关上那扇该死的门！
• Her ring is an odd little concern fitted with blinking diamonds. 她的戒指是装有许多闪光钻石的小玩意儿。

3 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

4 redundant   

adj.多余的，过剩的；(食物)丰富的；被解雇的

参考例句：

• There are too many redundant words in this book.这本书里多余的词太多。
• Nearly all the redundant worker have been absorbed into other departments.几乎所有冗员，都已调往其他部门任职。

5 blinked   

眨眼睛( blink的过去式 )； 闪亮，闪烁

参考例句：

• He blinked in the bright sunlight. 他在强烈的阳光下直眨眼睛。
• The boy blinked up at me in some surprise. 那男孩有些吃惊地眨着眼看我。

6 simile   

n.直喻，明喻

参考例句：

• I believe this simile largely speaks the truth.我相信这种比拟在很大程度上道出了真实。
• It is a trite simile to compare her teeth to pearls.把她的牙齿比做珍珠是陈腐的比喻。

7 popcorn   

n.爆米花

参考例句：

• I like to eat popcorn when I am watching TV play at home.当我在家观看电视剧时，喜欢吃爆米花。
• He still stood behind his cash register stuffing his mouth with popcorn.他仍站在收银机后，嘴里塞满了爆米花。

8 punctuation   

n.标点符号，标点法

参考例句：

• My son's punctuation is terrible.我儿子的标点符号很糟糕。
• A piece of writing without any punctuation is difficult to understand.一篇没有任何标点符号的文章是很难懂的。