【又中又英】On a Knife Edge

作者：Alice的学习笔记

原文

In my previous column I wrote about the media headlines which described the close US election race between President DonaldTrump and Democratic Party challenger Joe Biden. One popular headline was"on a knife edge". If something is "on a knife edge" it means it is very exciting, worrying, or difficult because the result is uncertain. It is now clear Biden won and has given a victory speech. But Trump has threatened to legally challenge the results. Before Biden's victory, some in the media used the expression "down to the wire" to describe the close race. This expression is used for a situation where the outcome is not known until the very last minute.

The expression originated from horse racing, where a wire was hung above and across the finish line to determine which horse won. If a horse race is very close, you can say it was "down to the wire". Another popular headline to describe the close election was "razor-thin". This expression means very thin. Smoked salmon is often sliced very thin, making the slices "razor-thin".The expression comes from the word "razor" which is a blade for shaving. The sharp part of a razor is very thin. But when used to describe an election, "razor-thin" means by a very small orthin margin. If a candidate wins an election by just 10 out of 1,000 votes, you can say the candidate won by a "razor-thin" margin.

Another word the media used in its coverage ofthe election was the word "flip". This word has several meanings. The most common meaning is turning something over one or moretimes. If you are grilling a hamburger, you have to flip it, or turn itover several times, to make sure both sides are cooked. But when used to describe an election, the word "flip" means voters changing from supporting one political party to another. Biden "flipped" several states in the election. This means he won in some states that Trump hadwon in 2016. Trump flipped many traditionally Democratic states in the 2016 election.

单词、短语

• knife edge
  Knife edge表示形势难料；结果未卜。
      His future remains on a knife edge.
      他前途未卜
      The game is poised on a knife edge. One mistake or one piece of good luck could decide it.
      比赛形势扑朔迷离。一个失误或是一点运气就有可能决定胜负。
  拓展：
  Knife-edge作为形容词，表示形势难料的。
      Tonight's knife-edge vote could be uncomfortably close.
      今晚投票的结果很难预料，双方实力可能会很接近，这令人紧张不安。

• down to the wire
  直到最后，英文解释为：to be finished or achieved with very little time left。
      The game was very close and went right down to the wire.
      比赛竞争非常激烈，直到最后才见分晓。

• razor-thin
  razor表示剃须刀，razor-thin表示及其细微的，微乎其微的。
      razor-thin victory / margin
      (选举) 险胜 的/微弱的优势

• flip
  翻转，翻页，浏览，也可以表示勃然大怒。
      I just flipped and started shouting.
      我动了火，大声嚷嚷起来。
      I had a quick flip through my cookery books and found a recipe that sounded quite nice.
      我翻了翻烹饪书，找了个似乎相当不错的菜谱。

翻译

原文作者：Michael Chugani 褚簡寧
中文翻译：七刻

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以上就是今天的内容。