我们再来给大家介绍两个以dry这个字为主的习惯用语。第一个是: High and dry. High就是高,dry 就是干。要是一个人处于high and dry的局面,那他就是面临难以解决的困难,又没有任何人给予帮助。High and dry这个说法是怎么来的也不难想像。你要是乘船出游,而你的船在浅水的沙洲上搁浅了。等到潮水退了,你的船就在那高出水面的沙滩上没法动,周围既没有一点水,也没有任何人。这就是high and dry。下面是一个例子。这是一个人在告诉他的朋友他去参加一个聚会的情况。
例句1: Everybody had fun at Sally's party. But when it came time to clean up the mess, all the guests left in a hurry and Sally was left high and dry, to do all the work by herself.
一般来说,美国人的时间概念是比较强的。跟朋友约会,到约定的时间就应该到指定的地点。要是去参加一个聚会,晚到五分钟,十分钟那倒还可以,因为有时候车辆拥挤,难以控制。这是可以理解的。但是,要是太晚了就不好了。另外要注意的一点是,参加一个聚会最好不要早到,因为举办一个聚会有许多准备工作要做,最后一分钟往往是最紧张的时刻,所以你要是早到,对主人来说是很不方便的。下面我们再来举一个high and dry的例子。这是一个人在埋怨他的朋友。
例句2: John, Jack and Mary all urged me to give a big party to celebrate my promotion. They promised to help out with the preparation. But so far they've done nothing saying they are too busy. It seems that I've been left high and dry and have to do all the work by myself.
例句3: Oh, why don't you dry up. I'm sick and tired of hearing you complain all the time! If you don't like the job, why don't you go out and look for another one. It's not that you don't have a choice.
例句4: After he lost the election Senator Blank had two months left in his term. But he saw his political power dry up over night as people know very well that he'll be out of the picture soon.