例句-1:At the meeting this morning they didn't waste time shooting down my idea. They decided the cost of opening the offices was too high and the chances of making a real profit too small。
我们要学的第二个习惯用语是: shoot for。Shoot for这个习惯用语可能来自游艺场上射击得奖品的游戏。你瞄准某一目标开枪,是为了得到特定的奖品。于是 shoot for 就被用来表示试图达到某一目的或者取得某种结果。我们来看下面的例子。这段话在说美国国会在定期休会前的情形。
例句-2:Congress is rushing to finish work on new laws. They're shooting for adjournment in two weeks so all the members can hurry home and start campaigning for the election。
例句-3:Larry shot his wad on his new car. He got the biggest model with all the extras he could think of, like leather seats and sun roof. Now he rarely has enough money to buy lunch。
可见Larry几乎把全部家底都花在这辆车上了。所以这儿shot his wad意思就是竭尽全部财力。
我们再学一个意义相近的习惯用语: shoot the works。Shoot the works意思类似于shoot one's wad,也是竭尽全力。我们来看个例子。一名汽车制造商要介绍一项新产品。他对属下人员说要竭尽全力地为这种新型汽车作广告宣传。
例句-4:This time we'll shoot the works. I want the best agency we can find no matter what they cost. And all the ad time on TV and radio they recommend: again, let's shoot the works!