Larry和李华一起去看职业棒球赛。今天我们要学两个常用语：a drop in the bucket和a flash in the pan.
LH: Larry, 世界杯结束了，咱们该看棒球了吧？我估计，棒球比赛肯定没有世界杯那么紧张。
L: I agree. Baseball games are much slower, and each game isn’t very important.
LH: 对。每个队一年要打162场比赛，所以输个一两场的没什么问题。不像世界杯，输一场比赛就被淘汰！
L: You’re exactly right. Each game is just a drop in the bucket.
LH: A drop in the bucket? 这是什么意思？
L; You can say that something is just a drop in the bucket if it is only a very small or insignificant part of something else.
LH: 哦，a drop in the bucket就好比一桶水里的一个水滴，指无关紧要。我们中文里把这个叫沧海一粟。
L: Right! Here is another example. Joe donated $20 to help people in Haiti after the earthquake, even though $20 was just a drop in the bucket.
LH: 海地地震后，Joe给灾民捐了20美元，尽管这只是很小的一笔钱。
L: Exactly. So Lihua, you’re going to support the Nationals, right? They’ve got a great new pitcher named Stephen Strasburg.
LH: 我听说这个新投手特别棒! 不过 Larry, the Nationals去年打得那么差，换个新投手真能管用么？
L: Yeah, he is probably just a drop in the bucket, but if the Nationals can get some more good players they might be better in a couple years.
LH: 这么说，我们买票的钱就可以被用来聘请优秀的棒球队员喽？
L: I guess that’s true, but of course, the price we paid for our tickets is just a drop in the bucket.
LH: 可不是么。The Nationals要想签下身价几百万美元的球星，可不能只靠咱俩这门票钱。哎？为了在经济上支持他们，你给我买一件有他们队标的T恤衫吧!
L: Well sure! But you have so many clothes, one more shirt is just going to be a drop in the bucket.
******
比赛结束了，Larry和Lihua从棒球场往外走。
LH: Larry, 这个新的投手可真棒!
L: Yeah, he played really well. If he keeps pitching like that, he is going to have an amazing career. I sure hope he’s not just a flash in the pan.
LH: A flash in the pan? 什么意思？
L: A flash in the pan is something that starts out really well, but lasts for only a very short amount of time.
LH: 哦，就是昙花一现！你是说，你希望这个新投手不要在开始的时候表现很出色，但很快就默默无闻了。
L: Right. Here is another example. The new author’s first book got a lot of praise from critics, but he turned out to be a flash in the pan because his other books were terrible.
LH: 我明白了。这位作家的第一本书一鸣惊人，可这只是昙花一现，因为他后来写的几本书都很差。
L: That’s right.
LH: Larry， 你注意到了么？这片地方自从盖了新棒球场以来，漂亮多了！饭馆、商场什么的都多起来了！
L: Yeah, a lot of people thought it would be a flash in the pan, but there is still a lot of development even a few years later.
LH: 是啊，这个地区的发展可不是昙花一现，而是持续下来的。虽然现在经济不景气，但我还是希望他们能坚持下去。
L: Well, there were some signs that the economy was improving a few months ago. But unfortunately, it looks like they may have just been a flash in the pan.
LH: 是啊，当时那些经济指标似乎都挺鼓舞人心的，谁知没过多久情况又变坏了。
L: Well spending $5 on dinner will only be a drop in the bucket for the economy. But a hamburger does sound great.
LH: 好啊！咱们虽然不能改善全国的经济，但总可以先满足一下自己的胃吧！
今天李华学了两个常用语。一个是a drop in the bucket，表示无关紧要，沧海一粟。另一是a flash in the pan，意思是昙花一现。