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"Break One's Back" nghĩa là gì?
04 Jul, 2013
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| Moving house, New Zealand style (since 1976). Photo courtesy theyounz. |
Trong thành ngữ này, động từ break có nghĩa là phá vỡ, bẻ gãy và back là cái lưng. Người Mỹ dùng thành ngữ này để ám chỉ việc làm lụng cật lực đến sụm cả lưng để đạt tới mục đích. Thay vì back, quý vị cũng có thể nói break one’s neck cũng có cùng một nghĩa.
Ví dụ
“Mom always wanted my sister and me to enjoy a better life than she had. That meant working two jobs for many years to afford (nuôi nấng chúng tôi) what we needed. She broke her back for us (Bà đã làm lụng hết sức cực khổ vì chúng tôi). But as a result I became a surgeon (bác sĩ phẫu thuật) and my sister, a famous concert pianist (nghệ sĩ dương cầm hòa tấu nổi tiếng). We would never have become so successful without our mother’s great sacrifices (hi sinh lớn lao).”
“My neighbor across the street is one of the laziest people I know. Just about every day, he’s out drinking beer on his front porch. Yet his house is falling apart (đang đổ nát dần) and his yard is full of junk (đồ tạp nhạp). It would take a lot of effort to get the place in good condition (gọn gàng). Unfortunately, I can’t imagine him ever breaking his back.”
Huyền Trang
VOA
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| langdu vừa chuyển nhà hôm qua (3 Jul 2013), 'gãy hết cả lưng'. Photo courtesy michael davis-burchat. |
Bài trước: "A big deal" nghĩa là gì?
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Officials announced that they will now offer families up to NZ$5,000 (about $3,500 US dollars) to relocate to another area of the country.
The relocation grant is specifically for Auckland residents who meet the low-income requirements that make them eligible for social housing, or the city’s subsidized public housing program. The move comes at a time when there are more than 3,500 eligible people in the city waiting to be matched to a home. Forty-two percent of those people identified as Māori, according to the city’s most recent quarterly statement.