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Words and Idioms 977
现在播送<美国习惯用语>第 977讲。我是杨琳。
M：我是 Dan Markus.
最近我的一个朋友心情特别差，因为他已经工作了10多年的服装店要关门了。这家店多年来一直销售手工衣物，但是现在服装连锁店越来越多，这家店已经没办法继续经营下去了。对于这家店和店里的员工，我们可以用下面的习惯用语来形容:
M: The end of the line. End is spelled e-n-d, and line; l-i-n-e. The-end -of-the-line.
The end of the line这个短语的意思是尽头，极限。在上面的例子里，由于服装店要关门了，很多年的经营走到了尽头，所以我朋友肯定会失去工作。在下一个例子里，我们将会听到美国臭名昭著的罪犯阿尔.卡彭是怎么倒台的。我们来听听看:
M: "Al Capone became well-known for being a crime boss in Chicago when alcohol was illegal. From the early 1920s to 1931, he made a fortune smuggling and producing liquor. He reached THE END OF THE LINE, not from those activities, but from trying to avoid paying taxes. His career was over when the government finally convicted him and sent him to prison."
这段话是说：阿尔.卡彭是芝加哥有名的犯罪大佬。从1920年代初到1931年，酒精饮料还属于非法的时候，他通过走私和酿酒赚了一大笔钱。但是他后来落败，不是因为非法酿酒和走私酒精，而是因为偷税漏税。政府最终认定他有罪并把他送进了监狱。
那会儿，美国有个法令，叫PROHIBITION，中文意思就是禁酒令，根据禁酒令，制造、贩卖或者饮酒都是违法的。这个法律减少了人们的饮酒量，但同时也增加了集体犯罪。And that actually contributed to Prohibition reaching THE END OF THE LINE. 成了禁酒令最终被废除的推手。好了，我们再来听听刚才那段话：
M: "Al Capone became well-known for being a crime boss in Chicago when alcohol was illegal. From the early 1920s to 1931, he made a fortune smuggling and producing liquor. He reached THE END OF THE LINE, not from those activities, but from trying to avoid paying taxes. His career was over when the government finally convicted him and sent him to prison."
The end of the line 尽头，极限 。现在一切都变化得特别快，一个地方今天还好好的，明天可能就会 reach the end of the line 不复存在。 下面这个例子中，讲述者对童年有什么样的回忆呢？我们来听听看:
M: "When I was a kid, my dad and I used to go fishing at the lake near our house. Then we started to notice that there wasn't much to catch anymore. THE END OF THE LINE came when officials declared that the water was badly polluted. Nobody could enjoy it. "
这段话是说: 小时候，爸爸常带我去家附近的河里钓鱼。后来我们注意到，河里的鱼好像少了许多。直到有一天，有关部门宣布，河水污染过于严重，禁止钓鱼了，我们爷俩儿钓鱼的传统也就结束了。
这可真让人沮丧！环境污染确实使很多人失去了享受大自然的乐趣。说起来，我今天刚刚收到一封信，说我们家旁边的邮局就要关门了。确实，现在人们大量使用电子邮件，邮局生意越来越差。The popularity of emails may mean THE END OF THE LINE for a lot of post offices. 好的，让我们再来听听刚才那段话:
M: "When I was a kid, my dad and I used to go fishing at the lake near our house. Then we started to notice that there wasn't much to catch anymore. THE END OF THE LINE came when officials declared that the water was badly polluted. Nobody could enjoy it. "
今天我们学习的习惯用语是the end of the line 意思是“尽头、极限”。好的，这次[美国习惯用语]就到此结束，我是杨琳，我是 Dan Markus。谢谢各位的收听。
B: So, I have some good news. I finally find a place to settle in, so my daily 2 hour commute will finally come to the end of the line! 太高兴了！
A: 这样你就不用每天早晨3点半起床了呀！恭喜你恭喜你！There's no way that I can get up at three thirty am. Speaking of which, I'm going for my green card interview this Friday at 7 am! I need at least three alarm clocks to wake me up!
B: Hahaha, yeah, I don't think I've ever seen you before 11, ha? Actually, you seem a little freaking out, are you ok?
A: 哎，还好啦! 我只是有点紧张！God knows what they will ask? 我听说有好多人被面试两三个小时呢！真可怕！ I'm also a bit worried I won't be able to understand some legal terms since English is not my first language.
B: Just relax and tell the truth, I'm sure you will be fine! Or you can always bring a lawyer, that way it won't be only yourself, and you can make sure you can understand the questions correctly.
A: 请律师？Hmmm...that's a good idea! 正好，在今天的美语三级跳里，Amir就要去找他的移民律师John, 我们一起来听听律师的建议！
