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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
These days, we don't see many horse-drawn carriages in the streets, driven by coachmen who carry long whips. In the past, coach drivers used those whips to make their horses go faster. However, they did not let the whip lash1 actually touch or hurt the horses. Instead, just the loud sound of the whip cracking in the air just above the horses was enough motivation to make them go faster. A cracking whip can sound as loud as a gunshot. Because of that, when a boss, a supervisor2, or a teacher wants people working under them to hurry up doing their work and produce excellent results, we often say they are "cracking the whip." They don't really have a whip in their hands, but their nagging3 and sense of urgency feels like they do.
1 lash | |
v.系牢;鞭打;猛烈抨击;n.鞭打;眼睫毛 | |
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2 supervisor | |
n.监督人,管理人,检查员,督学,主管,导师 | |
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3 nagging | |
adj.唠叨的,挑剔的;使人不得安宁的v.不断地挑剔或批评(某人)( nag的现在分词 );不断地烦扰或伤害(某人);无休止地抱怨;不断指责 | |
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