我们常说一句口头禅叫“我惹不起还躲不起吗？”这让我想起英文中一个很实用的表达：ward off, 它的意思是“避开某人某物”。

Some people use insect repellents to ward off mosquitoes in summer.

(译文：在夏天，许多人用杀虫剂来避蚊子。)

片语ward off something中的ward本来意思是“保护、防守”，从字面上看，这个片语意思是指“因为离开(off)而起来保护作用”，所以含有避开某物而得到保护，使之不受伤害的意思，我们常直译为：“避开某物或某人。”To ward off something means to do something to try to protect yourself from something bad, such as illness, danger, or attack. 大家都知道，手是最容易滋生细菌的地方，医生常告诉我们要常洗手，从而避开疾病的侵袭，看看下面的句子是如何说的：

Many doctors advised washing my hands often to ward off many types of illness.

(译文：许多医生建议我多洗手来避开多种疾病。)

棒球运动是一项很有观赏价值的运动项目，人们常常为选手打出了一支全垒打而欢呼雀跃。这又让我想起了英文中的另一个片语hit a home run, 它的意思就是“打出了一支全垒打。”比如：

I like to play baseball game at the park! I always hit a home run!

(译文：我喜欢打棒球，我总是打出一去全垒打!)

在棒球比赛中，我们常常听到解说员大声说hit a home run这个片语，它指a long hit in baseball which allows the player who hits the ball to run around all the bases and get a point. 但在某些时候，人们也常用它来表示某人做事做得很出色。If people say that you hit a home run, it means you did a good job in the kinds of fields. For example:

You hit a home run with your idea to merge a small company. Our boss really appreciated it.

(译文：你做得非常好，我们的老板很欣赏你提出的合并一家小公司的主意。)

结束语：今天我们学习了两个片语：第一个是ward off something, 它的意思是“避开某事”，暗含有因为避开而使自己得到保护的意思。第二个片语来自棒球运动，hit a home run的意思是“打出了一支全垒打”，比喻做事做得很出色，也写作hit a homer or have a home run.