英语学习|这些关于play的习语你都知道吗？

时间：2017-11-09 10:42:41 作者：Frank

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1. To play a role (in)

在….中扮演角色

Play最常见的用法之一就是这个短语play a role in。这个短语意为，一个人、一件事、一个公司或者是一个事件在某事中扮演着一个角色。

In this phrase, the word role can be preceded by words that show how important this role was to whatever is being described. Common adjectives include important, major, key, crucial, significant, large, and vital.

在这个短语中，单词role可以用一些词来说明这个角色对被描述的事物而言有多么重要。常放在role之前的形容词有important, major, key, crucial, significant, large, 和 vital。

All of these adjectives mean that the role played was very important – perhaps meaning that the result could not have been possible without the thing.

这些形容词都表示被扮演的角色很重要 –也许这意味着如果没有这个角色，某种结果是不可能出现的。

Examples

例子

Deciding to travel instead of going straight to college after high school played a major role in my life.

高中毕业去旅行而不是直接上大学，这个决定在我的生活中扮演者重要的角色。

Ronald played a key role in helping the team win today.

罗纳德在帮助球队赢得今天的比赛中发挥了关键作用。

2. To play a part (in)

在…中扮演角色/起作用

Play a part 和play a role很相似。它们都表示某事起着…样的作用。

The difference is that playing a role is usually used to describe someone or something that has a large role. Playing a part can also be more important, but if someone or something wasn’t important, they usually play a part, not a role.

区别就在于play a role用来描述某物或者某人起着很重要的作用，play a part也可以表示起着重要的作用，但是如果扮演的角色不是很重要，那么就应该用play a part而不是play a role。

That means that adjectives that go before part can include small, insignificant, and fleeting.

这就意味着可以放在part之前的形容词有small, insignificant 和fleeting。

Examples

例子

Bobby only played a fleeting part in working on the project, but he’s trying to take all the credit.

博比只是在这个项目中扮演着一个微小的角色，但是他却试图把所有的功劳都揽在自己身上。

Sandra keeps saying she only played an insignificant part in the company’s success, but she is seriously downplaying how important she was.

桑德拉一直说她只是在公司的成功中扮演了一个无足轻重的角色，但她是在对自己的重要性轻描淡写。

3. Play your cards right

处理得当，某事做得正确

Play your cards right 是来自于纸牌游戏的一个习语，意为举止得当。这个短语可以在任何情况下使用。

Examples

例子

If you play your cards right, I will buy you a chocolate bar when we leave the store.

如果你表现得好，离开商店时我会给你买一块巧克力。

I didn’t think it was possible but I was able to get a well-paying job and ace my classes when I played my cards right!

我认为这不可能，但是如果我表现得好，我的确能得到一份高薪的工作！

4. Play for time

为争取时间而拖延

Playing for time means that you deliberately try to delay something. It doesn’t matter what you do to try to delay it, but usually, if you play for time you are trying to delay a difficult decision of some sort.

Play for time意为故意拖延某事。你为了拖延这件事做了什么并不重要，但是通常来说，如果你拖延时间就说明你正在推迟做某种重要的决定。

Examples

例子

His excuses were terrible for continuing to delay the meeting so I could tell he was just playing for time.

他推迟会议的接口很糟糕，所以我敢断定他只是在拖延时间。

Tom was too pushy so he left me no choice but to play for time.

汤姆太咄咄逼人了，他让我别无选择，只好拖延时间。

5. Play it safe

不冒险；求稳；小心翼翼；在牌戏中采取稳定的措施

If you would rather be conservative than take risks, you can play it safe. Regardless of the benefits that you might get from trying different things, play it safe to avoid losses.

如果你宁愿保守，也不愿冒险，你就可以小心翼翼。尽管你在尝试不同事物的过程中获得了很多益处，为了避免损失，你都要小心行事。

Examples

例子

He played it safe by not gambling when he went to Las Vegas.

他去拉斯维加斯时没有赌博，这是谨慎行事。

Sometimes playing it safe pays off; sometimes it doesn’t.

有时候谨慎行事是有回报的，有时候则不是。

6. Play with fire

玩火；轻举妄动；冒险

The opposite of playing it safe is playing with fire. When you play with fire, you take a very big risk, often risks that are unnecessary.

Play it safe的反义词是play with fire. 当你玩火时，你会冒很大风险，而这往往是不必要的风险。

While what you can gain from taking risks is considerable, it is also extremely risky. Think of a performer who performs with fire. They are appealing because what they do includes a lot of danger.

虽然通过冒险你的收获相当可观，但是这风险极大。想想一个用火表演的表演者。他们很有吸引力，因为他们做的事情有很大的风险。

Examples

例子

Are you sure? It sounds like you might be playing with fire on that one.

你确定吗？这听起来你好象是在玩火。

Playing with fire can really pay off if it works out.

如果起作用的话，冒险也可以奏效。

7. Play it cool

抑制住感情，沉着冷静；玩酷；不露声色

When they go on a date, a lot of people try to play it cool! Instead of showing any signs of nervousness, they will pretend they are perfectly calm and even unaffected.

约会时，很多人都想耍酷！他们不会表现出任何的紧张迹象，他们会假装非常平静，甚至不受影响。

Playing it cool usually means that someone is setting up a façade, or showing a part of themselves that is not genuine. Along with playing it cool at dates, you can play it cool during interviews, business transactions, at a doctor’s appointment, etc.

耍酷通常意味着某人正在建一种假象，或者是展示自己不真实的一面。除了在约会中表现得很酷，你还可以在面试、商务交易、医生预约时表现得很酷。

Examples

例子

He tried to play it cool as much as he could but with the sweat running down his face, it’s obvious that he is very nervous.

他想尽可能冷静下来，但是汗水从脸上流下来，很明显他很紧张。

Don’t force yourself to play it cool – only do it if you really feel it!

不要强迫自己冷静下来 – 只有在你真正感觉到的时候才这样去做。

8. Play it by ear

随机行事；无计划地进行

When you don’t know how to prepare for something, you should play it by ear. This means that you take the situation into consideration and adjust as it develops.

当你不知道如何准备某事时，你应该随机行事。这就意味着你要考虑到眼下的情况并且随着事情的发展而进行调整。

This expression can be used for any situation; it doesn’t only apply to situations that you can hear.

这个表达可以用于任何情况，它不仅适用于你能听到的情况。

Examples

例子

The spies were used to playing it by ear.

间谍们习惯于随机行事。

Sometimes playing it by ear can get you really incredible results.

有时候随机行事会有意想不到的效果。

9. Play up

夸大；夸口

To play something up means to make the situation seem bigger, more important, more dramatic, or more extreme than it really is.

夸大某些东西意味着使情况看起来更大，更重要，更有戏剧性，或者更极端。

While it doesn’t mean deliberately lying about it, the term does mean exaggerating something – highlighting the details of it and making them seem more noteworthy.

虽然这不意味着故意撒谎，但是这个词确实意味着夸大一些事情 — 突出其中的细节，让他们看起来更加引人注目。

Examples

例子

Did he try just try to play up his success? He forgot that I have been with him every step of the way!

他只是试着去夸大他自己的成功吗?他忘记了我一直和他在一起!

Playing up your weaknesses is a surefire way to get your application rejected.

夸大你的弱点一定是使你的申请被拒绝的原因。

10. Play down

贬低；降低；减少

The opposite of playing up is to play down. Instead of making something bigger, playing down means to try to keep something on the down low, to keep it small, and to make it seem like a smaller deal than it really is. If someone is very humble, they are probably trying to play down their accomplishments.

Play up的反义词就是play down。Play down意味着试图将某事保持在低水平，使某事化小，甚至要比它的真实水平还要小而不是夸大它。如果某人非常谦虚，他们很可能试图贬低他们的成就。

Examples

例子

Wow, he really played down your qualifications! Your experience and education make you the perfect candidate for this job.

哇，他就是在贬低你的资历！你的经验和教育背景都说明你才是这份工作最好的人选。

Don’t play down your skills if you are trying to pitch your services to a potential client.

如果你想向潜在的客户推销你的服务，那就不要贬低你的技能。

11. Play ball

屈服；开始活动；开始赛球

Playing ball means to go with the flow, give in, or do what the other person wants you to do. Even if you would rather do something your own way, you might choose to give in because someone else, such as your boss or parents, insist on something else.

Play ball是指随波逐流，屈服，或者做别人想让你做的事情。即使你宁愿做自己想做的事，你也可以选择放弃，因为别人(如你的老板或父母)坚持要做别的事情。

Note that play ball also has the literal meaning of playing a sport, so do not get confused if you see it used in that context!

请注意play ball 也有做运动赛球的意思，所以如果看到这个词在这个背景之下使用，不要感到困惑！

Examples

例子

It looks like the boss wants us to do things her way. Alright then, let’s play ball!

看起来老板希望我们按照她的方式做事。好吧，我们屈服！

What else do you want me to do? I already said I would play ball!

你还想让我做什么？我已经说过我要打球了！

Sports

运动

When it comes to sports, there are a number of words that you can use to describe them. While we generally say playing sports, some sports, such as running, ballet, or swimming, use different words. We go running, do ballet, and go swimming.

谈到运动，你可以用许多词来描述它们。我们通常都说做运动，然而一些运动，例如跑步，芭蕾舞或者是游泳，我们用不同的词来描述它们。我们去跑步，跳芭蕾，去游泳。

Below are some sports that we play rather than go or do.

以下是一些运动，我们通常用play而不是go 或者do来形容。

Play badminton

打羽毛球

Play ping pong

打乒乓球

Play football

踢足球

Play soccer

踢足球

Play baseball