PETS－2语法讲解(185)

　　We’re just going to have to bite the bullet.
　　对话
　　Hamid: Have you seen the roof today?
　　Rumina: No, what's the matter with it?
　　Hamid: The high wind last night loosened a couple of the tiles. We could get a leak if it rains really heavily. We'll have to get it fixed.
　　Rumina: That's going to cost a lot of money we don't really have.
　　Hamid: It'll cost us a lot more if water gets in.
　　Rumina: Couldn't you make a temporary repair?
　　Hamid: It wouldn't last for long. We're just going to have to bite the bullet and get a professional in to fix it.
　　哈米德：今天有没有看到我们的屋顶?
　　鲁明纳：没有,屋顶有问题吗?
　　哈米德：昨夜的强风,把几片瓦掀起了。 假如下大雨,恐怕会漏水, 必须请人修理。
　　鲁明纳：那得花不少钱, 我们负担不起。
　　哈米德：但假如雨水漏进房子里, 损失会更大。
　　鲁明纳：你不能修理一下, 暂时应付过去吗?
　　哈米德：那无法耐久, 我们勉为其难, 屋顶也要找个专业工人修理。
　　哈米德以bite the bullet来说‘勉为其难’, 但bite the bullet是‘咬子弹’, 和困难有什么关系? 原来从前战场上伤兵接受手术时, 没有麻醉药，医生会拿一粒软铅子弹给他咬着，以分散对手术的注意力。所以，to bite (on) the bullet有‘咬着牙关忍受痛苦’、‘勇敢处理棘手事情’的意思，例如：（１）To keep its head above water, the company will have to bite the bullet and lay off one-third of its staff　(公司要支撑下去，就得忍痛把三分之一职员辞退）。（２）Faint-hearted though he was, he bit the bullet and asked his boss for a rise.（他虽然胆小，但还是硬着头皮，向老板要求加薪）。
　　说‘毅然忍受痛苦’或‘硬撑’，英文还有一句成语：to keep/carry/have a stiff upper lip。这直译是‘上唇保持不动’。人在软弱、害怕的时候，嘴唇有时会颤抖，例如：Her lips quivered and she burst into tears（她嘴唇颤抖，哭了起来）。保持嘴唇不动，就是沉着应付困难了，例如：Though he suffered terribly, he kept a stiff upper lip throughout the unfair trial（他受到不公平审讯，十分苦恼，但坚持的撑到底）。
　　最后说掀起瓦片的high wind。High wind不是‘高处的风’，而是‘强风’，例如：(1) A high wind is blowing from the west(强风由西方吹来) 。(2)High winds have knocked down our saplings(强风把我们那些小树吹倒了）。