You should sock away a certain amount each month.

 

你每个月都应该存一笔钱。

 

 

Bob had a little money socked away, so he didn't have to live from hand to mouth.

 

鲍勃存下来了一点钱，所以日子还算过得去。

 

 

How hard can it be to strike out on your own and live off the fat of the land?

 

你是得多艰苦才靠地吃饭啊？

 

 

While he had been successful at his job, he had made plenty of hay while the sun was shining.

 

他的工作干得很成功，也就存了不少钱。

 

 

Things could go terribly wrong in the twinkling of an eye.

 

眨眼的功夫事情就变得一团糟。

 

 

I found the reasons for his decision to throw in the towel and become free as a bird compelling.

 

我发现了他认输的理由后，就再也无拘无束了。

 

 

Bob was very careful not to let on what he was thinking to anyone until he got all his ducks in a row.

 

鲍勃非常小心，他没有告诉任何人自己的想法，直到做好充分的准备。

 

 

Bill was salt of the earth.

 

比尔是一名社会精英。

 

 

He knew that such a decision couldn't be made on the spur of a moment.

 

他知道，不能一时冲动就作出决定。

 

 

He did wonder if things might be a bit more interesting if he gave living by the seat of his pants a go.

 

他想知道，如果当初他凭本事谋生的话，会不会比现在有意思点。

 

 

Sure, he never had money to burn, but he managed to get by.

 

当然，他从来没有花不完的钱，但他还是成功了。

 

 

Certainly, he never questioned the powers that be.

 

当然，他从来没有质疑过那些掌权者。

 

 

Bill repeatedly told Bob that tagging along with everyone else would eventually get boring.

 

比尔一次次地告诉过鲍勃，尾随他人是件很无聊的事。

 

 

I found the reasons for his decision to throw in the towel and become free as a bird compelling.

 

我发现了他认输的理由后，就再也没有任何顾虑了。

 

 

Bill made his living as a jack-of-all-trades.

 

比尔为了谋生身兼多职。

 

 

The more he pondered the idea the more he came to realize that he wasn't able to see the forest for the trees.

 

他越想越觉得自己因为执着细节，忽视了真正重要的部分。

 

 

He still felt he was tilting at windmills.

 

他仍觉得自己在同假想的敌人作战。

 

 

These memories of Bill came flooding back as Bob began to to prepare to get a new lease on life.

 

当鲍勃决定重新开始生活时，那些关于比尔的记忆又奔涌而来。

 

 

However, Bob was in the the prime of life and he was ready for adventure.

 

但是，鲍勃此时年富力强，他准备好了迎接冒险。

 

How can you throw all you've worked for down the drain?

 

你怎么可以浪费自己的劳动成果呢？

 

 

He's lost his marbles.

 

他真是疯了。

 

练习

 

He's a smart man because he has ____________ a lot of money for his retirement.

 

I'm sure you'l feel _________________ once you graduate from college.

 

Ever since I got the new job, I feel like I've gotten _________________.

 

You'll be surprised how quickly your child will grow up. It sometimes seems that it happened ____________.

 

My grandfather was a ______________________. He did everything!

 

Too many people around the world have to ____________________. It's horrible!

 

Of course, ___________________ do nothing to help the truly needy.

 

Sometimes it seems like I'm ________________ by trying to start a new business.

 

答案

 

socked away

 

as free as a bird

 

a new lease on life

 

in the twinkling of an eye

 

jack-of-all-trades

 

live from hand to mouth

 

the powers that be

 

tilting at windmills

 

来源：外专委