simple&Life

Paulson一手炮制的政府7000亿美元救市计划在众议院205-228被否决了！下一步究竟怎么办，虽然修改计划再次表决是一定的，但救市的力度以及政府究竟会给Paulson和Bernanke多大的权力，一切还是未知数，让我们拭目以待吧。今天wsj的另一头条是Citi同意购买Wachovia Bank. 大家可能不熟悉Wachovia，这家总部和BofA同样在北卡夏洛特的地区性银行，如果没记错的话，应该是美国规模第四大的商业银行，最近受经济危机的影响，股票已经跌了90%. 之所以说到Wachovia，因为这是我来美国开户的第一家银行，而且一直使用到现在，它的customer service也是一流。只不过就像一位华尔街高管所说，当海啸来临时，无论你是奥运游泳冠军还是旱鸭子，都逃脱不了一样的厄运。而真实的原因在我看来却仍然是出于人的本性：贪婪！

又一次地跑题了，今天在wsj关于救市计划被否决的文章里面看到的这个词组：go out on a limb. Limb这个单词我感觉平时不怎么用到，是树枝，躯干的意思。在分析这个救市计划被否决的原因时，文章的原文如下：

Many lawmakers said they weren’t willing to go out on a limb. Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D., Calif.) said there still were “major questions unanswered” about the need for bailout.

意思就是说，很多议员对于这个救市计划还是很充满疑问，在不完全了解情况的前提下，他们是不愿意做出头鸟，率先支持这个救市计划。这里的中文翻译比较勉强，希望不是太离谱。至于确切的解释。首先看一下Freedictionary：

if you go out on a limb, you state an opinion or you do something which is very different to most other people. I don’t think we’re going out on a limb in claiming that global warming is a problem that must be addressed. Rob Thompson, the producer, admits the series is going out on a limb in that it is quite different to anything else currently on television.

看来这里的解释是用语言或者行动支持一种与大多数人都不相同的观点，作出和大多数人都不相同的举动。侧重点在于强调和大多数人的不同。Phrases.org.uk 则有略微不同的解释：

Put oneself in an isolated or disadvantaged position in one’s support of someone or something.

这个解释更强调go out on a limb所产生的后果，会致人于孤立的境地。这就是很多议员不愿意表态支持的原因，因为总的来说，美国大众对于华尔街和大投行们搞的复杂金融产品以及如今的烂摊子是持负面态度的，议员们很多时候都要考虑到自己选区选民的情绪。再回过头来说这个词的来源，同样来自于Phrases.org.uk：

The clear allusion in this phrase is to climbing trees. All of us must remember that feeling of not wanting to go further out to reach that apple/ball or whatever for fear that the branch (limb) would break under us. The first uses of it in a figurative sense, with no reference to actual trees or climbing, come from the USA at the end of the 19th century.

用爬树的经历来联系这个词，是不是很形象呢 :)

在Google这个词的时候又发现了另一个网站GoEnglish.com，它上面的解释也很不错：

To put yourself in a risky position in order to help another person is to go “out on a limb” for them. Example: “You know I’m always here to help you and would go out on a limb if you asked me to.” As you climb “out” farther “on a limb” of a tree, there is a greater chance that the limb might break and you would be hurt. Example: “I’ve already gone out on a limb; there is nothing more I can do for you.” To go “out on a limb” is to put yourself in a dangerous position in order to get something done. Example: “I want this project to succeed just as much as you do, but I am not willing to go out on a limb.“

PS: 在wsj的这篇文章里还看到另一个新词：rank and file. 查了一下意思，普通士兵们(老百姓们,普通成员们). 在这里的文章中主要用作形容词，来描述rank and file lawmakers（大部分普通议员们）的情况，比如：

For rank and file lawmakers, the vote forced upon them produced anger and soul-searching about the economic and political costs of the bailout, and a difficult choice: whether to safely vote no on an issue unpopular with voters or swing behind a measure the nation’s top economic leaders insist is needed to avoid a recession.

:)