【原】拖延，用英语怎么表达

精通母语的人觉得国语博大精深，长期深耕英语的人也会觉得英语博大精深。一个简单的英语句子，不同的人翻译出来的结果可能很接近，但是有的翻译真的是达到了信达雅的境界，甚至是画龙点睛的效果，让人赏心悦目和佩服不已。因此学可以无术，但不可不博。

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在英语中，有的短语不仅本身有意义，而且还有其他寓意，如 deliver the goods，字面上是“交货”，它还可以用来比喻不负众望或符合要求等，例如：

We'll deliver the goods as soon as we can. 

我们将尽快交货。

He's the best graphic designer we have, so I'm confident that he can deliver the goods for this ad campaign.

他是我们最好的平面设计师，所以我相信这次的广告活动他会不负众望。

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有的短语本身没有意义或意思不符合常理，主要用作其他寓意，如 face the music，不要理解为”面对音乐“，可以译为“承担后果，接受批评”等，例如：

If she lied to me, then she'll just have to face the music.

如果她对我撒谎，那她就只好承担后果了。

If we do nothing to curb this pollution, I guarantee we will face the music in the future.

如果我们不采取任何措施来遏制这种污染，我保证我们将来要承担后果。

还有如习语 kick the can down the road，不要望文生义把它理解为“沿路往下踢罐子”，它主要用作寓意，译为“拖延，延缓”等，指推迟一个确定的行动、决定或解决办法，通常是通过实施一个短期的来代替，例如：

It looks as though congress is going to kick the can down the road again on the debt ceiling issue, but they'll have to find a lasting solution eventually.

看来国会将在债务上限问题上再次拖延，但他们最终必须找到一个持久的解决方案。

I don't think we should kick the can down the road and let our grandkids solve that problem.

我认为我们不应该拖延，让我们的孙子解决这个问题。

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表示“拖延或延缓”最常见的表达方式是用单词 delay，postone，stall 和 defer，其中 delay 即可以作动词，也可以作名词，例如：

delay:

My plane was delayed by an hour.

我的飞机晚点了一个小时。

Heavy snow delayed the start of the game.

大雪推迟了比赛的开始。

We apologize for the delay in answering your letter.

来信收悉，迟复为歉。

This situation needs to be tackled without delay. 

需要毫不迟疑地处理这种情况。

postpone:

The game has already been postponed three times.

这场比赛已经三度延期了。

We'll have to postpone the meeting until next week.

我们将不得不把会议推迟到下周举行。

stall:

They are still stalling on the deal.

他们仍在拖时间，而不急于达成协议。

The judge accused the prosecutor of stalling for time.

法官指责检察官拖延时间。

defer:

The department deferred the decision for six months.

这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。

She had applied for deferred admission to college.

她已申请延期入学。

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短语动词中也有不少可以表示“拖延或延迟”，如 put off，put back 和 push back 等，例如：

put off:

The meeting has been put off for a week.

会议推迟了一个星期。

I can't put off going to the dentist any longer.

我不能再推迟去看牙医了。

put back:

They decided to put back the release date of their war film as a sign of respect to the victims of the attack.

他们决定推迟战争影片的上映日期，以表示对袭击受害者的敬意。

News conferences due to be held by both men have been put back. 

原定两个人共同举行的新闻发布会被推迟。

push back:

They decided to push back the release date of their war film as a sign of respect to the victims of the attack.

他们决定推迟战争影片的上映日期，以示对袭击受害者的尊重。

The start of the game was pushed back from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

比赛从午后两点延迟到4点才开始。

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跟刚才描述的习语 kick the can down the road 类似，英语中还有一个习语 drag one's feet，它的字面意思是“拖某人的脚”，很明显也可以用来表示“拖延或拖拖拉拉”，例如：

Please stop dragging your feet, you're going to wear out the soles of your shoes.

别再拖拖拉拉了，你的鞋底会磨坏的。

He knows he should see a doctor, but he’s dragging his feet.

他知道他应该去看医生，但他在拖拖拉拉。

我相信还有更多类似的表达方式，学习本来就是要分门别类，把类似的或相近的串起来，形成稳固的记忆链条，且终生不易脱落。

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词或词组分析：

1. prosecutor [ˈprɒsɪkjuːtə(r)] 公诉人，检察官

2. accuse sb (of sth)  控告，控诉，谴责

She accused him of lying.

她指责他说谎。

The government was accused of incompetence.

政府被指责无能。