[originaltext] In an earlier lecture, we talked a lot about the Devil. In ma

游客2023-08-17  21

问题  
In an earlier lecture, we talked a lot about the Devil. In many religions, the Devil is the most powerful spirit of evil. Religious leaders teach that hell is where the Devil lives. They also say hell is the place where bad people go after they die. So today we are going to learn something about hell.
    Many people think of hell as a hot place full of fire.(16)So, a snowball would not have much of a chance there. And that is where this expression comes from: snowball’s chance in hell.
    Let’s say you applied for a promotion at work. But so did your boss’s daughter. You do not have a snowball’s chance in hell. Your boss is not going to hire you over his daughter.
    It will be a cold day in hell and when hell freezes over also mean the same thing: there is no chance that something will happen.
    For example, if you have a fight with a friend and never want to talk to him again, you could say, "It will be a cold day in hell before I ever call him again. Our friendship is over!" Or "Sure, I’ll call him... when hell freezes over!"
    But be careful.(17)These expressions are very informal and very strong. You would only use them with your close friends and peers.
     (17)So if your boss asks if your work will be done before you go home, you would never say, "It’ll be a cold day in hell when that happens..." unless you want to lose your job.
    Hell is reported to be not only hot, but miserable. So, if something is going to hell in a hand basket, it is becoming very bad very quickly.
    If you have been to hell and back, you have been through a very difficult period and lived to tell about it.
    Here is an example:
    —I’m glad to see that Julie is back to her old self.
    —Me, too. She’s been through so much this past month. Her mom died, her son got really sick and then she was in that terrible car accident.
    —Wow, she has really been to hell and back.
    But if you do want to visit hell, there is a road you can take: the road of good intentions.
    Let me explain.(18)When we say "The road to hell is paved with good intentions," we mean that positive intentions may have negative outcomes. "Paved" here means to line a street. So, the road to hell is lined with well-intended ideas that go terribly wrong.
    Another expression linked with hell is...
16. What does "snowball’s chance in hell" mean?
17. With whom can you use the expression "It will be a cold day in hell. "?
18. Which expression means positive intentions may have negative outcomes?

选项 A、There is little chance.
B、It becomes bad very quickly.
C、There is much chance.
D、It’ll be finished very soon.

答案 A

解析 演讲者提到,很多人认为地狱充满了烈火,因此雪球不可能存在于地狱中。所以习语snowball’s chance in hell的意思就是“基本不可能”。演讲者也举例说明,老板会雇用自己的女儿而不是你,所以该语境下可以用到这个习语。
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