美國習慣用語 第836:come a long way
侄子邀請我們夫婦倆去看他的樂隊演出。我真不敢相信他現在這麼棒! 我記得幾年前他還在我姐姐的車庫裏練習，聽起來簡直就是噪音，可他們如今已經能在全國巡迴演出了！我真替他高興，這也讓我想到一句習慣用語，那就是: come a long way.
Come a long way的意思與這些詞字面的意思不太一樣。它的意思是“突飛猛進”。就像我侄子的樂隊，they have made considerable progress from when they first started playing together. They've come a long way. 他們的水平比剛開始組樂隊時進步了一大塊，取得了飛越。
下面例子裏的主人公參加高中同學會，看到了很多高中同學，包括他的老朋友James。我們來看看他們的聚會有什麼驚喜:
例句-1：I went to my high school reunion last weekend. That's where I saw my old buddy James. Twenty years ago he was short, overweight and rather shy. Now he's tall, thin and very outgoing. He even runs his own company. He says his life has gotten a lot better. It's clear to me he's come a long way.
這段話是說: 我上個週末去參加高中聚會，見到了老朋友James. 他可是大變樣! 20年前他又矮又胖，而且很容易害羞。可現在他又瘦又高，非常外向，還自己開了公司! 他說自己的生活改善了很多。很顯然，他取得了很大的進步和成功。
提起突飛猛進，我覺得最值得一提的就是科技發展。現在的科技每時每刻都在進步，iPhone, iPad, iTouch....快的讓我們覺得趕不上! Technology has come a long way compared to 10 years ago. 現在的科技與10年前相比，簡直是突飛猛進。
******
遇到一個要求嚴格的上司是好事，不過有時候也會讓你頭疼。下面的例子裏，我們來聽聽要求嚴格的消防隊長對自己的隊員說了什麼：
例句-2：You all did pretty well in the practice drills we ran. You made significant progress working quickly and working as a team. That doesn't mean you should be satisfied with your achievement. The reality is that more is expected of you. If you're serious about earning the full respect of this community, you'll need to come a long way from how you performed today.
這段話是說: 你們演習時表現不錯，進步很快，有很強的團隊精神。但這不是說你們能就此滿足。我對你們的期望遠不止這些。基於今天的表現，如果想贏得整個社區的尊重，你們還有很長的路要走。
這名消防隊長的要求真嚴格! 我鄰居就是一名消防員，而且是一名女消防員! 你知道嗎? Years ago women weren't even allowed to be firefighters, they've come a long way. 多年前是不允許女性當消防員的，這方面進步很大。
