十九世紀(jì)美國內(nèi)戰(zhàn)期間擔(dān)任總統(tǒng)的林肯。林肯在競選連任的時(shí)候遇到了重重困難。當(dāng)時(shí)他對選民說: "Don’t change horses in the middle of the stream."

Horses就是“馬”的意思，in the middle of the stream是指“河流的中間”。"Don’t change horses in the middle of the stream"也就是說：不要在過河過到一半的時(shí)候換你騎的馬。就美國選舉來說，這個(gè)俗語的意思就是：即便你們對我不滿意，但是目前美國問題很多，不是換總統(tǒng)的時(shí)候。林肯的這句話很有名，競選連任的官員經(jīng)常引用他這句話。我們來舉一個(gè)例子吧：

例句-1: I may have made a few mistakes in the last four years. But, my friends, let me tell you this--with the economy in bad shape, this is no time to change horses in the middle of the stream.

這位競選連任的官員說：我可能在過去四年內(nèi)犯了一些錯(cuò)誤，但是朋友們，讓我告訴你們，在目前經(jīng)濟(jì)那么糟糕的時(shí)候換人是不行的。”

下面我們再舉一個(gè)選民說的話：

例句-2: I kind of like this new man because he has some fresh ideas. But I guess I’ll vote for the old guy who has the job now. Somehow, I just don’t like to change horses in the middle of the stream.

這個(gè)選民說：我倒是很喜歡這個(gè)新的候選人，因?yàn)樗行┬轮饕狻２贿^，我想我還是投票給那個(gè)現(xiàn)任的官員。不知什么緣故，我就是不喜歡中途換人。

很早以前在收音機(jī)和電視還沒有出現(xiàn)的時(shí)代，競選官職的人為了吸引公眾的注意往往會(huì)雇一個(gè)樂隊(duì)，讓他們在一輛馬車上演奏。馬車上貼了許多標(biāo)語，鼓勵(lì)人們投某某人的票。這種有樂隊(duì)的馬車就叫bandwagon。要是這個(gè)候選人特別受人擁護(hù)，那些無足輕重的小政客就會(huì)登上那輛馬車，讓人們知道他們和這位名人關(guān)系很好。這就是jump on the bandwagon。

從字面上來看，這是“跳上有樂隊(duì)的馬車”的意思。實(shí)際上這種馬車已經(jīng)不存在，但是這個(gè)俗語還是經(jīng)常使用的，它的意思是：站在某候選人一邊，表示支持。下面是一個(gè)一直在觀望的政客說的話：

例句-3: After the latest polls I think that Green is going to win. Let’s jump on the bandwagon right now and endorse the man before we get left behind.

這位政客似乎已經(jīng)看準(zhǔn)了風(fēng)向。他說：根據(jù)最近的民意調(diào)查，我想格林是會(huì)當(dāng)選的。我們得馬上表態(tài)支持他，否則我們就會(huì)落后于形勢了。

下面是一個(gè)對選舉很感興趣的人說的話：

例句-4: Sometimes you can tell who is going to win a big office like President or Governor by watching how many other politicians come running to jump on his bandwagon and get credit for supporting him.這個(gè)人說：有時(shí)候，你只要看有多少政客急急忙忙表態(tài)站在某個(gè)候選人一邊，并想以支持他得到好處，你就可以知道誰會(huì)當(dāng)選像總統(tǒng)或州長那樣的重要官職了。

Don’t change horses in the middle of the stream. 不要在過河過到一半的時(shí)候換你騎的馬

例句: I may have made a few mistakes in the last four years. But, my friends, let me tell you this--with the economy in bad shape, this is no time to change horses in the middle of the stream. 我可能在過去四年內(nèi)犯了一些錯(cuò)誤，但是朋友們，讓我告訴你們，在目前經(jīng)濟(jì)那么糟糕的時(shí)候換人是不行的。

jump on the bandwagon 站在某候選人一邊，表示支持

例句: After the latest polls I think that Green is going to win. Let’s jump on the bandwagon right now and endorse the man before we get left behind. 根據(jù)最近的民意調(diào)查，我想格林是會(huì)當(dāng)選的。我們得馬上表態(tài)支持他，否則我們就會(huì)落后于形勢了。

例句: Sometimes you can tell who is going to win a big office like President or Governor by watching how many other politicians come running to jump on his bandwagon and get credit for supporting him. 有時(shí)候，你只要看有多少政客急急忙忙表態(tài)站在某個(gè)候選人一邊，并想以支持他得到好處，你就可以知道誰會(huì)當(dāng)選像總統(tǒng)或州長那樣的重要官職了。