記得大學(xué)畢業(yè)時，我們班同學(xué)紛紛找機會留在大城市或者出國，可是有個男生卻毅然決然回到自己的家鄉(xiāng)就業(yè)。我們問他為什么，他說自己的學(xué)歷和能力回家鄉(xiāng)肯定能受到重用，可是留在大城市里就顯不出來了，因為這里人才扎堆，競爭太激烈。他的這種心態(tài)，讓我想到一個習(xí)慣用語：

　　Big fish in a small pond. Pond is spelled p-o-n-d. Big fish in a small pond.

　　Big fish是大魚， small pond 則是小池塘。Big fish in a small pond 小池塘里的大魚， 其實就是形容小地方的大人物，小圈子里的杰出者。我同學(xué)就是這樣，He has no interest in living in large, competitive cities. He'd rather be a big fish in a small pond. 他不愿意住在競爭激烈的大城市，他寧當(dāng)雞頭，不作鳳尾。

　　我尊重這位同學(xué)的選擇，我想，他選擇去小地方發(fā)展應(yīng)該就是不想經(jīng)歷下面這段話所描述的情景。我們來聽一聽：

　　Of the 60 students in her graduating class, Tania ranked number one. She received many honors, including a scholarship to one of the top universities in the country. Once there, Tania found it difficult adjusting to classmates who were all as talented as she was. That's because she had been used to being a BIG FISH IN A SMALL POND.

　　這段話是說：[在畢業(yè)班的六十名學(xué)生里，塔尼亞的成績是全班第一。她得到了很多榮譽，包括一所全國頂尖大學(xué)的獎學(xué)金�？墒堑搅四撬�大學(xué)后，塔尼亞發(fā)現(xiàn)，其他同學(xué)都和她一樣出色，她覺得自己很難適應(yīng)這樣的情況，因為她已經(jīng)習(xí)慣在小圈子里當(dāng)佼佼者。]

　　人到了新的圈子里難免要渡過一段不太舒服的適應(yīng)期，尤其是對當(dāng)慣了尖子的人。有人覺得寧當(dāng)雞頭不當(dāng)鳳尾，但也有人到哪里都要力爭出類拔萃，全看個人心態(tài)。好，我們再來看看剛才那段話：

　　Of the 60 students in her graduating class, Tania ranked number one. She received many honors, including a scholarship to one of the top universities in the country. Once there, Tania found it difficult adjusting to classmates who were all as talented as she was. That's because she had been used to being a BIG FISH IN A SMALL POND.

　　要提醒大家，F(xiàn)ish這個詞的復(fù)數(shù)形式還是fish，所以我們形容一個人是小地方的大人物，說 He's a fish in a small pond。那要是幾個人呢?就是They are fish in a small pond。下面這個例句就講到這樣的兩個人，我們來看一看：

　　Everyone at our real estate office knows the Kims. They've been successful sellers at the firm for several years. They could easily join a much larger staff at a more prestigious office. But then they'd no longer be BIG FISH IN A SMALL POND. And that wouldn't interest them.

　　這段話是說：[我們房地產(chǎn)辦公室的人都知道金姆夫妻倆，多年來，他們一直是公司里相當(dāng)成功的房地產(chǎn)銷售員。他們?nèi)绻�想跳槽到更有名氣的公司，加入更大的銷售團隊，絕對不是問題。不過那樣一來，他們就沒法再像現(xiàn)在一樣當(dāng)辦公室里的風(fēng)云人物了。所以他們對跳槽沒興趣。]

　　big fish in a small pond 里的 fish 也可以用 frog--青蛙--這個詞來代替。所以，我同學(xué)去家鄉(xiāng)發(fā)展，愿意當(dāng) a big frog in a small pond，小地方的杰出人才，金姆夫婦愿意留在現(xiàn)在的地產(chǎn)公司，當(dāng) big frogs in a small pond, 小公司里的紅人。好，我們再來看看剛才那段話：

　　Everyone at our real estate office knows the Kims. They've been successful sellers at the firm for several years. They could easily join a much larger staff at a more prestigious office. But then they'd no longer be BIG FISH IN A SMALL POND. And that wouldn't interest them.

　　今天我們學(xué)習(xí)的習(xí)慣用語是big fish in a small pond，意思是“小地方的大人物，小圈子里的杰出者”。