又中又英｜Bet the farm

Bet the farm

Avoid betting the farm on something you are unsure of. The American slang expression "bet the farm" means to risk everything you have on something you believe will certainly happen. Some high-stakes gamblers bet the farm when playing cards. If you play a high-stakes poker game, it means the bets are so high you could lose a lot of money. Some people believe so strongly about something that they put their money where their mouth is. To put your money where your mouth is means to show by action and not just words that you believe in something.

If you tell people a particular stock will rise, you can put your money where your mouth is by buying that stock. Many people believe opinion polls which show a particular candidate or political party will win an election. I would not bet the farm on the outcome of a democratic election because poll results are not always right. Polls showed Hillary Clinton would defeat Donald Trump in the 2016 US election, but Trump won. Polls showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi\'s party would win by a landslide in the recent Indian elections. The party won but not by a landslide. It lost its majority in Parliament.

Polls correctly predicted Britain\'s Labour Party would win by a landslide in last week\'s elections. Polls show former President Donald Trump will defeat President Joe Biden in November\'s US election. The election is four months away. Anything can happen. Biden could step down because he did so badly in a recent debate with Trump and let a stronger candidate challenge Trump. Politics and polls are unpredictable. I prefer waiting for the outcome.

在你不确定的事情上，最好避免 betting the farm——美式俚语"bet the farm"是指孤注一掷，打赌某样你相信的事情上必定会发生。一些下高额赌注（high-stakes）的赌徒在玩扑克牌时会孤注一掷（bet the farm）。若你玩一个 high-stakes扑克游戏，那即是它的赌注很大，你可能会输很多钱。一些人强烈相信某事时，他们会 put their money where their mouth is——to put your money where your mouth is意即说到做到，用行动来证明自己所相信的事。

若你跟人说某一只特定的股票会升，你可以put your money where your mouth is，付诸行动去买那只股票。许多人相信意见调查，能反映某一候选人或政党会胜出选举。我就不会孤注一掷（bet the farm）打赌民主式的选举结果，因为民调不总是准确的。民调显示希拉里‧克林顿会在2016年的美国大选中击败唐纳德‧特朗普，但最终由特朗普胜出。在最近的印度选举中，民调显示，首相纳伦德拉‧莫迪的政党将会压倒性的胜出。他的政党是有胜出，不过并非压倒性。它最终未能取得国会过半数议席。

民调正确地预测到英国的工党会在上周的选举中获得压倒性的胜利。民调反映前总统唐纳德‧特朗普会在美国11月的大选中击败现任总统祖‧拜登。还有4个月便举行大选，任何事情都会发生。拜登在最近跟特朗普的辩论中表现差劣，因此他或者会退选，让另一个更强的候选人去挑战特朗普。政治和民调都是难以预测的。我情愿静静等待结果。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻