鐵路和火車在人類歷史上有著非常重要的地位。古希臘是第一個(gè)擁有路軌運(yùn)輸?shù)膰?guó)家，至少兩千年前已有馬拉的車沿著軌道運(yùn)行。1804年，理查·特爾維域克在英國(guó)威爾士發(fā)明了第一臺(tái)能在鐵軌上前進(jìn)的蒸汽機(jī)車。19世紀(jì)20年代，英格蘭的史托頓與達(dá)靈頓鐵路成為第一條成功的蒸汽火車鐵路。鐵路和火車也為語言文字做了很大的貢獻(xiàn)，本期《小詞大義》，我們來了解一下跟鐵路和火車有關(guān)的英語短語。

Today we talk about railroads. Railroads were important to the development of the United States. The first U.S. railroads were built in eastern states. Trains later connected the East Coast with the West Coast.

Train and railway expressions worked their way into American English over a century ago. Many of those terms are still being used today.

Railroads changed the look of the United States. They cut through mountains， crossed through wide open prairies and joined together in cities. The railroads made transporting goods easier. They also gave many Americans the chance to move around the country.

Sometimes railroad tracks would not join up in a town but divide it in two. One side of the tracks might be good， while the other side was ‘not-so-good.’ If you say someone is from the wrong side of the tracks， it means they are from the bad side of town.

For the train running down the track there is no right or wrong side. The track is simply the metal structure on which the train runs.

To go off track means to move away from one’s intended purpose or goal.

For example， you could say your career went way off track if you wanted to be a lawyer but became an actor instead. But if you go to law school and complete your studies， your career is back on track. Let’s say you finished law school very quickly because you took double the course load. You then could say you fast-tracked your way to becoming a lawyer. In the world of business， it is common to say a project has been fast-tracked or is on a fast track.

To stay on track means to pay attention to your goal or purpose. But getting sidetracked is just the opposite. A train that is sidetracked gets sent to a different station or down a different line.

Talking about train tracks， a rail is a single piece of steel that is part of the larger railway. Some rails are dangerous to touch. In some cities， a third rail provides power to a subway train， usually operating underground； electricity passes through the rail.

The third rail also is an issue which can fuel a heated debate. At a party， religion or politics could be third rail topics. Talking about them could kill your social life！

Many Americans say things get derailed when they go off track or away from a goal—or when they simply go wrong. For example， they might say something like this， “My travel plans got derailed by the bad weather.”

It usually is bad news when something gets derailed. When something goes off the rails， it is always a bad thing. To go off the rails means a person’s project or life is a wreck， or—pardon the expression—a train wreck.

When a train reaches its final stop， we say it has reached the end of the line. If you reach the end of the line you have come to the end of something. Often in old films， this is what the bad guy says just before he kills someone.

“It’s the end of the line for your buddy boy.”

the wrong side of the tracks 直譯是鐵軌的錯(cuò)誤一邊。意思就是：貧民區(qū)的那一邊。The wrong side of the tracks這個(gè)說法已經(jīng)使用一百多年，但是人們現(xiàn)在仍用來指出身貧賤。例如：Chris came from the wrong side of the tracks， but eventually he became a millionaire.（克里斯來自一個(gè)城鎮(zhèn)的貧困地區(qū)，但他最終成了百萬富翁。）

go off track 表示誤入歧途；離題；出軌的意思。

back on track 意思是重回正軌；重上軌道；改過自新。

fast-track 動(dòng)詞，是加速進(jìn)程；快速進(jìn)展的意思。

stay on track 是堅(jiān)持，保持的意思。經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家預(yù)計(jì)，The U.K. economic recovery will stay on track over the coming year.（英國(guó)的經(jīng)濟(jì)復(fù)蘇明年會(huì)繼續(xù)下去。）對(duì)于想減肥的朋友們來說，年底節(jié)假日期間，總是一大挑戰(zhàn)。Being mindful of what you consume， including what you drink， will go a long way in helping you stay on track with your weight-loss goals.（多注意飲食，包括攝入的飲料，會(huì)在很大程度上幫助你持續(xù)不斷地達(dá)到自己的減肥目標(biāo)。）

get sidetracked 意思是走岔路；走彎路；誤入歧途。

third rail topics 指第三軌話題或雷區(qū)話題，會(huì)引發(fā)激烈爭(zhēng)論的某個(gè)問題。

get derailed 意思是出軌；脫軌；離開正常進(jìn)程。

go off the rails 行為不軌；越軌；出毛??；神經(jīng)錯(cuò)亂的意思。

train wreck 字面意思是火車事故的殘骸，但是它也可以這么用：如果一個(gè)人看起來像一個(gè)train wreck，他看起來很糟糕、很頹廢；如果一個(gè)人的生活是一個(gè)train wreck，說明他的生活很糟糕。

the end of the line盡頭；終點(diǎn)；極限（指再作努力已無用的時(shí)刻或階段）。