thing
noun
θɪŋ noun
1
IDEA/ACTION/FEELING/FACT
想法/行动/感觉/事实
an idea, action, feeling, or fact that someone thinks, does, says, or talks about, or that happens 事情; 行动; 想法; 话 C
People say things they don’t mean when they are angry.
人生气时就会口不择言。
It was a horrible thing to happen.
发生这样的事情太糟糕了。
I plan to do all the things I’ve been meaning to do for ages.
我打算去做我多年以来一直想做的事。
The first thing to do is to give them food and shelter.
首要的事是给他们提供食物和住所。
That’s a terrible thing to say .
这话说得太难听了。
do the right/decent/honourable etc thing
I kept wondering if I was doing the right thing.
我一直在怀疑我这么做是否正确。
this/that/what sort of thing
A priest has to arrange funerals, marriages, that sort of thing.
牧师得负责安排葬礼、婚礼之类的事情。
Getting more American ideas into British business would be a good thing .
将更多的美国式理念注入英国企业会是一件好事。
‘I did no such thing ,’ he protested.
“我没干过这样的事。”他抗议道。
I know a thing or two (=a lot) about dogs.
我对狗略知一二。
In a democracy, it is no bad thing to be able to compromise (=it is good, even though it may not seem good) .
在民主国家，能够妥协并非就是坏事。
2
OBJECT
物体
an object that you are talking about without saying its name, or whose name you do not know 东西，物 C
A red thing was caught in the branches.
一个红色的东西被钩住夹在了树枝中间。
I’ll just switch this thing off.
我把这东西关一下。
There was a round metal thing on the path.
小路上有一个圆圆的、金属的东西。
… and things (and other similar things) …类似的东西
The shed is where we keep our tools and things.
这棚子是我们放工具等东西的地方。
3
SITUATION
情况
life in general and the way it is affecting people 情况，形势 plural 复数
By the end of 1942, things were starting to change.
到了 1942 年年末，情况开始有了变化。
Things could be worse.
事情还不算太糟。
As things turned out, we didn’t have much time.
结果我们也没有很多时间。
How are things with you, Sarah?
萨拉，近来怎么样？
make things easy/difficult/hard
She would get angry quickly, which made things difficult for me.
她动不动就生气，让我日子很难过。
We can’t change the way things are .
生活就这样子，我们无法改变。
4
NOTHING
没有任何事情
used as part of a negative statement to mean ‘anything’ 任何东西; 任何事〔用于否定句〕 singular 单数, U
not a thing
I couldn’t find a thing that I wanted to buy.
我找不到一样想买的东西。
He took his glasses off and couldn’t see a thing.
他摘下眼镜，什么也看不见了。
Don’t worry about a thing.
你什么事都不用担心。
There’s no such thing as ghosts (=they do not exist) .
根本就没有鬼这种东西。
5
PERSON/ANIMAL
人/动物
used to talk to or about a person or animal, when you are describing what they are like or showing sympathy for them 家伙，东西〔指人或动物，常带感情色彩〕 C
The baby is a nice little thing when he’s not screaming.
这个宝宝不哭不闹时是个可爱的小东西。
She was terribly upset, poor thing .
她非常难过，可怜的人儿。
6
MAKE A COMMENT
评价
used to say something about a particular part of a situation, person etc 〔某件事或某个人等的〕特点 C usually singular 一般用单数
[+ about ]
The thing about teaching is that it takes more time to prepare than most people realize.
教书就是有一点，备课的时间比大多数人认为的要长。
the funny/strange/best etc thing
The funny thing is, I really enjoyed it, even though I hadn’t expected to.
奇怪的是，我还真的玩得很开心，尽管这是我没有料到的。
It’s a good thing you saw her before she saw you.
幸好在她看到你之前你已经看到她了。
7
the thing is
used when you are going to explain something, give the reason for something, or give an opinion [口] 问题是; 原因是 spoken
‘It sounds like a good idea. Why don’t you invest?’ ‘Well, the thing is, I can’t afford to.’
“听起来是个好主意。 那你为什么不投资呢？”“唉，问题是我没钱投资。”
the thing is that
The thing is that you can’t always judge your own work.
问题是你不能总是自己来评价自己的工作。
8
the last thing sb wants/expects/needs etc
something that someone does not want, expect etc at all 某人根本不想要/指望/需要等的事
The last thing I want is to upset him.
我最不愿意的就是让他伤心。
The last thing I should have done was let her move into my house.
我最不应该的就是让她搬进我的房子。
9
last thing
at the end of a day, afternoon, evening etc [英] 〔某一天、某一下午、晚上等做的〕最后一件事情 BrE
She likes a hot bath last thing at night .
她喜欢晚上睡觉前洗个热水澡。
10
first thing
10. at the beginning of a day, morning, afternoon etc 〔某一天、某一上午、下午等的〕第一件事，最开始
Jean liked to go for a swim first thing in the morning .
琼喜欢一大早就去游泳。
11
CLOTHES/POSSESSIONS
衣服/所有物
clothes and possessions [尤英] 东西〔指衣服等所有物〕; plural 复数 | especially BrE AmE
sb’s things
Jim began to unpack his things.
吉姆打开包开始整理他的东西。
I want to sell some of my things, but they aren’t worth much.
我想卖掉一些东西，但它们值不了几个钱。
12
EQUIPMENT
设备
the tools, equipment, clothes etc that you need for a particular job, sport etc [尤英] 〔某一工作或体育活动所需的〕东西，用品，设备，物件; plural 复数 | especially BrE AmE
sb’s writing/school/Christmas etc things
I left my swimming things at home.
我把游泳用的东西落在家里了。
the shed where he kept his gardening things
他放置园艺用具的棚子
13
among other things
13. used when you are giving one fact, reason, effect etc but want to suggest that there are many others 除了别的以外还
The substance is used in the manufacture of cosmetics and drugs, among other things.
这种东西除了别的以外还用于生产化妆品和药品。
14
for one thing
14. used to give one reason for something 其中一个原因是
Well, for one thing, it’s too big.
嗯，一个原因是，它太大了。
He’s not that wonderful. He’s bad-tempered for one thing.
他没有那么好，首先是脾气太坏。
15
be a thing of the past
15. to no longer exist or happen 成为过去，成为历史
Before AIDS, many health care experts believed that large-scale infectious diseases were a thing of the past.
在艾滋病出现之前，很多医疗专家认为大规模的传染疾病已成为历史。
16
it’s a good thing (that)
16. used to say that it is lucky or good that something has happened [口] 幸亏，幸好 spoken
It’s a good thing we brought some food with us.
幸亏我们随身带了一些食品。
17
sth is just one of those things
17. used to say that something unpleasant or unlucky cannot be prevented 这是一件没办法的事，这是不可避免的事
It wasn’t really the driver’s fault; it was just one of those things.
那其实也不是驾驶员的错，这是不可避免的。
18
the thing about/with sb/sth
18. used to say what the problem with someone or something is 某人/某事物的问题是
The thing about talk shows is that you never know how they will turn out.
脱口秀节目的问题是你永远不知道结局会怎样。
19
all (other) things being equal
19. used to say that something is true in general, but that other things may cause the situation to change 其他都一样，只是…
All things being equal, smaller animals need smaller brains.
什么都一样，只是小一点的动物需要的脑袋也小一点。
20
just the thing/the very thing
20. exactly the thing that you want or that is necessary 正是想要的东西; 正是需要的东西
A holiday is probably just the thing for you.
也许度假正是你需要的。
21
of all things
21. used to show that you are surprised or shocked by something that someone has done or said 偏偏，真没想到
She gave up a promising career as a stockbroker to become a weaver, of all things.
真没想到，她放弃当证券经纪人的大好前途，当了一名织布工。
22
do your own thing
22. to do something in the way that you like instead of copying other people or following strict rules [非正式] 按照自己的方式做事，走自己的路 informal
I just want to live my own life and do my own thing.
我就想按自己的方式生活，照自己的意愿做事。
23
it’s a girl/football/music etc thing
23. used to say that something involves or affects a particular group of people only [非正式] 是女孩子的/关于足球的/关于音乐的等事 informal
Computer games aren’t just a guy thing.
计算机游戏不仅仅是男人的事。
24
all things considered
24. when you consider all the parts or events of a situation 所有情况考虑进来，综合考虑起来
All things considered, we had surprisingly few injuries.
总体来看，我们的受伤人数少得令人吃惊。
25
be all things to all men/people
25. to try to please or be useful to all of many different groups, often without succeeding 力图讨好所有人〔通常都未能达到目的〕
In order to get votes, he tries to be all things to all men.
为了拉到选票，他就想四面讨好。
26
be onto a good thing
26. if you are onto a good thing, you are in a situation that is very helpful, comfortable, or profitable for you [非正式] 处境不错; 过得舒服 informal
think/know you are onto a good thing
Directors who take dividends instead of salary may think they are onto a good thing but could have problems on retirement.
那些拿分红而不是领薪水的董事可能会认为他们现在日子是好过，但是到退休时可能就有麻烦了。
27
make a big thing of/about/out of sth
27. to make something seem more important than it really is 小题大做，大惊小怪
You can apologise without making a big thing out of it.
你可以悄悄地去道个歉，不要把事情搞大。
28
the done thing
28. the way of behaving or doing something that is socially acceptable [英，过时，非正式] 符合社会习俗的事情 BrE old-fashioned informal
It is not the done thing for teachers to hit children.
教师打学生是不对的。
29
it’s one thing to … , (it’s) another thing to …
29. used to say that doing one thing is very different from doing another thing, especially where the second thing is more difficult, important, or serious 做…是一回事，做…则是另一回事
It’s one thing being able to run fast, but quite another to win a marathon.
跑得快是一回事，但要赢得马拉松比赛则是另一回事了。
30
what with one thing and another
30. used to explain that you have had a lot of work, problems, or jobs that you had to do [英，口] 忙了这个又要忙那个，忙这忙那地 BrE spoken
I’ve been so busy these last few days, what with one thing and another.
我最近几天忙这忙那地忙个不停。
31
have a thing about sb/sth
31. to like or dislike someone or something very much, often without a good reason [非正式] 对某人/某事物非常喜欢或反感〔常指莫名其妙地〕 informal
She’s always had a thing about Peter.
她一直对彼得有种特别的感情。
32
one thing leads to another
32. used to explain how a series of events caused something to happen without giving any details 一来二去，自然而然，事情一件接着一件进行下去〔用于解释一连串事件如何影响某事的发生，但是没有说明细节〕
One thing lead to another and, before I knew it, I had invited her family to stay.
就这样一来二去的，我在不知不觉间已经邀请她的家人住下了。
33
the (latest) thing
33. something that is popular or fashionable at the moment 时下流行的东西 informal
When Amelia bought a new car it had to be the latest thing.
阿梅莉亚要是买新车，就一定得买最流行的车。
34
(do/try) the … thing
34. used to talk about an activity and everything that is involved with it [美，口] （做）…方面的事 AmE spoken
Jody tried the college thing but finally dropped out.
乔迪也上过大学，但最后没读完。
35
there is only one thing for it
35. used to say that there is only one action that you can take [英，口] 这只有一个办法 BrE spoken
There’s only one thing for it. We’ll have to call the police.
现在我们只有一个办法，就是报警。
36
one (damn/damned) thing after another
36. used to say that a lot of unpleasant or unlucky things keep happening to you 倒霉事一桩接一桩
37
taking one thing with another
37. considering all the facts [英] 综合考虑 BrE
38
do things to sb
38. to have a strong effect on someone 使某人十分激动; 震撼某人