今日小常识

　　Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent begins in the Christian church. In England, it is also known as ‘Pancake Day’ because traditionally pancakes are eaten on this day. This is because pancakes are made from ingredients that need to be used up (sugar, butter, eggs and flour) before the 40-day fast begins.

　　忏悔星期二是基督教的大斋期开始的前一天。在英国人们也称这一天为煎饼节，因为这一天的传统食品是煎薄饼。而煎薄饼的原材料比如白糖，黄油，鸡蛋和面粉在为期40天的大斋期开始前都必须吃掉。

　　动词 toss 的意思是扔，掷。如果某个形势被形容为 a toss-up, 那么就意味着两种不同结果发生的几率是一样的。

　　例句

　　It's a toss-up between pancakes and risotto tonight. I'm not sure what to cook yet.

　　We haven't recruited a presenter yet, but it's a toss-up between Sarah and Julie.

　　My boyfriend doesn't know what he wants for his birthday yet. It's a toss-up between a new mobile phone and an e-reader.

　　请注意

　　The expression 'toss up' comes from the habit of tossing a coin in the air and guessing whether it will fall on 'heads' or 'tails' when we want to decide between alternatives. For example:

　　短语 toss up 的由来是以前人们把硬币抛向空中，然后猜一猜是正面 heads 还是背面 tails 朝上。人们往往用这种方式来决定作出哪种选择来解决问题。比如:

　　My friend wanted to go to the cinema but I really wanted to go ice-skating instead. We tossed a coin to decide: I chose 'heads' and won!

　　Neither of them wanted to do the washing up, so they tossed a coin. They decided if it landed on 'heads' she would have to do it, and if it landed on 'tails' he would.

编辑：张雨

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