英语词组

五个表示“消磨、虚度”时间的动词短语

嘉中

kill time 、while away 这两个动词短语多用于口语，表示“打发时间”、“消磨时间”。

指无事可做闲得慌时，或在等待中找点事做，以免无聊 （to do something to avoid getting

bored when having nothing to do or while waiting）。

kill time 普通用语，泛指做点事消磨时间。

例句：

We were early for our appointment, so we killed time at a bookstore.

我们赴约去早了，所以在一家书店消磨时间。

While he was confined to the house by a sprained ankle, he read novels in order to

kill time.

他因脚腕扭伤不能出门，就在家里看小说打发时间。

Nowadays many young people like to kill time by playing games with the mobile

phones on their subway trips.

现在很多年轻人喜欢在乘地铁途中玩手机游戏消磨时间。

We can kill time by doing horticulture ( gardening ) when we are older.

当我们老了以后，我们可以通过园艺来消磨时间。

while away 多指做一些轻松愉快事来打发时间（to spend time in a relaxed way because

you have nothing to do）。其后需接表示时间概念的名词作宾语。

例句：

We whiled away the afternoon playing cards in front of the fire.

我们下午坐在炉火边打牌来消磨时间。

Thats the bar where Sara and I used to while away the hours between lectures.

我和萨拉课间常在那家小吃店消磨时间。

Girls like to while away the time they are stuck in traffic by listening to their favorite

popular music.

女孩喜欢在堵车时收听她们喜欢的流行音乐打发时间。

I had ten hours to wait in Rome, so I whiled away the time wandering around the

museums.

我在罗马要等十个小时，只好逛逛博物馆来打发时间。

dawdle away、loiter away、idle away 这三个动词短语表示“浪费时间”（to spend

time idly）；或指“虚度光阴”、“混日子”（to waste ones time in idleness，to let a

period of time slip away）。需接表示时间概念的名词作宾语。这三个动词短语常可换用，

区别不大。

例句：

He dawdles the hours away watching television.

他把时间都荒废在看电视上了。

You didnt finish your work because you dawdled most of your time away.

你完不成工作是因为你把大部分时间都消磨掉了。

If you dont seriously study hard, your precious time will be dawdled away.

如果你不认真努力读书，

宝贵的光阴会被白白地浪费掉。

You dawdle away too much time daydreaming.

你在异想天开上白白浪费了太多时间。

Dont dawdle away your youth any more. It is time you thought about your future.

不要再虚度青春了, 该是你想想自己未来的时候了。

They loitered away their summer vacation.

他们把整个暑假白白泡掉了

Dont loiter away the afternoon, Jimmy

吉米，别把下午的时间闲混过去了。

The teacher told the students not to loiter their time away.

老师告诉学生不要虚度光阴。

She loitered the afternoon away and then went to a party.

一个下午她闲着啥事没干，然后就去参加聚会了。

Dont idle away your precious time.

不要虚度你宝贵的时光。

Residents were mowing their lawns, washing their cars and otherwise idling away a

pleasant, sunny day.

居民们有的在刈草，有的在洗车，还有的在悠闲地享受阳光灿烂的怡人时光。

He idled away all day and tried to entertain himself to ease up the stress and

unpleasantness.

他们整日无所事事，试图以娱乐的方式来减轻自己的压力和不愉快。

A great many teenagers often idle away their free time on the Internet.

有不少青少年经常把空余时间浪费在因特网上。