Helen: 大家好，歡迎收聽地道英語。我是 Helen。

　　Rob: And I'm Rob. Helen, you look like you've been rushing. Here, have some water。

　　Helen: Oh thanks. I'm a bit out of breath. 我好久沒鍛煉了，有點(diǎn)喘不上氣了。抱歉，我在銀行辦事兒遲了。

　　Rob: You got here just in the nick of time then。

　　Helen: Just in the nick of time? Shouldn't it be just in time?

　　Rob: Well, you can say both。

　　Helen: 你剛才說的 'in the nick of time' 這個短語經(jīng)常能聽到嗎？

　　Rob: Yeah, I think so. It means at the very last moment. Let's hear how this phrase is used。

　　Example

　　Woman 1: Alice gave birth to a baby girl last night。

　　Woman 2: I thought she wasn't due for another three weeks。

　　Woman 1: It was early and they got to the hospital just in the nick of time。

　　Man: Sarah and I were on our way to see Beyonce in concert. But sheleft her mobile in the office, so we had to go back and get it。

　　Woman: Did you miss the show?

　　Man: Thankfully not, we got there just in the nick of time。

　　Helen: 我們剛才聽到一位孕婦正好在孩子出生前一刻趕到醫(yī)院，而另一對戀人差點(diǎn)沒趕上 Beyonce 的演唱會。

　　The couple were in the nick of time for the Beyonce concert。

　　Rob: That would've been awful. You hear this phrase often used tosuggest a disaster had been averted. If the action happened any later,then something awful could happen。

　　Helen: I see. 這個短語的意思是剛好，恰好，最后一刻趕到了。那么這是在英式英語嗎？

　　Rob: I don't think the phrase 'in the nick of time' is specificallyBritish. It originated from the UK, but English speakers from all overthe world use it now。

　　Helen: 讓我們聽聽例子吧。

　　Example

　　Man: We arrived just in the nick of the time. Another five minutes, our plane would have left without us。

　　Woman: Sam was experimenting with stir frying last night and thewok caught fire. Luke rushed in with the fire blanket just in the nickof time。

　　Helen: That was close. 熱鍋燒菜起火了，還好 Luke 機(jī)靈沒澆水滅火。就差那么一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)，不然就闖大禍了。

　　Rob: That would have been a catastrophe. So Helen, are you the kind of person who likes to do things at the very last minute?

　　Helen: Well, I'd like to think of myself as a person who can do things in the nick of time. Thanks for listening. Bye。

　　Rob: Bye。