There are many expressions about American railroads. So today， lets talk about American railroads. Train and railway expressions worked their way into American English over a century ago. Many of those expressions are still being used today.

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. Railroads changed the look of the United States. They cut through mountains， crossed through wide open lands and joined together in cities. The railroads made goods transporting 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 into 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 tracks1， 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 track2 means to move away from ones 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 track3. Lets say you finished law school very quickly because you took double the course load. You then could say you fast-tracked4 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 track5.

To stay on track6 means to pay attention to your goal or purpose. But getting sidetracked7 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 rail8 provides power to a subway train， usually operating underground; electricity passes through the rail. The third rail also is an issue which can cause 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 derailed9 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 rails10， it is always a bad thing. To go off the rails means a persons project or life is a wreck， or a train wreck11.

When a train reaches its final stop， we say it has reached the end of the line12. 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. “Its the end of the line for your buddy boy.”

And we have reached the end of the line for the stories of American railroads. Now， its your turn to guess the meanings of the expressions about American railroads！

英語(yǔ)中有很多表達(dá)與美國(guó)鐵路相關(guān)。今天我們就從美國(guó)鐵路說(shuō)起吧。一個(gè)多世紀(jì)前，列車和鐵路短語(yǔ)進(jìn)入了美式英語(yǔ)，其中許多表達(dá)方式沿用至今。

鐵路對(duì)于美國(guó)的發(fā)展非常重要。美國(guó)最初的鐵路修建在東部各州。隨后，列車連接了美國(guó)東、西海岸。鐵路改變了美國(guó)的面貌。它們?cè)竭^(guò)群山，穿過(guò)開(kāi)闊的大地，把城市連接在一起。鐵路使得貨物運(yùn)輸更為容易，也給了很多美國(guó)人在全國(guó)各地遷徙的機(jī)會(huì)。

有時(shí)候鐵軌會(huì)把一個(gè)城鎮(zhèn)一分為二。鐵軌的一邊發(fā)展得很好，而另一邊發(fā)展得“沒(méi)那么好”。如果你說(shuō)一個(gè)人是“來(lái)自鐵軌錯(cuò)誤的一邊”，意思就是說(shuō)他來(lái)自于城鎮(zhèn)的貧困地區(qū)。

對(duì)鐵軌上運(yùn)行的列車來(lái)說(shuō)，鐵軌兩邊沒(méi)有好壞之分。鐵軌就是列車運(yùn)行其上的金屬結(jié)構(gòu)。“偏離軌道”的意思是脫離了某人的預(yù)期目標(biāo)。

例如，如果你是想成為律師但卻做了演員，你就可以說(shuō)，你的職業(yè)生涯偏離了正軌。但如果你去讀法學(xué)院并完成學(xué)業(yè)，你的職業(yè)生涯就重回正軌。假如你很快讀完法學(xué)院，因?yàn)槟愠袚?dān)了雙倍的課業(yè)負(fù)擔(dān)，你就可以你快速實(shí)現(xiàn)了你的律師之路。在商業(yè)界，人們經(jīng)常會(huì)說(shuō)某個(gè)項(xiàng)目已經(jīng)快速跟進(jìn)或者步入了快車道。

“停留在軌道上”意思是要關(guān)注你的目標(biāo)或目的。但是“轉(zhuǎn)入支線”正好相反。被轉(zhuǎn)入支線的列車會(huì)被送到一個(gè)不同的車站或進(jìn)入一條不同的線路。

說(shuō)起鐵軌，軌道是單節(jié)的鋼材，它是大型鐵路的一部分。觸摸一些軌道會(huì)很危險(xiǎn)。在一些城市，第三道鐵軌給通常在地下運(yùn)行的地鐵列車提供能源，電力會(huì)通過(guò)這道鐵軌傳輸。第三道鐵軌還指的是會(huì)引發(fā)激烈爭(zhēng)論的某個(gè)問(wèn)題。在聚會(huì)上，宗教或政治問(wèn)題可能就是雷區(qū)話題。討論這些話題會(huì)毀掉你的社交生活。

許多美國(guó)人在偏離目標(biāo)或出錯(cuò)時(shí)會(huì)說(shuō)事情偏離軌道。例如，他們可能會(huì)這么說(shuō)，“我的旅行計(jì)劃由于天氣惡劣未能實(shí)現(xiàn)。”

事情偏離軌道通常是壞消息。而當(dāng)某些事情脫離正軌，這始終是件壞事情。越軌意思是某人的項(xiàng)目或人生就像是火車出軌一樣的災(zāi)難。

當(dāng)列車到達(dá)其最后一站，我們稱其到達(dá)了終點(diǎn)。到達(dá)終點(diǎn)是說(shuō)到了某件事的最后結(jié)局。通常在老電影中，壞蛋在殺死某人前常會(huì)說(shuō)：“老兄，你完蛋了?！?/p>

而本期關(guān)于美國(guó)鐵路的故事也結(jié)束了。下面，你來(lái)猜一猜文中與美國(guó)鐵路有關(guān)的表達(dá)方式的意思吧！

1. be from the wrong side of the tracks 來(lái)自城鎮(zhèn)的貧困地區(qū);住在（城鎮(zhèn)等中的）社會(huì)地位低的人住的地區(qū)

2. to go off track 事情偏離軌道

3. be back on track 回到正軌;改過(guò)自新;重歸于好

4. fast-track 快速實(shí)現(xiàn);快速跟進(jìn);提前;提拔

5. be on a fast track 步入快車道;飛速發(fā)展的;平步青云;飛黃騰達(dá)

6. to stay on track 堅(jiān)持;保持;關(guān)注你的目標(biāo)或目的

7. be/ get sidetracked 轉(zhuǎn)向的;轉(zhuǎn)變?cè)掝}的

8. a/ the third rail 第三道鐵軌;供電軌，也指會(huì)引發(fā)激烈爭(zhēng)論的某個(gè)問(wèn)題;雷區(qū)

9. get/be derailed 列車出軌;事情偏離軌道;脫離正常進(jìn)程;受阻

10. go off the rails 行為越軌;行為古怪;出差錯(cuò)

11. a train wreck 火車出軌;火車失事

12. the end of the line 終點(diǎn);盡頭;極限