“bump along”是一个常用的英语短语,核心含义与“颠簸行进”或“艰难进展”相关,可分为字面义和引申义两种用法:
指物体或人在不平整的表面(如土路、碎石路、波浪等)上缓慢且摇晃地移动,强调“颠簸、摇晃”的动作。
主语:通常是移动的物体/人(如汽车、卡车、船、行人等);
搭配:常接表示“路径/表面”的名词(如road, path, trail, waves等),或用“through/over + 地点”说明行进的环境。
比喻事物在发展过程中遇到阻碍、延迟,只能“磕磕绊绊”地推进,强调“过程艰难”。
主语:通常是抽象事物(如项目、生意、关系、生活等);
搭配:常接表示“问题/困难”的名词(如problems, delays, setbacks等),或用“with + 困难”说明阻碍因素。
The jeep bumped along the dirt road, kicking up clouds of dust.(吉普车在土路上颠簸行驶,扬起阵阵灰尘。)
We bumped along the rocky trail for an hour before reaching the campsite.(我们在岩石小径上颠簸了一个小时才到达营地。)
The small boat bumped along the rough waves, making everyone feel seasick.(小船在汹涌的波浪中颠簸,让所有人都晕船了。)
Our new product launch has been bumping along with supply chain issues.(我们的新产品发布因供应链问题一直进展缓慢。)
After losing his job, his life bumped along for months until he found a new position.(失业后,他的生活磕磕绊绊过了几个月,直到找到新工作。)
The project is still bumping along—we’ve had three delays already.(这个项目仍在艰难推进——我们已经延迟了三次。)
区分与其他“bump”短语的差异:
bump into:偶遇(I bumped into an old friend at the café.);
bump up:提高、增加(The company bumped up our salaries by 5%.);
bump off:谋杀(非正式,He was bumped off by the gang.)。
“bump along”侧重“持续的颠簸/艰难”,而非一次性的碰撞。
总之,“bump along”无论是描述物理上的颠簸移动,还是抽象的艰难进展,都突出“不顺畅、缓慢推进”的状态。理解时结合上下文(是“移动场景”还是“抽象事物”)即可准确判断含义。