美國習慣用語 第858:have one's finger on the pulse

最近我們給園藝社社長舉辦了一個慶功會！她在一次地區園藝大賽上獲得了傑出成就獎。其實這也不奇怪，她經常參加全國各地的園藝大會和比賽，而且一直緊跟園藝界最新走向。她對園藝的這種熱情執着，我們可以用一個詞來形容。那就是： have one's finger on the pulse.

大家都知道，finger是手指的意思，pulse脈搏，have one's finger on the pulse, 手指放在脈搏上，意思就是緊跟最新動態。

上面例子裏，when it comes to gardening, our club president seems to have her finger on the pulse.

我們園藝社社長對園藝的走向簡直是瞭如指掌。在美國，Super Bow超級盃一向都是全民關注的重點。而中場表演嘉賓也備受矚目。今年的表演者是Madonna麥當娜，讓我們來聽聽下面這位娛樂記者的介紹：

例句-1：Madonna has sold more than 300 million records worldwide. She's also recognized as the top-selling female rock artist of the 20th century. How did she become so immensely popular? She continuously reinvented her music and image based on what the public was looking for. Especially during the 1980s and 90s, Madonna always had her finger on the pulse.

這段話是說：麥當娜光碟的全球銷量已經超過3億張。她被公認是20世紀銷量最好的女性搖滾歌手。她是怎麼變得如此深受歡迎的呢? 原因是，她不斷根據市場需求，變換曲風和形象，特別是八、九十年代，麥當娜對潮流走勢一直了如指掌。

做明星確實得緊跟時尚潮流。不過愛美之心人皆有之，女孩子都喜歡去逛商店，或者看服裝展，瞭解最新潮流動向。I keep my finger on the pulse of fashion through window shopping or watching fashion shows.

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說起潮流，不光是時裝界，各行各業的人都得了解自己行業的潮流走向，才能成功。下面的例子中，一名公司職員就談到了如何更好地瞭解顧客羣，以服務顧客。讓我們來聽聽他是怎麼說的：

例句-2：It's clear to me why our company is falling behind our competitors. We need to understand our younger customers. They're much more familiar with communications, media and digital technologies. If we want to be successful, we have to show that we have our finger on the pulse of modern life.

這段話是說：目前很清楚，我們公司爲什麼會在與競爭對手的較量中落後。我們需要更好地瞭解年輕顧客羣。他們更熟悉通訊，媒體和電子技術。如果我們想成功，我們就得做到緊跟現代生活的變遷。

他說得確實很對。像前一段時間柯達公司破產，就是因爲如今很少有人需要衝洗相片了，讓他們失去了顧客羣。Companies need fresh ideas in order to keep their fingers on the pulse of the market. 公司不斷需要有新觀念，緊跟市場潮流。