摘要：Action must be taken before a certain point in time. When, for example? You get a job offer. You need to respond.

Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer from English with Jennifer. Do you ever wish you had more time in the day? I do.

大家好。我是詹尼弗。你有没有想过一天能有更多时间？我想过。

So many things seem to be of great importance, but I need to remind myself to prioritize.

很多事情看起来都很重要，但我需要提醒自己分清轻重缓急。

Some things are more important than others. I also need to be aware of deadlines. With certain matters, time is of the essence.

有些事情比其他事情更重要。我还需要注意截止日期。对于某些事情来说，时间至关重要。

Those matters demand my immediate attention, so I can't put them off till later.

这些事情需要我立即处理，所以我不能拖延。

"Time is of the essence." This is something you'll hear when someone wants to remind you that timing is key.

当有人想提醒你时间至关重要时，你总会听到"Time is of the essence"。

Action must be taken before a certain point in time. When, for example? You get a job offer. You need to respond.

必须在某个时间点之前采取行动。比如什么时候？当你收到一份工作邀请时，你需要做出回应。

If you need time to think about it, you should at least acknowledge the offer, express your thanks, and then request a day or two to come to a decision.

如果你需要时间考虑，你至少应该确认一下邀请，表达感谢，然后要求一两天时间来做决定。

But time is of the essence. You can't take a week or two or a whole month. They'll choose another candidate.

但时间至关重要。你不能花一两周甚至一个月的时间。他们会选择其他候选人。

Or at a hospital. If immediate surgery is needed, time is of the essence.

或者在医院。如果需要立即手术，时间至关重要。

The hospital needs to get the patient's consent (their agreement) or consent from the patient's family. Then the surgery can move forward.

医院需要获得患者或患者家属的同意，然后手术才能进行。

Waiting is not an option. Time is of the essence. "Of the essence" and "of importance" are two examples of prepositional phrases with "of" that can follow the linking verb "be." These phrases function very much like adjectives although they use nouns. If something seems to be of great importance, it's very important.

等待不是一种选择。时间至关重要。“Of the essence”和“of importance”是两个以“of”开头的介词短语例子，它们可以跟在系动词“be”后面。这些短语虽然使用名词，但功能非常类似于形容词。如果something seems to be of great importance，那么它就非常重要。

"Time is of the essence" means time is essential. Time is important.

"Time is of the essence"的意思是时间至关重要。时间很重要。

Such structures aren't used that much in informal English, but you will hear them in spoken English.

这类结构在非正式英语中并不常用，但在口语中你会听到它们。

You also see them when you read. Let's look at different ways we use "be of (something)." Certain nouns are preferred in this structure. Let's make common phrases part of your vocabulary.

你在阅读时也会看到它们。让我们看看“be of (something)”的不同用法。某些名词在这种结构中更为常用。让我们将这些常见短语纳入你的词汇库。

We've already looked at the saying "time is of the essence," which means time is important.

我们已经学习过“time is of the essence”，意思是时间很重要。

And time is of the essence. Either way, time is of the essence. Different priorities can be used as the subject before the linking verb "be." Clarity is of the essence, meaning it's important to be clear. Accuracy is of the essence, which means it's important to be accurate.

不同的优先事项可以用作系动词"be"之前的主语。Clarity is of the essential，意思是清晰很重要。 Accuracy is of the essential，意思是准确很重要。

Discretion is of the essence, which means it's important to be discreet.

Discretion is of the essential，意思是谨慎很重要。

When you're discreet, you're very careful not to attract a lot of attention that would embarrass someone.

谨慎意味着你会非常小心，不会引起太多的注意，以免让别人尴尬。

Look how I use the noun "importance" in this structure. Discretion is of importance. Discretion is of great importance.

看看我在这个结构中是如何运用名词“importance”的。Discretion is of important。Discretion is of great importance。

Discretion is of the utmost importance. I can use adjectives to increase the degree of importance.

Discretion is of the utmost important。我可以使用形容词来增加重要程度。

"Utmost" makes the phrase sound even more formal. "Of the utmost importance." In general, it's more conversational to use the adjective "important," but in more formal situations, you can use this "be of" structure.

“Utmost”使这个短语听起来更正式：“Of the utmost importance”。一般来说，使用形容词“important”更符合口语习惯，但在更正式的场合，可以使用“be of”结构。

It goes without saying that discretion is of the utmost importance. This is of great scientific importance, Captain.

毋庸置疑，谨慎至关重要。船长，这具有重大的科学意义。

Here are other nouns related to importance or usefulness. The examples are generally formal in nature.

以下是其他与importance或usefulness相关的名词。这些例子通常比较正式。

Of great significance. The prime minister's presence here today is of great significance.

“of great significance”。首相今天出席会议意义重大。

Of relevance. Environmental policies are of relevance now more than ever.

“of relevance”。环境政策现在比以往任何时候都更加重要。

Of great value. Your work is of great value to the company.

“of great value”。你的工作对公司来说非常重要。

Of consequence. Their refusal is only of consequence if others choose to follow their example.

“of consequence”。他们的拒绝只有在他人选择效仿时才有影响。

Of use. Those resources will be of use to the community.

“of use”。这些资源将对社区有用。

Of interest or of great interest. The survey results may be of interest to our marketing team. Also, I write songs. Might be of interest to you.

“of interest”或“of great interest”。调查结果可能会引起我们营销团队的兴趣。另外，我还会写歌，说不定你会感兴趣。

Negative forms can suggest a lack of importance or lack of usefulness.

否定形式可以表示不重要或不实用。

Their feelings are of little consequence to him, meaning they're not important to him.

Their feelings are of little consequence to him，也就是说，这些感受对他来说并不重要。

The report is outdated and is of no use to us, meaning it's not useful in any way. It's really of no interest to anybody.

The report is outdated and is of no use to us，也就是说，这份报告根本毫无用处。真的没有人会对它感兴趣。

Let's pause for a moment and consider some of your examples. Can you answer my questions? Put your answers in the comments.

暂停一下，思考一下你举的一些例子。你能回答我的问题吗？请在评论区写下你的答案。

One. Whose artistic works are of great value? Two. Which pieces of technology are no longer of any use to us in this century?

一、谁的艺术作品价值连城？二、在本世纪，哪些科技对我们不再有用？

Three. What would you say is of the utmost importance in language instruction?

三、你认为语言教学中最重要的是什么？

Four. Can you name a subject that fascinates many, but is of no interest to you personally?

四、你能举出一个让很多人着迷，但你个人却不感兴趣的主题吗？

You heard examples with the noun "use," as in "of use to the community" or "of no use to anyone." Something can be useful to one person, but not to another. Similarly, help can be accepted or refused.

你听到过一些带有名词“use”的例子，例如"of use to the community"或"of no use to anyone"。某些东西可能对一个人有用，但对另一个人却没用。同样，帮助也可以被接受或拒绝。

Consider these ways a person in a position of service can offer help to another. If I can be of any help, let me know.

思考服务岗位上的人能提供帮助的几种方式。如果我能帮上忙，请告诉我。

If we can be of any assistance, please call again. If I can be of any help, please don't hesitate to ask. Just happy to be of service.

如果我们能帮上忙，请再致电。如果我能帮忙，请尽管说。我很乐意为您效劳。

There are a couple more nouns in this "be of" structure that are a bit more common in conversation.

这个“be of”结构中还有一些在对话中更常见的名词。

The first: of the opinion. You know, of course, that you can say "in my opinion" or "I think" or "I believe that." Well, here's another alternative: I'm of the opinion that.

第一个是of the opinion。当然，你可以说"in my opinion"或"I think"或"I believe that"。还有另一种说法：I'm of the opinion that。

For example, I'm of the opinion that you don't have to live in an English-speaking country in order to gain proficiency in English.

例如，我认为你不必生活在英语国家才能精通英语。

Thanks to the internet, there are many resources available. I'm of the same opinion.

多亏了互联网，现在有很多资源可用。我同意。

You can use "be of the opinion" in formal and informal conversations.

你可以在正式和非正式对话中使用"be of the opinion"。

Of course, there are always ways to sound more informal. Instead of saying, "I'm of the same opinion," you can say, "I'm with you." There's a formal expression of agreement: we're of the same mind.

当然，总有办法让表达听起来更随意。与其说“I'm of the same opinion”，不如说“I'm with you”。有一种正式的表达方式表示同意：we're of the same mind。

But more casually, you can say, "We agree." Another phrase is "be of a certain descent." For example, be of Asian descent. In the U.S., many of us are a mix of nationalities.

但更随意的说法是“We agree”。另一个短语是“be of a certain descent”。例如，be of Asian descent。在美国，我们中的许多人都是多国籍人士。

Our parents, grandparents, and other ancestors came from different countries.

我们的父母、祖父母和其他祖先来自不同的国家。

To explain our family origins, we can talk about being of a certain descent.

为了解释我们的家庭出身，我们可以谈谈某种血统。

For example, I'm American, but I'm of Asian descent, thanks to my father. More specifically, I'm of Filipino descent.

例如，我是美国人，但由于我父亲，我有亚洲血统。更具体地说，我有菲律宾血统。

And on my mother's side, I'm of Eastern European descent. My great-grandparents came from Poland, Serbia, and Hungary.

我母亲那边是东欧血统。我的曾祖父母来自波兰、塞尔维亚和匈牙利。

Here's another practice task you can share in the comments. Choose a celebrity and tell me about their family origins.

这里有另一个练习任务，你可以在评论区分享。选择一位名人，告诉我他们的家庭出身。

For example, Lady Gaga is of Italian descent. Right? I think so, at least partly. Then tell me your opinion of that celebrity.

例如，Lady Gaga有意大利血统。对吗？我认为至少有一部分是意大利血统。那么，请告诉我你对这位名人的看法。

I'm of the opinion that Lady Gaga is very talented, and she should sing more jazz ballads because she has a very soulful voice.

我认为Lady Gaga很有才华，她应该多唱爵士民谣，因为她的声音非常深情。

来源：英语东