WORDS AND IDIOMS

最近我们给园艺社社长举办了一个庆功会！她在一次地区园艺大赛上获得了杰出成就奖。其实这也不奇怪，她经常参加全国各地的园艺大会和比赛，而且一直紧跟园艺界最新走向。她对园艺的这种热情执着，我们可以用一个词来形容。那就是： have one's finger on the pulse.

大家都知道，finger是手指的意思，pulse脉搏，have one's finger on the pulse, 手指放在脉搏上，意思就是紧跟最新动态。

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

我们园艺社社长对园艺的走向简直是了如指掌。在美国，Super Bow超级杯一向都是全民关注的重点。而中场表演嘉宾也备受瞩目。今年的表演者是Madonna麦当娜，让我们来听听下面这位娱乐记者的介绍：

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.

这段话是说：麦当娜光碟的全球销量已经超过3亿张。她被公认是20世纪销量最好的女性摇滚歌手。她是怎么变得如此深受欢迎的呢? 原因是，她不断根据市场需求，变换曲风和形象，特别是八、九十年代，麦当娜对潮流走势一直了如指掌。

做明星确实得紧跟时尚潮流。不过爱美之心人皆有之，女孩子都喜欢去逛商店，或者看服装展，了解最新潮流动向。I keep my finger on the pulse of fashion through window shopping or watching fashion shows.

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说起潮流，不光是时装界，各行各业的人都得了解自己行业的潮流走向，才能成功。下面的例子中，一名公司职员就谈到了如何更好地了解顾客群，以服务顾客。让我们来听听他是怎么说的：

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.

这段话是说：目前很清楚，我们公司为什么会在与竞争对手的较量中落后。我们需要更好地了解年轻顾客群。他们更熟悉通讯，媒体和电子技术。如果我们想成功，我们就得做到紧跟现代生活的变迁。

他说得确实很对。像前一段时间柯达公司破产，就是因为如今很少有人需要冲洗相片了，让他们失去了顾客群。Companies need fresh ideas in order to keep their fingers on the pulse of the market. 公司不断需要有新观念，紧跟市场潮流。