matter
noun OPAL W
/ˈmætə(r)/
/ˈmætər/
Idioms - the matter[singular] used (to ask) if somebody is upset, unhappy, etc. or if there is a problem
（用于询问某人的情况） - What's the matter? Is there something wrong?
怎么了？出了什么事儿吗？ - Is anything the matter?
有什么问题吗？ - matter with somebody/something Is something the matter with Bob? He seems very down.
鲍勃有什么事儿吧？他好像情绪很低落。 - There's something the matter with my eyes.
我的眼睛出了点毛病。 - ‘We've bought a new TV.’ ‘What was the matter with the old one?’
“我们买了台新电视。” “那台旧的怎么了？” - What's the matter with you today (= why are you behaving like this)?
你今天是怎么了？ - What on earth was the matter with her, she wondered. She’d come here to enjoy herself and here she was, stuck on her own in the hotel.
她想知道她到底是怎么了。她来这里是为了玩得开心，而她却独自被困在酒店里。
- What's the matter? Is there something wrong?
- [countable] a subject or situation that you must consider or deal with
课题；事情；问题 - It's a private matter.
这是件私事儿。 - They had important matters to discuss.
他们有些重要的问题要讨论。 - She may need your help with some business matters.
她也许需要你帮助处理一些生意方面的事情。 - financial/legal/political matters
财务/法律/政治事务 - They've agreed in theory, but now we need to discuss practical matters.
他们在理论上是同意了，但现在我们需要讨论实际问题。 - The matter should be referred to a senior manager.
这件事应该提交给高级经理。 - Do I have any choice in the matter?
在这件事情上我有选择吗？ - I always consulted him on matters of policy.
我总是向他咨询一些政策问题。 - matter for somebody It's a matter for the police (= for them to deal with).
这事须由警方处理。 - matter of something (formal) It was a matter of some concern to most of those present (= something they were worried about).
这是当时在场的多数人关心的问题。 - It should have been a simple matter to check.
检查核对本来应该是件简单的事情。 - It was no easy matter getting him to change his mind.
让他改变主意可不是件容易的事儿。 - Let's get on with the matter in hand (= what we need to deal with now).
我们继续解决手头的问题吧。 - I wasn't prepared to let the matter drop (= stop discussing it).
我没打算把这件事搁下不提。 - We have sent these concerns to Professor Tribe, and now consider the matter closed (= it is finished).
我们已经将这些问题发送给了部落教授，现在认为此事已经结束。 - I did not feel that we had got to the heart of the matter (= the most important part).
我认为我们还没有触及问题的关键。 - And that is the crux of the matter (= the most important thing about the situation).
这就是问题的症结所在。 - (ironic) And then there's the little matter of the fifty pounds you owe me.
还有件小事儿，你欠我五十英镑呢。
- The involvement of the king in legal matters was threatened by the civil war.
国王卷入法律事务受到内战的威胁。 - Dr Bell holds traditional views on a variety of matters.
贝尔博士对各种问题持有传统观点。 - That's a matter for you to take up with your boss.
这个问题你得去和你的老板进行交涉。 - He left, saying he had pressing matters to attend to.
他走了，说有些紧急的事情要去处理。 - His lawyer advised him to drop the matter.
他的律师建议他别再追究这件事。 - I don't have much experience in these matters.
在这些事情上我没有多少经验。 - I don't really want to go into this matter now.
我现在真不想谈这个问题。 - It is then a simple matter to print off the data you have collected.
然后只要把你收集的数据打印出来就行了。 - It's a relief to have the matter settled.
这个问题得到解决，让人舒了一口气。 - She was a great source of knowledge on matters relating to nutrition.
有关营养的问题上，从她那里可以获得丰富的知识。 - The matter will be raised at our next meeting.
这个问题将在我们下次的会议上提出。 - The question of his innocence is a weighty matter for this court.
他是否清白是本庭所要解决的关键问题。 - The rest of the meeting was taken up by routine matters.
会议剩下的内容就全是一些例行程序了。 - They talk mostly about work and related matters.
他们谈的主要是工作和与之相关的问题。 - I wasn't sure how to approach the delicate matter of pay.
我不确定该怎样解决工资这个微妙的问题。
Collocations Dictionaryadjective- important
- pressing
- serious
- …
- bring up
- broach
- raise
- …
- be related to
- pertain to
- relate to
- …
- in a/the matter
- on a/the matter
- matter for
- …
- the crux of the matter
- the heart of the matter
- let the matter drop
- …
- It's a private matter.
- matters[plural] the present situation, or the situation that you are talking about
事态；当前的状况 - Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to improve matters.
很遗憾，我们无力改善目前的状况。 - I'd forgotten the keys, which didn't help matters.
我忘记带钥匙了，这让我情况更糟。 - And then, to make matters worse, his parents turned up.
接着，更糟糕的是，他的父母亲来了。 - I decided to take matters into my own hands (= deal with the situation myself).
我决定亲自处理问题。 - Matters came to a head (= the situation became very difficult) with his resignation.
随着他的辞职，局面恶化得难以收拾。
- Matters were made worse by a fire in the warehouse.
仓库失火使得事态更为严重。 - Let me simplify matters by giving you my answer now.
我来使事情简单一点儿，现在就答复你吧。 - She always arranges matters to suit herself.
她总是以自己的方便来安排事情。
Collocations Dictionaryverb + matters- complicate
- confuse
- make worse
- …
- Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to improve matters.
- [singular] a situation that involves something or depends on something
关乎…的事情 - matter of something Learning to drive is all a matter of coordination.
学开车主要是靠协调。 - Some people prefer the older version to the new one. It's a matter of taste.
有些人喜欢老版本而不喜欢新版本。这只是个趣味问题。 - She resigned over a matter of principle.
她因为原则问题而辞职。 - The government must deal with this as a matter of urgency.
政府必须将此事当作紧急的事情来处理。 - Just as a matter of interest (= because it is interesting, not because it is important), how much did you pay for it?
我只是感兴趣，你这是花多少钱买的？ - ‘I think this is the best so far.’ ‘Well, that's a matter of opinion (= other people may think differently).
“我认为这是迄今为止最好的。” “唔，仁者见仁，智者见智嘛。” - It's not pure fantasy ! It's a plain matter of fact.
这不是纯粹的幻想！这是显而易见的事实。 - Getting the effect you want is a matter of trial and error.
要得到想要的效果需要反复试验。 - matter of doing something That's not a problem. It's simply a matter of letting people know in time.
这没问题，不就是及时通知大家吗。 - Planning a project is just a matter of working out the right order to do things in.
规划一个项目就是要设计出正确的工作顺序。
- matter of something Learning to drive is all a matter of coordination.
- [uncountable] (physics
物理 （统称）物质 - to study the properties of matter
研究物质的属性 - This swirling mass of energy and matter is classed as a spiral galaxy.
这种旋转的能量和物质被归类为螺旋星系。
Collocations Dictionaryadjective- solid
- organic
- vegetable
- …
- to study the properties of matter
- [uncountable] (formal) a substance or things of a particular sort
（某种）东西，物品，材料 - Add plenty of organic matter to improve the soil.
施用大量的有机肥料以改良土壤。 - elimination of waste matter from the body
体内废物的排除 - She didn't approve of their choice of reading matter.
她不赞同他们选用的阅读材料。 - There were small lumps of matter floating on the surface.
表面漂浮着小块物质。
Collocations Dictionaryadjective- solid
- organic
- vegetable
- …
- Add plenty of organic matter to improve the soil.
problem问题
subject/situation课题；情况
a matter of (doing) something
substance物质
词源Middle English: via Old French from Latin materia ‘timber, substance’, also ‘subject of discourse’, from mater ‘mother’.
Idioms
as a matter of fact
- used to add a comment on something that you have just said, usually adding something that you think the other person will be interested in
事实上；其实；说真的 - It's a nice place. We've stayed there ourselves, as a matter of fact.
那个地方不错。事实上，我们在那儿待过。
- It's a nice place. We've stayed there ourselves, as a matter of fact.
- used to disagree with something that somebody has just said
（表示不同意）事实上，其实 - ‘I suppose you'll be leaving soon, then?’ ‘No, as a matter of fact I'll be staying for another two years.’
“我想你快要离开了吧？” “不。事实上，我还要再待两年呢。”
see also matter-of-fact - ‘I suppose you'll be leaving soon, then?’ ‘No, as a matter of fact I'll be staying for another two years.’
be another/a different matter
- to be very different
另外一回事；又是一回事；另当别论 - I know which area they live in, but whether I can find their house is a different matter.
我知道他们住在哪一地区，但能不能找到他们的房子则是另外一回事了。 - That's a whole different matter.
那完全是另一回事儿。 - I don't mind lizards, but snakes are a different matter.
我不怕蜥蜴，但蛇就不同了。
- I know which area they live in, but whether I can find their house is a different matter.
be no laughing matter
- to be something serious that you should not joke about
不是开玩笑的事；严肃的事
the fact (of the matter) is (that)…
- used to emphasize a statement, especially one that is the opposite of what has just been mentioned
（用以强调，尤其与刚提到的相反）事实上是，实际情况是 - A new car would be wonderful but the fact of the matter is that we can't afford one.
有新车好是好，不过实际情况是我们买不起。
- A new car would be wonderful but the fact of the matter is that we can't afford one.
for that matter
- used to add a comment on something that you have just said
就此而论；在这方面 - I didn't like it much. Nor did the kids, for that matter.
我不怎么喜欢它。孩子们也同样不喜欢。
- I didn't like it much. Nor did the kids, for that matter.
it’s just/only a matter of time (before…)
- used to say that something will definitely happen, although you are not sure when
早晚的事；只是时间问题 - It's only a matter of time before they bring out their own version of the software.
他们推出自己的软件只是个时间问题。
- It's only a matter of time before they bring out their own version of the software.
(as) a matter of course
- (as) the usual and correct thing to do
（作为）理所当然的事；（当作）常规 - We always check people's addresses as a matter of course.
我们总是照例检查一下人们的地址。
- We always check people's addresses as a matter of course.
a matter of hours, minutes, etc. | a matter of inches, metres, etc.
- only a few hours, minutes, etc.
只有几个小时、几分钟（或几英寸、几米等）之多；不多于… - It was all over in a matter of minutes.
几分钟就全部结束了。 - The bullet missed her by a matter of inches.
子弹几乎擦着她的身体飞过。
- It was all over in a matter of minutes.
a matter of life and/or death
- used to describe a situation that is very important or serious
生死攸关的事；成败的关键 - You mustn't let anyone know— it's a matter of life and death.
你千万别告诉任何人－这可是件生死攸关的事。 - These talks are a matter of life or death for the factory.
这些谈话对工厂来说是生死攸关的事情。
- You mustn't let anyone know— it's a matter of life and death.
a matter of record
- (formal) something that has been recorded as being true
有案可查的事
no matter
- used to say that something is not important
没关系；不要紧；不重要 - If that doesn't work out, no matter, I'll rent for another year or two.
如果不行，没关系，我再租一两年。
- If that doesn't work out, no matter, I'll rent for another year or two.
no matter who, what, where, etc.
- used to say that something is always true, whatever the situation is, or that somebody should certainly do something
不论…；无论…；不管… - They don't last long no matter how careful you are.
不管你如何小心，这些东西都维持不了很久。 - Call me when you get there, no matter what the time is.
无论什么时间，你到了那儿就给我打电话。
- They don't last long no matter how careful you are.