V's

against有“對照”之意。它的使用起源於賽馬、田徑運動等競賽。在這些比賽專案中，參賽者的輸贏必須依計時的結果來決定，所以分秒都是影響成敗的關鍵。因此當某人做事分秒必爭時，我們就說他像這些選手一樣，跟時間賽跑。

You are working against the clock when you are trying to finish your work within a limited amount of time.

e.g. "We worked against the clock all day to get that report done by five." 我們拼命趕在五點以前完成報告。

You often compare the time on the clock against how much work you have left to do when you are working against the clock.

e.g. "We have to finish this report by 8 o'clock tonight, so we're really working against the clock."時間緊迫，我們得在今晚八點以前完成報告。

The passing of time ("the clock") works against you when you are working against the clock.

e.g. "David, will you have time to help me with my proposal today?" Reply: "Sorry, I won't. I'll be working against the clock to finish my presentation. 大衛，你有空幫我弄計劃案嗎？對不起，我趕時間做我的簡報呢！

試試看自己是不是會用Against the clock這個成語了:

1. 他為什麼這樣拼命工作？　（請講成英文）
2. 'Time-keeping, flexibility and ability to work against the clock' will be some of the criteria by which reporters are judged.　（請講成中文）

Mini- Scenario : Company Description介紹公司 
What company do you work for? ／ Which company are you with? 　／ Who do you represent?

• I work for ABC Company.
• I'm with ABC.
• I represent (the) XYZ (company).

　　　What is the name of your company? ／Where are you located?

• The name of our company is . . . .
• Our company is located in . . . .
• Our headquarters is in . . .

What (type of business) do you do? ／ What business are you in?

• We are in the computer business.
• We're in computers
• We sell . . .
• We produce . . .
• We manufacture . . .
• Our major products are . . .

世界公民文化中心 http://www.core-corner.com/ 訂閱科技菁英必讀的Scenario 20 電子報