用a long shot表达“机会不大”

在英语里，如果我们说某事是“a long shot”，那么意思就是“实现此事的机会不大”。

• I‘m looking for a first edition of Alice in Wonderland for my mother‘s birthday. I know it‘s a long shot, but do you have one in stock?
• My favourite football team is in the cup final at the weekend. I think we could win, but it’s a long shot.
• We could ask the company to replace your broken smartphone for free. It‘s a long shot, but it‘s worth trying.

值得注意的是，还有一个与shot相关的短语“a shot in the dark”，其意思是“猜测”。

• A: How old do you think I am?
• B: I‘ll take a shot in the dark and say 40.