If the Worst Comes to the Worst——在最壞的情況下

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    ** if things get really bad; if the most unfavorable or injurious outcome occurs
    ~~ 在最壞的情況下；如果出現最糟糕的情況；如果最壞的事情發生；如果發生最壞的事情；在萬不得已的時候；如果情況壞到極點；到了最壞的時候；萬一出現最壞的事情
    ~~ in the worst-case scenario; in the worst possible case; if the worst happens!!  The phrase appeared in print in several works from the late 16th century, e.g. in Christopher Marlowe's play The Jew of Malta (c. 1590): "Fear not, man; if the worst come to the worst, I know the law." The phrase appeared in Robinson Crusoe in 1719 as: "If the worse comes to the worst." The difference: "worst comes to the worst" - doubling for emphasis, more idiomatic in older British English; "worse comes to worst" - according to comparative adjectives bad, worse, worst, and is the most common form in American English.
    這個短語出現在十六世紀晚期的幾部作品中，例如克里斯托弗·馬洛的戲劇《馬耳他的猶太人》(約一五九○年)：“別害怕，夥計；if the worst come to the worst，我知道該怎麼做。”這個短語在一七一九年的《魯濱遜記 》中變為“If the worse comes to the worst.” 區別在於：“worst comes to the worst”—為了強調而重複，在古老的英式英語中更為地道；“worse comes to worst”—根據比較級形容詞bad、worse、worst，這是美式英語中最常見的形式。
    >>  As Typhoon Gaemi neared, Macau activated emergency protocols so if the worst came to the worst, its floodgates would be prepared for a storm surge like 2017 Typhoon Hato's.
    隨着颱風“格美”逼近，澳門啟動緊急程序，以便在最壞的情況下，防水閘能夠為類似二○一七年颱風“天鴿”那樣的風暴潮做好準備。
    >> Many central banks are increasing their gold reserves, so if the worst comes to the worst in the global financial system, they have a tangible asset to fall back on.
    許多央行正增加黃金儲備，因此，如果全球金融體系出現最糟糕情況，他們就有實體資產可以依靠。

    學勤教育中心英語專科導師   李啟文   教 授