時(shí)差N小時(shí):不切實(shí)際

Castles are usually enormous structures requiringstrong foundations and the use of heavyconstruction materials such as stone.

一般來(lái)說(shuō)，城堡是巨大的建筑物，需要打下夯實(shí)的地基并且使用石頭等材料。

If the foundations are not strong enough, the castle could collapse.

如果地基打的不夠堅(jiān)實(shí)，城堡就會(huì)倒塌的。

The idea of building a castle in the air-with no foundation at all-is, of course, ridiculous.

在空中建城堡，不打地基，當(dāng)然可笑至極。

That is why this idiom is used to describe ideas that are not realistic, as if they are dreams orfantasies.

這就是為什么這個(gè)習(xí)語(yǔ)是用來(lái)描述那些不切實(shí)際的想法，就像夢(mèng)跟幻覺(jué)一樣。

So when someone describes a plan or course of action that we believe may be impossible toachieve, we tell him, "You're building castles in the air."

當(dāng)我們覺(jué)得某人描述的計(jì)劃或者行動(dòng)方案是不太可能完成的，我們會(huì)告訴他“你是在空中蓋城堡。”

A similar idiom is "building castles in the sand."

一則類(lèi)似的諺語(yǔ)是“沙堆上壘城堡”。

We know that, on a beach, sand castles are inevitably and easily destroyed by the tide.

我們都知道，在海灘上，沙堆城堡不可避免地很容易就會(huì)被海浪破壞掉。

They are not built to last a long time.

它們不會(huì)維持很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間。

So when we say someone is "building castles in the sand," we mean they are creatingsomething that won't endure very long.

所以說(shuō)當(dāng)我們對(duì)別人說(shuō)“沙堆上壘城堡”，我們的意思是他們建成的東西通常是堅(jiān)持不了多久的。