昨天无意中看到了美国语文课外读物中的一句话很有感触，“He always sits there hour after hour, Staring at the crowd go by out of the window in a daze.”~“他总是在那里一坐就是半天儿，看着窗外来来往往的人群发呆。”

相信这句话大家伙都看明白了，这其中有个短语很有意思，"hour after hour" 从字面上看是一小时之后的一小时，其实就是我们中文里说的"一小时又一小时"，指的是一种持续不间断的状态，大家可不要翻译成"hour and hour"哟，否则就成了中式英语啦！

hour after hour

na. 一小时又一小时；连续几个小时; 持续地；连续地；不停地

【En】If you say that someone does something hour after hour, you are emphasizing that they do it continually for a long time. 如果你说某人一小时接着一小时地做某事，你是在强调他们持续地做这件事很长时间。For many hours without stopping. 一连好几个小时不停歇。

● He and my mom were arguing every night, hour after hour.

他和我妈每晚都在争吵个不停。

● It is just one dead end after the other, It is hour after hour after hour just trying to find the answer judge the question where I'm going to have my insurance is and what it is going to cost.

这就是一个接一个的死胡同，我只能不停地试图寻找答案来判断，自己的保险在哪里，它的成本代价有多大。

● After working hour after hour through the night to save part of their lives.

为了挽救一部分生命，他们夜以继日地工作。

【活学活用 give an example】

● I sat by her bedside for hour after hour.

我连续几个小时一直坐在她的床边。

● Hour after hour passed without rescue forthcoming.

时间一个小时一个小时地过去了，营救人员仍然没有到来。

● He'll sit there hour after hour looking at the traffic go by.

他常常坐在那里好几个钟头, 看着车辆来往。

● He held the pose hour after hour without appearance of fatigue.

他保持着这个姿势一站就是好几个小时，毫无倦意。

● They waited hour after hour but nothing happened.

他们一小时一小时地等待，可是什么事也没发生。

● Hour after hour I had to sit in the box and go on trial before Congress and the press.

接连几个小时，我得坐在证人席上，在国会议员和记者面前接受审问。

● The mental strain of staying alert hour after hour was too much for him.

持续保持警觉的精神压力对他来说太大了。

● Hour after hour, day after day, she started up with passionate cries on her father to save Jem.

一天又一天，一刻又一刻，她会惊醒过来，狂叫着他的父亲来救杰姆。

● They have ridden me like a nightmare, day and night, hour after hour, to this very moment.

它们日日夜夜，每时每刻都象恶梦一样缠着我，直到现在。

出处：见配图水印