若是遇到什么復雜情況，長輩們常常囑咐我們要“見機行事”，“抓住了機會”就好辦事，要是錯過了機會，就只有慨嘆“痛失良機”了。今天我們就來學學這三個詞的表達。

1. 抓住機會 jump at the chance

Jump at the chance 的意思就是“(迅速地)抓住機會”，跳起來抓，是夠迅速的，比如：When the lead singer became ill, Sheila jumped at the chance to replace her.

這個片語還有個很形象的變體，就是jump at the bait，看見有好處就跳上去了，比如：They offered a large reward, hoping that someone would jump at the bait.

另外，jump at 也可以表示“抓住……”，通常是有好處的事情，例如：When Dad said he'd help pay for my vacation, I jumped at the offer.

2. 見機行事 play something by ear

Play something by ear 的意思就是“見機行事”。這個片語來自于演奏音樂，說的是演奏家們不看樂譜，只憑自己的耳朵來演奏，后來引申為“to deal with a situation as it develops and without a plan 隨機應變，見機行事”，例如：I'm not sure if I can go bowling or not, I'll just have to play it by ear. 不過呢，比較起來，英語的含義似乎沒有我們漢語中這么強烈的感情色彩。

3. 痛失良機 Let something slip through one’s fingers

沒有抓住機會會怎樣?就會“痛失良機”了，“讓什么東西從你的手指尖溜走”就表示“痛失機會”，例如：You can’t be more stupid! How could you let such a golden opportunity to make big money slip through your fingers? It was an opportunity that comes once in a blue moon. (你真蠢!這樣一個發大財的機會千載難逢，你怎能眼睜睜的讓他跑掉那?)這里的 once in a blue moon 就是指“千載難逢”。