in the bag 可不是简单的译为“在袋子”里，还有更高级的寓意

在英语中很多本身有意义的短语都被赋予了特殊的寓意，如果只是简单按字面意思去望文生义，那么往往会出现牛头不对马嘴的现象，而且有时候翻译的结果让人哭笑不得，例如：

Some of that investment is already in the pipeline.

如果把此句中的 in the pipeline 理解为“在管道里”，那么翻译出来的意思就会变成：一些基础设施投资已经在管道里，很明显这样的翻译是牛头不对马嘴的，其实除了译为“在管道里”，in the pipeline 还有寓意“在筹备中，在进行中”等，例如：

The theatre company has several new productions in the pipeline for next season.

这家剧团正在筹备下一季的几部新剧。

Twenty-eight lawsuits were filed this week, and another 200 cases are in the pipeline.

本周有28起诉讼被提起，另有200起案件正在进行中。

因此，在现实的阅读或考试中不能望文生义或断章取义。类似的还有 in the bag，它的字面意思是”在袋子里“，例如：

I have to remember to put them in the bag.

我必须记得将它们放进袋子里。

Empty the register and put the money in the bag.

把收银机里的钱全放到袋子里。

in the bag 还可用来比喻做某事很有信心或把握， 译为”稳操胜券，囊中之物，十拿九稳“等，例如：

The deal was finally in the bag after a few rounds of tough negotiations.

经过几轮艰难的谈判，这笔交易终于成为十拿九稳的事了。

The game was in the bag when the team scored their third goal.

当该队打入第三个球时，这场比赛就稳操胜券了。

After months of hard campaigning, the politician believed that elections were in the bag.

经过几个月的艰苦竞选，这位政治家认为选举已经是稳操胜券了。

I have not yet got the job, but I believe its pretty much in the bag.

我还没有得到那份工作，但我相信它肯定是囊中之物。