第一次看到“keep one’s finger on the pulse”一下想到的是中医里的“把脉”。其实，人身上可直接用手指探查的脉搏不止手腕一处。欧美枪战片，警匪片中我们也常常会看到将手指按在脖子两侧确定人是否存活的场景。所以，英语中用这个短语来表示“摸清情况，了解行情，了解趋势”也就不奇怪了。

A: What’s your favourite TV programme.

B: I love American Idol. I watch Idol all the time because it helps me keep my finger on the pulse of American pop culture and music. 我很喜欢“美国偶像”节目，我一直在看这个节目，因为它能让我时刻感受到美国流行文化和音乐的潮流。

类似的意思我们还可以说：This is a program which keeps it’s finger on the pulse of global trends and entertainment industry. 这是一档把握全球流行趋势和娱乐脉搏的节目。

再来看几个表示“摸清情况”的例子：

I'm just new at this game. I've only just started to keep my finger on the pulse. 在这一行我还是个新手。到目前为止我还没摸透行情。

The chairman does his best to keep his finger on the pulse of his company’s activities. 董事长竭尽全力去掌握他的公司各项活动的确切情况。

A successful politician is one who keeps his finger on the pulse of the electorate. 一位成功的政治家是一个对选民有深刻了解的人。

If you want to know what's happening on the social scene, ask Jane. She has her finger on the pulse and can tell you who's going to be there. 如果你想知道社交聚会的情况，就去问简。她是消息灵通人士，能告诉你哪些人会到场。

本期内容我们就介绍到这里。期待与您相约下期口语课堂。

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