中式英语之鉴:山穷水尽

203. 他已经到了山穷水尽的地步了。

[误] They are at the end of their road.

[正] They are at the end of their tether.

注：tether 是用来拴家畜的系绳，这些家畜只能在系绳尽头所能达到的范围内活动，所以 at the end of one's tether 被用来比喻能力等“达到了极限”。这里的 tether 有时也用 rope 替代。