 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsEnglish UsageBritish EnglishESL Teaching Learnglish.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2007That cake was baked long ago.
Can someone take time to explain or paraphrase the subject sentence which appeared in TIME magazine's recent issue as follows? On the optimistic view, then, China's rise to global prominence can be managed. It doesn't have to lead to the sort of horror that accompanied the emerging power of Germany or Japan. Raise a glass to that, but don't get too comfortable. There need be no wars between China and the U.S., no catastrophes, no economic competition that gets out of hand. But in this century the relative power of the U.S. is going to decline, and that of China is going to rise. That cake was baked long ago. [snip] > But in this century the relative power of the U.S. is going to decline, > and that of China is going to rise. That cake was baked long ago. [snip] My paraphrase of the last sentence shown above: "That outcome was made inevitable by developments which occurred some time ago." Aloha ~~~ Ozzie Maland ~~~ San Diego > Can someone take time to explain or paraphrase the subject sentence > which appeared in TIME magazine's recent issue as follows? > On the optimistic view, then, China's rise to global prominence can be > managed. It doesn't have to lead to the sort of horror that accompanied [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > But in this century the relative power of the U.S. is going to decline, > and that of China is going to rise. That cake was baked long ago. The causes of that outcome were set in motion long ago (and now are not reversible). A contrasting expression is "That ship has sailed" (= the opportunity to do as you suggest ended long ago; it's too late for that). Example: A: "Now we can turn attention to competing with China." B: "That ship has sailed." ( = "It's too late to catch up.")  SignatureLars Eighner <http://larseighner.com/> <http://myspace.com/larseighner> Countdown: 728 days to go. The Lars Eighner entity posted thusly: >> Can someone take time to explain or paraphrase the subject sentence >> which appeared in TIME magazine's recent issue as follows? [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >A: "Now we can turn attention to competing with China." >B: "That ship has sailed." ( = "It's too late to catch up.") From Babylon 5: Kosh says "The avalanche has already started. It is too late for the pebbles to vote." akoamay (or somebody else of the same name) wrote thusly in message <1169517773.401081.52770@q2g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>: > Can someone take time to explain or paraphrase the subject sentence > which appeared in TIME magazine's recent issue as follows? [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > But in this century the relative power of the U.S. is going to decline, > and that of China is going to rise. That cake was baked long ago. Is the sweet green icing flowing down? No, silly, that's when the cake was left out in the rain. Perhaps somebody could explain that one while they're at it. SignatureTerms and conditions apply. Batteries not included. Subject to status. Contains moderate language. Always read the label. Keep out of children. Interchange the alphabetic letter groups to reply > Is the sweet green icing flowing down? No, silly, that's when the cake was > left out in the rain. Perhaps somebody could explain that one while they're > at it. It was the sixties. No other explanation is needed. > Is the sweet green icing flowing down? No, silly, that's when the cake was > left out in the rain. Perhaps somebody could explain that one while they're > at it. Sorry, but the details are lost, and I'll never have that recipe again. SignaturePeter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org Please note the changed e-mail and web addresses. The domain eepjm.newcastle.edu.au no longer exists, and I can no longer receive mail at my newcastle.edu.au addresses. The optusnet address could disappear at any time. |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2012 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.