chanceBrE /tʃɑːns/ NAmE /tʃæns/► SEE ALLas chance/luck would have itby any chancechance your arma chance in a millionchance would be a fine thingno chanceon the off chance(not) stand a chance (of doing sth)take a chance (on sth)not have a cat in hell’s chancehave an even chance (of doing sth)have an eye to/for the main chance(a) fat chance (of sth/doing sth)a fighting chancegive sb half a chance (to do sth)not have a ghost of a chance (of doing sth)not have a snowball’s chance in hell (of doing sth)a sporting chance ●as ˌchance/ˌluck would ˈhave it ( as ˌchance ˈhas it) happening in a way that was lucky, although it was not planned凑巧；碰巧◆He asked whether we had a room to let and, as luck would have it, we did. 他问我们有没有房间出租，碰巧我们有。◆I’m going to London myself tomorrow, as chance has it, so perhaps we can travel together. 碰巧明天我也要去伦敦，也许我们可以一起去。●by ˈany chanceused especially in questions, to ask whether sth is true, possible, etc.（尤用于疑问句）或许，万一，可能◆Are you in love with him, by any chance? 莫非你爱上他了？●ˌchance your ˈarm (BrE, informal) take a risk (especially when you are unlikely to succeed)（尤指不大可能成功时）冒险试一试，碰碰运气◆He knew he wasn’t likely to win the contest, but decided to chance his arm anyway. 他知道自己赢得比赛的可能性不大，但还是决定碰碰运气。●a ˌchance in a ˈmillion (informal) a very unlikely possibility非常不可能的事◆If you lost your ring on the beach, it’s a chance in a million that you’d find it again. 如果你的戒指掉在海滩上了，找回来的可能性十分渺茫。●ˈchance would be a fine thing (BrE, spoken) used to say that you would like to do sth but will probably not have the opportunity苦于没有机会◆‘Are you going on holiday this year?’ ‘Chance would be a fine thing — I can’t even afford a day trip to London!’ “你今年去度假吗？”“没戏，我甚至去伦敦一日游的时间都没有！”●ˈno chance (spoken) there is no possibility of that不可能◆‘Will he do it, do you think?’ ‘No chance!’ “你觉得他会做吗？”“没门儿！”●on the ˈoff chance (informal) hoping that sth will happen, even if it is unlikely对…抱（一线）希望；希望能◆I called at their house on the off chance that they’d let me stay, but they weren’t at home. 我抱着一线希望给他们打电话，指望他们能留我过夜，可是他们不在家。●(not) stand a chance (of doing sth)(not) have a chance (of doing sth)（没）有机会；（没）有可能◆You stand a very good chance of winning the prize. 你很有可能获奖。◆He doesn’t stand a chance with her (= she won’t want to have a relationship with him). 她没有可能跟他好。●take a ˈchance (on sth)do sth without being sure of success碰运气；冒险◆We took a chance on being able to get tickets on the day of the match, but they were sold out. 我们抱着侥幸心理希望在比赛当天能买到票，可是票都卖光了。●not have a cat in ˈhell’s chance ( not have a ˈdog’s chance) (informal) have no chance at all毫无机会◆You haven’t got a cat in hell’s chance of buying a decent car for that amount.那点钱根本就不可能买到一辆像样的车。OPPa sporting chance●have an even ˈchance (of doing sth)be equally likely to do or not do sth（做某事）有一半的机会；（…的）可能性有一半◆She has more than an even chance of winning tomorrow.明天她获胜的机会要大些。●have an eye to/for the main ˈchance (BrE, usuallydisapproving) be good at using opportunities for your own benefit善用机会为自己谋利◆She’s certainly got an eye for the main chance. Her business has become highly successful.她显然很善于抓住时机，为己所用，她的生意开始红火起来。●(a) ˈfat chance (of sth/doing sth) (spoken) used when you think that there is no possibility of sth happening没戏；不可能；希望渺茫◆He said he’d give me a job if I passed my exam with a grade A. A fat chance I have of that!他说只要我考试得 A，他就给我一个工作。我看根本没戏！◆‘Do you think she’ll lend me the money?’ ‘Fat chance.’“你觉得她会借给我钱吗？”“没门儿。”●a ˌfighting ˈchancea slight but real chance of succeeding, avoiding sth, etc.微小但值得一搏的机会◆With five minutes of the game left, our team still has a fighting chance of winning.离比赛结束还有五分钟，我们队还有一线获胜的机会。◆Things don’t look very hopeful for John Brown in the presidential elections, but he’s still in with a fighting chance.这次总统竞选对约翰 ∙ 布朗来说不太乐观，但他仍有些许获胜的机会。●give sb half a ˈchance (to do sth) (informal) give sb even a small opportunity (to do sth)只要给…一点机会（做某事）◆Given half a chance, I’d go and work in the USA, but it’s so difficult to get a visa.只要一有机会，我就会去美国工作，但是签证太难办了。◆If you give him half a chance, he’ll show how well he can do the job.你只要给他一点机会，他就会证明自己能做多好。●not have a ˈghost of a chance (of doing sth) (informal) have no chance at all (of doing sth)毫无机会；一丝希望也没有◆He doesn’t have a ghost of a chance of passing the exam this year.今年他一点通过考试的希望也没有。NOTE The ghost of something is a very small amount that is difficult to see, hear, feel, etc. * the ghost of something 意为“隐约的一点点”。●not have a ˌsnowball’s chance in ˈhell (of doing sth) (informal) have no chance at all of doing sth根本不可能（做某事）；机会渺茫◆Look at this traffic! I’m afraid we haven’t got a snowball’s chance in hell of getting to the airport in time.看看有多少车！恐怕我们根本没有指望能及时赶到机场。OPPa sporting chanceNOTE This idiom refers to the belief that hell is a place of fire.这个习语原指一种宗教信仰，即认为地狱是火的世界。●a ˌsporting ˈchancea reasonable chance of success相当大的成功机会◆I know it’s going to be tough, but I think I’m in with a sporting chance of winning.我知道会很难，但是我想我还是有相当大的获胜机会。OPPnot have a cat in hell’s chance