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Push the envelope
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大家也许都熟悉envelope这个词，知道它是“信封”的意思。但在push the envelope这个习惯用语中，envelope可不是信封的意思，它是个技术性的词汇，指机械或其它设备的性能范围，或者功用极限。例如，一辆汽车的设计规格为最高时速180公里，如果你以190公里的时速驾驶这辆车，那么你就是在push the envelope，超越它的性能范围或者是在玩命了。
再例如: “Test pilots often have to put themselves into danger. Sometimes they have to push the envelope to see whether a newly designed plane really can meet the limits the designers planned.”
不过现在这个短语已经不仅仅局限于机械工程领域使用了，日常生活中人际关系的紧张化也可以用这个短语来形容。例如: “He push the envelope when he hit his wife at the party after getting drunk. She asked for divorce the next day. “ (在晚会上他喝醉了酒，当众殴打了妻子，这已经超过了他太太的忍耐极限，她第二天就提出要和他离婚。)
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