If news or an event is earth-shattering, it is so surprising or so important that it feels as if the ground under you has broken. People use it for huge public news — a war, a fall from power, a discovery that changes a field — and also for a private shock that turns a life around.

If news or an event is earth-shattering如果一則新聞或一件事是earth-shattering it is so surprising or so important就是說它太讓人驚訝或太重要了 that it feels as if the ground under you has broken讓人覺得腳下的地面好像裂開了。People有人 use it用這個字 for huge public news來形容重大的公眾新聞 a war, a fall from power, a discovery that changes a field比如戰爭、下台、改變整個領域的重大發現 and also而且也 for a private shock that turns a life around用在讓人生翻轉的私人衝擊上。

Though actually we stretch it a lot: headlines and adverts call quite ordinary things earth-shattering to make them sound bigger than they are, so listeners learn to take it with a pinch of salt. It is informal and a bit dramatic, more at home in speech and newspapers than in careful school writing.

Though actually不過 we stretch it a lot我們常常把它用得很誇張 headlines and adverts標題和廣告 call quite ordinary things earth-shattering把相當普通的事情也稱作earth-shattering to make them sound bigger than they are好讓它們聽起來比實際上更了不起 so listeners learn to take it with a pinch of salt所以聽眾也學會半信半疑地看待這個字。It它 is是 informal and a bit dramatic非正式而且有點誇張的字 more at home in speech and newspapers比較適合出現在口語和報紙上 than in careful school writing而不是講究的學校作文裡。

It does not mean the earth is really breaking; that would be an earthquake.

It它 does not mean並不是指 the earth is really breaking地球真的裂開了 that would be an earthquake那樣的話應該叫做earthquake（地震）。