One way to hold this phrase: a small date stamped on a packet, saying sell me before this day. It is a line drawn in time — on one side the thing is fresh and wanted on the shelf, on the other side it is taken off. Once that picture is in your head, English can stamp the same invisible date on anything at all: a phone, a joke, a set of rules, a person.
可以想成：包裝上印的一個小日期，上面寫著「請在這天以前把我賣掉」。它像在時間上畫了一條線。線的這一邊，東西還新鮮、還擺在架上；線的那一邊，就被收走了。這個畫面一旦記住，英文就能把這個看不見的日期蓋到任何東西上——一支手機、一個笑話、一套規定，甚至一個人。
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