摘要：“Be grateful/thankful for small mercies”是英语中极具生活气息的固定表达，核心语义为“对微小的恩惠、点滴的好事心存感激；在困境或不如意中，珍惜那些虽不起眼但能带来慰藉的小确幸”。其语义精髓在于“以积极心态面对不完美”——不

be grateful/thankful for small mercies

为情况不太坏而庆幸或感激；对点滴恩惠心存感激

to be happy that a situation that is bad is not as bad as it could have been

“Be grateful/thankful for small mercies”是英语中极具生活气息的固定表达，核心语义为“对微小的恩惠、点滴的好事心存感激；在困境或不如意中，珍惜那些虽不起眼但能带来慰藉的小确幸”。其语义精髓在于“以积极心态面对不完美”——不纠结于未实现的目标或遭遇的挫折，而是聚焦于当下微小的正面事物，暗含“知足常乐”的生活态度。此处“mercies”用复数形式，是固定用法，并非单纯语法要求，而是语义所需：它强调“恩惠/好事是零散、多样的，而非单一事件”。

例：

Well, at least you weren't hurt. I suppose we should be grateful for small mercies.

嗨，至少你没伤着，我想这就该让我们知足了。

After failing the final exam, the student was grateful for the small mercies that the teacher agreed to let her retake it and gave her extra study materials.

期末考试失利后，这名学生对“老师同意她下学期补考、给她额外学习资料”这些点滴恩惠心存感激。

The diplomat said his country was grateful for the small mercies that the border dispute talks would resume next month and the enemy released three captured civilians.

这位外交官表示，本国对“边境争端谈判下月重启、敌方释放三名被俘平民”这些点滴恩惠心存感激。

The trapped soldiers were thankful for the small mercies that the enemy’s attack paused at dusk and a supply drone dropped some water and food.

被困士兵对“敌军黄昏时暂停进攻、补给无人机投下少量水和食物”这些点滴恩惠心存感激。

Though they couldn’t afford a fancy date, she was grateful for the small mercies that he always walked her home after work, brought her favorite snacks, and listened to her work troubles.

尽管他们没钱进行奢华约会，但她对“他总是下班后送她回家、带她爱吃的零食、倾听她的工作烦恼”这些点滴恩惠心存感激。

They’d had a fight the night before, but he was thankful for the small mercies that she still made him his favorite breakfast, left a sweet note on the fridge, and held his hand on the way to work.

前一晚他们吵了架，但他对“她仍为他做了最爱吃的早餐、在冰箱上贴了甜蜜便签、上班路上牵了他的手”这些点滴恩惠心存感激。

In their long-distance relationship, she was grateful for the small mercies that he always sent a goodnight message, remembered her favorite flower on her birthday, and saved weekends to video-call for hours.

在异地恋中，她对“他总发晚安消息、生日记得她最爱的花、攒出周末长时间视频通话”这些点滴恩惠心存感激。

After a big argument, the couple were grateful for the small mercies that they still sat down to have dinner together quietly and apologized to each other the next morning.

激烈争吵过后，这对夫妻对“两人仍能安静共餐、次日清晨互相道歉”这些点滴恩惠心存感激。

In the age of fast-paced entertainment, traditional artists are thankful for the small mercies that young people still come to their small-scale performances and share their works online.

在快节奏娱乐盛行的时代，传统艺术家对“年轻人仍来观看小型演出、在网上分享他们的作品”这些点滴恩惠心存感激。

When she lost her job and felt helpless, she was thankful for the small mercies that her best friend came to cook for her every weekend, lent her some books to read, and invited her to small gatherings.

当她失业后感到无助时，对“闺蜜每周来做饭、借她书读、邀她参加小聚会”这些点滴恩惠心存感激。

After weeks of drought, farmers were grateful for the small mercies of a light rain that watered the young seedlings and a drop in temperature that reduced crop evaporation.

干旱数周后，农民对“小雨浇灌了幼苗、气温下降减少了作物蒸发”这些点滴恩惠心存感激。

I know the concert got canceled and we’re stuck at home, but let’s be grateful for small mercies—Ross brought his guitar, Monica made cookies, and Chandler found that old board game we loved!《老友记》

我知道音乐会取消了，我们只能困在家里，但咱们要对这些点滴恩惠心存感激——罗斯带了吉他，莫妮卡做了饼干，钱德勒找到了咱们以前喜欢的那款桌游！

Mama is upset that Mr. Bingley left Netherfield, but let’s be thankful for small mercies—Jane has stopped moping and started reading again, and Mr. Collins finally stopped talking about his inheritance.

妈妈还在为宾利先生离开内瑟菲尔德而难过，但咱们要对这些点滴恩惠心存感激——简不再闷闷不乐、开始看书了，柯林斯先生也终于不再提他的遗产了。《傲慢与偏见》

You’re angry about your past, Will, but be grateful for small mercies—you’ve got friends who’d fight for you, a mind that can change the world, and a chance to leave this neighborhood for a better life. 《心灵捕手》

你在为过去愤怒，但要对这些点滴恩惠心存感激——你有愿意为你挺身而出的朋友，有能改变世界的头脑，还有离开这个街区去过更好生活的机会。

Lily failed her dance competition, which made her very sad. But her mom said, ‘Be thankful for small mercies—you made two new friends during the competition, the judge praised your effort, and you learned a new dance move.’ After hearing this, Lily felt better.

莉莉的舞蹈比赛不及格，这让她很难过。但她的妈妈说：“要对这些点滴恩惠心存感激——你在比赛中交了两个新朋友，裁判表扬了你的努力，你学会了一个新的舞步”。听到这些，莉莉感觉好多了。（2024中考真题）

After the storm destroyed most of the village’s crops, the villagers tried to be grateful for small mercies—at least their houses were still standing, no one was hurt, and the local government sent emergency food.（2025年高考英语完形填空）

暴风雨摧毁了村里的大部分庄稼后，村民们尽力对这些点滴恩惠心存感激——至少他们的房子还在，没有人受伤，当地政府也送来了紧急食品。

注意：

如果对某一具体的单一事件或情况的庆幸或感激，可以有如下两种表达；如：

After the long political deadlock, citizens were grateful for the small mercy that the two parties finally agreed to discuss basic living issues.

漫长的政治僵局过后，民众对“两党终于同意讨论基本民生问题”这一点滴恩惠心存感激。

The diplomat said his country was grateful for the small mercy that the border dispute talks would resume next month, even if no breakthrough was expected.

这位外交官表示，尽管预计边境争端谈判不会取得突破，但本国仍对“谈判下月重启”这一点滴恩惠心存感激。

After weeks of drought, farmers were grateful for the small mercy of a light rain, even though it wasn’t enough to water all the crops.

干旱数周后，农民对“下了一场小雨”这一点滴恩惠心存感激，尽管雨水不足以浇灌所有庄稼。

During the economic recession, small business owners were thankful for the small mercy of a temporary tax reduction.

经济衰退期间，小企业主对“临时减税”这一点滴恩惠心存感激。

来源：翅膀英语一点号