To be a big deal

　　成为大人物

　　To be an important / famous person, especially in a specific location / area of work.

　　成为重要人物/名人，尤指在特定的位置/工作领域。

　　I hear she’s a big deal in Biochemical engineering nowadays.

　　我听说她现在在生化工程方面是个大人物。

　　That’s her! She’s a big deal in local politics.

　　那是她!她在当地政坛可是个大人物。

　　To be the big cheese

　　成为大人物

　　Very informal. To be an important / influential person, especially in an area of work / company. ‘The big cheese’ is often used to talk about the boss or manager.

　　非常不正式。成为重要/有影响力的人，尤指在工作/公司领域。“The big cheese”经常被用来谈论老板或经理。

　　He’s the big cheese at Google.

　　他是谷歌的大人物。

　　She’s the big cheese of the HR department.

　　她是人力资源部的重要人物。

　　To be a big shot

　　成为大佬

　　An important, successful or influential person. However, ‘big shot’ can have negative connotations and is often used sarcastically.

　　一个重要的、成功的或有影响力的人。然而，“big shot”可能具有负面含义，而且经常被讽刺地使用。

　　I haven’t seen you in a while. I heard you became a big shot in the city. I’m surprised you still have time for us.

　　我有一段时间没见到你了。我听说你成了城里的一个大佬。我很惊讶你仍然有时间见我们。

　　Alright big shot, don’t spend all your millions all in one go.

　　好吧，大佬，不要把你所有的钱都一股脑儿花掉。

　　To be a big fish in a small pond

　　成为一个小地方的大人物

　　Someone who is very successful but only in a very limited area, and only because there isn’t much competition.

　　他非常成功，但只是在一个非常有限的领域，只是因为没有太多的竞争。

　　She likes being a big fish in a small pond because then she knows she’ll do well.

　　她喜欢在一个小地方成为一个大人物，因为她知道她会做得很好。

　　If he went to London he wouldn’t think quite so highly of himself. Here he’s a big fish in a small pond.

　　如果他去伦敦，他不会对自己有那么高的评价。他在这种小地方一定是个大人物。

　　To make the big time

　　赚大钱

　　To become successful in something you do – often earning a lot of money.

　　在你所做的事情上取得成功——常常赚很多钱。

　　When he made the big time he took everyone to the most expensive restaurant in town to celebrate.

　　当他赚大钱的时候，他带大家去城里最贵的餐厅庆祝。

　　Most people don’t make the big time until they’ve been working for at least 20 years.

　　大多数人直到他们工作至少20年才开始赚大钱。

　　Big break

　　重大突破

　　An opportunity or turn of events that leads to success. A big break is often used for people involved in the arts (artists, actors etc.), to talk about one specific opportunity that led to their work being recognised and to them being successful.

　　成功的机会或转折。对于从事艺术(艺术家、演员等)的人来说，经常会有一个大的休息时间，来谈论一个特定的机会，这个机会使他们的作品得到认可，并获得成功。

　　She had her big break in 2009 and the phone hasn’t stopped ringing since!

　　她在2009取得了大突破，从那之后，签约电话一直没有停止过!

　　Her big break was something she never expected – an independent film with a small budget.

　　她最大的突破是她从未料到的——一部预算很小的独立电影。