中文說－－The world is my oyster

2007年7月9日，在美國康涅狄格州的Deep River, 一叫Devin Gaines 的大學生溺水而亡。盡管才22歲，但在年初就已從The University of Connecticut拿到5個degrees.

校方稱：He made the university his oyster. You crave kids like that.

此時，oyster不是我們餐桌上的’生猛海鮮‘牡蠣，而是指one rules the world /one is in charge of everything.

oyster解為此意時，常以 The world is one's oyster 的固定形式出現。

If the world is your oyster, everything is going well for you （ 你一切順心如意）,and you have the ability and the freedom to do anything , are able to enjoy all the pleasures and opportunities that life has to offer（有能力和時機盡情享受生活中的一切快樂與機遇）or go anywhere. You're young and healthy and you've got no commitments（負擔，承諾）, so the world is your oyster.

This metaphor, alluding to the world as a place from which to extract profit, just as one takes pearls from oysters.

它最早出自莎士比亞的喜劇《溫莎的風流娘兒》（The Merry Wives of Winsor)第二幕第二場。畢斯托爾是個靠偷吃扒拿過日子的無賴。一次他向福斯塔夫爵士借錢不成，他惱怒地說：“那麽，世界是我的牡蠣，我要用劍剖開吃（Why, the world is mine oyster----which I with sword will open）。”

於是，人們用world is one's oyster 表示“世上一切都在掌握之中，什麽都能做到”

When John won the scholarship, he felt as though the world was his oyster.
獲得獎學金時，約翰簡直覺得世界就是他的。

Then I was a young single woman and the world was my oyster.
那時我是個年輕的單身女子，真是想幹什麽就可以幹什麽。

She left school feeling that the world was her oyster.
她畢業了，感到前途無限美好。

The world is my oyster. I'm in love.
世界是我的了。我戀愛啦。

I was young once and the world was my oyster; now that I'm older my ambitions are few.
我年輕時對人生充滿著美好的憧憬；現在我老了，已沒有什麽雄心壯誌了。