迷你对话：

A: Which school is your children in?

你的小孩现在在哪儿上学？

B: She is now in a private school.

她在一家私立学校上学。

A: Oh, it costs too much. It's more expensive than the pulic school.

喔，那收费很高。比公立学校贵得多。

B: It's idea of my husband. He is always banging the drum for better schools.

这是我丈夫的主意。他总是一味鼓吹好学校，好教育。

A: But the private school amount to better schools.

可是私立学校并不就是等于好学校。

地道表达：beat the drum(s)：竭力鼓吹；热烈支持

支持范例：

Eg. A few of us club members took a bunch of tickets out and beat the drum for the play with our friends.

我们俱乐部的几个成员把一大把票子拿到外面去和我们的朋友一起作推销宣传。

Eg. He is beating the drums for himself, trying to raise campaign money and find groups to support him.

他开展宣传，为自己大吹大擂，尽力募集竞选资金并寻觅支持他的团体。

视野拓展：

Beat the drums for中的介词for可以用作against，即：beat the drums against，后面可以接something，也可以接somebody。

Eg. They beat the drums against the new policy.

他们竭力反对新政策。

Eg. I spent a lot of time beating the drum against their plans for the future.

我花了很多时间竭力反对他们对未来的计划。

词海拾贝：

1. a private school：私立学校

2. a public school：公立学校

3. amount to：等于，合计

Eg. In fact, your ambiguous words amount to a refusal.

实际上,你说的那些模棱两可的话等于是拒绝。

Eg. Their expenses amount to fifty dollars.

他们的消费共计五十元。

Eg. It doesn't amount to a row of beans.

这实在不算什么。