短语 a pillar of society 指的是那些重要的、有价值的并且参与众多公益活动的社会成员。a pillar of... 还可以和其他社会群体和组织连用。
- Jimmy is a pillar of society. He raised millions of dollars to build a new hospital in the city.
- Martin's a great guy. He's the head teacher in our school, runs a local charity, and is known and respected by everyone in town. He's a pillar of the community.
- Matilda is a pillar of the church: she's always giving her time to organising events and tries hard to make people feel welcome there.
值得注意的是，短语 from pillar to post 的意思是四处奔走，东奔西跑。
- My friend James grew up in a family which moved around all the time. The poor kid was sent from pillar to post and never had time to settle in one place!
