勉强维持生计，用英语怎么表达
人只有在满足了基本的生存需求之后，才能创造价值及追求更好的精神世界。为了追求更高品质的物质或精神生活或更优质的教育资源，很多人加班加点废寝忘食或奔波劳碌风餐露宿，他们的人生是令人敬佩的人生，但有的人碌碌无为无所事事或好吃懒做不务正业，最后只能勉强度日。
在英语中单词 live 或 survive 可以译为“生存，活着”，表示的是基本的生存需求，其中 live 与 from hand to mouth 搭配，译为“勉强维持生计”，hand to mouth 译为“仅够糊口地”；survive 可以与 barely 连用，也表示勉强维持生活，例如：
live:
In early days, many people live from hand to mouth.
在早年，许多人都是过着勉强糊口的日子。
With another child on the way, it looks like we'll be living from hand to mouth for the foreseeable future.
随着另一个孩子的到来，在可预见的未来，我们似乎将过着勉强糊口的生活。
survive:
I can't survive on £40 a week.
一星期40英镑，我无法维持生活。
The displaced persons do anything they can, but barely survive.
流动人口干各种活，但勉强为生。
还有一个类似 hand to mouth 的短语 keep body and soul together，它也可以用来表示勉强维持生计，例如：
They barely have enough money to keep body and soul together.
他们仅有活命的钱。
I had to ask my parents to loan me money because, thanks to those hospital bills, I don't even have enough to keep body and soul together.
我不得不请父母借钱给我，因为，多亏了那些住院费，我连维持身心健康的钱都不够。
live 对应的名词 living 或 livelihood [ˈlaɪvlihʊd] 都有生计的意思，其中 scrape out a living 或 scratch out a living 也可以表示“艰难度日或勉强糊口”，例如：
1. living:
What do you do for a living ?
你靠什么谋生？
She earned a living as a part-time secretary.
她靠做兼职秘书为生。
Many young farmers have come to big cities to make a living.
许多年轻的农民来到大城市谋生。
2. livelihood:
Communities on the island depended on whaling for their livelihood.
岛上的居民靠捕鲸为生。
Playing in a band is my livelihood.
在乐队里演奏是我的谋生之道。
3. scrape/scratch a living:
He scratched a living as a farmer.
他以务农勉强为生。
He almost manages to scrape a living as an artist.
他靠当艺术家来勉强混口饭吃。
英语中还有一个习语 keep the wolf from the door，它也可以用来比喻勉强维持生计，例如：
We were extremely poor then, and begging for scraps was all I could do to keep the wolf from the door.
那时我们非常穷，为了勉强维持生活，我只能乞讨些残羹剩饭。
She can barely keep the wolf from the door with the help of such a small shop in town.
在镇上这样一家小店的帮助下，她几乎只能勉强维持生计。
My grandfather told me that he had worked hard even when he was not physically fit to keep the wolf from the door.
我祖父告诉我，即使在他身体不适的时候，他也努力工作来勉强维持生计。
This loan will keep the wolf from the door, at least, but I'm worried it won't last long.
这笔贷款至少可以勉强维持生计，但我担心不会持续太久。
不管生活过得如何，人的一辈子都应该付出自己的努力，无论改变自己的生活条件也好，还是创造美好的社会也好，都要尽心尽力和问心无愧，不过我们始终相信勤劳致富，艰苦奋斗才是人类生存生活的本质。