用a pillar of society表达“社会栋梁”

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!