Looking through stone pillars at London's St. Paul's Cathedral. Photo: BBC/ Laurence Coss.
Pillars, posts and columns all support buildings or bridges. A pillar is a strong pole that supports part of a building, and is made of stone, wood or concrete. A column is similar, but usually has decorative features. A post is a small pillar made of metal or wood.
柱子、杆子还有圆柱都可以用来支撑楼房和桥梁 。Pillar 是一个非常结实的柱子，用来支撑房屋的一部分，由石头、木头或水泥制成。Column 的作用和 pillar 相似，但含有装饰作用。Post 就是一个小的 pillar 柱子，由金属或木头制成。
今日短语
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。
例句
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.
类似表达
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!
