Some simplistically attribute the decline in our public education system to the drain of skilled students by private schools, but far more significant events were at work.

一些人将公共教育体系的衰退简单粗暴地归因于私立学校技能型学生的流失，但更重要的因素仍在发挥其影响。

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They were aware that their public image was rapidly going down the drain.

他们意识到自己的公众形象正被迅速地破坏掉。

《柯林斯英汉双解大词典》

Gas subsidies remain a heavy drain on the public purse.

天然气补贴依旧是国库的无底洞。

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But migrants as a whole, in the long term and counting the contribution of their children when they grow up and get jobs, are not a drain on public services.

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The Northumberland service said false alarms were a "drain on the public purse".

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Even then, interest-rate subsidies make their loans a drain on the public finances.

ECONOMIST: University finances