As a language expert with a focus on English and Chinese, I'm well-versed in idiomatic expressions and their cultural contexts.

The phrase "dropping like flies" is an idiom that is used to describe a situation where a large number of people or things are falling or failing quickly and in rapid succession, often due to illness, exhaustion, or some other cause that incapacitates them. The image it conveys is similar to flies falling dead, which can happen in large numbers if there is a sudden change in their environment or if they are affected by a toxin.

Here is the phrase in English with the key part highlighted:

"The team was dropping like flies due to the intense heat and lack of water during the marathon."

And here is the translation in Chinese, with the corresponding part highlighted:

“由于马拉松比赛中的高温和缺水，队员们像苍蝇一样纷纷倒下。”

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drop like flies. Rapidly collapse, die, or drop out, usually referring to a group rather than an individual. For example, The words were so difficult that the spelling bee contestants were dropping like flies. The simile like flies has meant ��in large numbers,�� as it does in this expression, since about 1600.read more >>