hamster wheel
noun [ C ] uk/ˈhæm.stə ˌwiːl/ us/ˈhæm.stɚ ˌwiːl/
仓鼠转轮
a wheel fixed in position in the middle, designed for a hamster or other small animal to run round and round inside as exercise
At 3 a.m. I was awake listening to the rumbling of the hamster wheel. 凌晨三点，我还醒着，听着仓鼠转轮发出的轰轰声。
仓鼠转轮（比喻忙忙碌碌却一事无成）
an activity that involves someone being busy all the time but never achieving anything important or reaching the end of a task
There's always something that needs to be done to the house. It's like a hamster wheel. 房子总有要修修补补的地方，就像仓鼠轮一样，没完没了。
Time spent just sitting on a train can be a rare chance to step off the hamster wheel and observe the world. 坐在火车上的时间是一个难得的机会，可以让你离开犹如仓鼠转轮般的日常生活，观察这个世界。
- More examples
- In the corner is a little cage with a hamster wheel.
- The act included a boy running on the outside of what looked like a hamster wheel.
- He is on the perpetual hamster wheel of the corporate lecture circuit.
- Most physicians right now are on a hamster wheel. They have trouble keeping up.
- It just seems like we're stuck on this hamster wheel of, you get a big fire, you put all kinds of resources on it, and then basically pray for the weather to change.