book-report有关英语俚语.doc

Book Report Class 2 No. 05110214 Name 吉鹏颖 Title of the book: Words & Their StoriesAuthor: Shelley GollustPenname(if any)Time of Publication: 2011.11Publisher: Crazy EnglishMain characters： Words , Proverbs, Foreign English LearnersGist of the story It is a book for a Radio show, which mainly talks about the subliminal meaning and potential stories which is rarely known by people behind a word. By telling colorful stories and listing various examples, the book systematically improves readers understanding of the meaning and usage of English proverbs and dialects. The author strongly emphasizes one spirit that one who can completely learn how to practically use these proverbs that he may be able to the real master of English proverbs. In a word, it is very meaningful and necessary for the foreign English learners to thoroughly grasp the true meaning of such verbs, phrases and sentences. 10 sentences that impress me most(1)A proverb is short, well-known saying that expresses a common truth or belief. Proverbs are popular around the world. They give advice about how to live. We begin with two popular proverbs about saying healthy by eating good food: One is an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Another is you are what you eat.(2)Another famous proverb is a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. This means you should not risk losing something you have by seeking something that is not guaranteed.(3)Here is more advice: If at first you do not succeed, try, try again. Also, never put off until tomorrow what you can do today. (4)Do you agree with the proverb that children should be seen and not heard? Maybe you have told your children that hard work never hurt anyone. But other people say that all work and no play make Jack a dull boy. They believe it is not wise to spend all your time working and never having fun. (5) Here is one of my favorite proverbs: People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. This means you should not criticize other people unless you are perfect yourself.(6) It is not proper to make any distinction in the treatment of learned and popular proverbs. The same problems exist for all proverbs with the obvious limitation that, in certain cases, historical studies are greatly restricted by the accidents of preservation.(7) The definition of a proverb is too difficult to repay the undertaking; and should we fortunately combine in a single definition all the essential elements and give each the proper emphasis, we should not even then have a touchstone.（8）Proverbs are invented in several ways: Some are simple apothegms and platitudes elevated to proverbial dignity, others arise from the symbolic or metaphoric use of an incident, still others imitate already existing proverbs, and some owe their existence to the condensing of a story or fable.（9）Here is another piece of advice: Do not count your chickens before they are hatched. In other words, you should not think too much about some future event before it really happens.（10）It is not always easy to recognize or identify the earliest form which provided the model for later developments.And until several proverbs have been minutely examined from this point of view and our methods of study have been improved, it is hard to say which arguments are safe to use and which are unsafe.20 words I have learned from the book(1) idiom习语，成语 proverb 谚语 dialect 方言，地方语，土话（2）hatch (蛋)孵化 （幼禽）孵出，破壳而出 秘密策划，筹划（3）touchstone 试金石，检验标准 （4）suffice v.足够，满足要求（5）apotheosis n.典范，最完美的榜样；（生命或事业的）巅峰（6）derivative n.派生物，衍生物，提取物 adj.抄袭的，非独创性的（7）thorn n.刺；带刺的灌木，荆棘 （8）assertion n.断言，声明，主张（9）devil 魔鬼，邪灵 （10）indisputable adj.无可争辩的，不容置疑的（11）platitude n.老生常谈，陈词滥调（12）elevated adj.(思想话语等)智慧高尚的；（职位级别）重要高贵的；（13）conjecture n.臆测，猜测； 推测，猜想的结果 v.推测，猜测（14）methodical adj.有条理的，井然的；做事有条不紊的，办事有条理的（15）truism n.自明之理，不言而喻的话 （16）delude v.欺骗，哄骗（17）gambler n 赌徒 (18）synonym n.同义词（19）delude v.欺骗，哄骗beggar v.使贫穷，变穷 n.乞丐，叫花子（20）knight n.骑士，武士 v.封（某人）为爵士习得谚语Do not count your chickens before they are hatched。鸡蛋尚未孵，别忙数鸡雏。（不要过早打如意算盘）Do not put all your eggs in one basket. 不要把所有的鸡蛋放在一个篮子里。（不要孤注一掷。）A fool and his money are soon parted. 笨蛋难聚财。Children should be seen and not heard。大人说话，小孩别插嘴。Hard work never hurt anyone. 多干活累不坏人。（努力工作有百利而无一害）People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. 住在玻璃房里的人不可以丢石头。（世界上无十全十美的人，所以不要肆意批评别人，即所谓“自身有短，勿批他人”。）There is no use crying over spilled milk. 不要为打翻的牛奶哭泣。A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush。一鸟在手，胜于二鸟在林。（把握有限的现实，胜过无限的可能。告诫人们不要贪得无厌，珍惜现在。）The early bird catches the worm. 早起的鸟儿有虫吃。You are what you eat. 人如其食。（要想身体健康，就得注意饮食健康。）If at first you do not succeed, try, try again.再接再厉，终会成功。Comments: This book is extremely useful for us Foreign English Learners, with no doubt that it gains extensive population and attention among academic scholars, professors and students. Meanwhile, the author adequately thought of the different kinds of levels of the readers and adopted the quiet simplistic and intelligible sentence structure to form every phrase. I am quiet sure that anyone who has the fundamental knowledge of English must have the ability to comprehend what the author actually want to express. Furthermore, in order to improve and strengthen the readers comprehension, the author gave a list of convictive examples as an aid to make his expl