英语成语与文化4.ppt

1、,unit 6,Animal and Fish Idioms,1. Crocodile tears 字面意思：鳄鱼的眼泪。,Translation She dropped a few crocodile tears over her husbands death then got his insurance money and married again two weeks later.,Key Insincere tears or sorrow.,假悲哀；不是真心悲哀而流眼泪；猫哭耗子假慈悲。,2. A pretty kettle of fish 字面意思：一壶鱼。,Translation

2、His six-year-old daughter played with her fathers computer. The father worried that it might be a pretty kettle of fish if he lost his documents.,Key A state of confusion, disorder or trouble.,混乱无秩序的局面；一团糟。变体：A fine kettle of fish. 说明：在野外，大家七手八脚，抢吃煮好的鱼，比喻混乱的场面。,3. Drink like a fish 字面意思：像鱼一样能喝。,Tran

3、slation He drinks like a fish, smokes like a chimney and eats like a pig; I can not stand him any more.,Key Drink a lot of alcohol regularly.,经常喝酒，而且喝的很多。说明：此处的drink多指喝酒。,4. Fish for compliments 字面意思：勾引赞美的话。,Translation When he showed me his third new mobile phone, I could tell that he was fishing f

4、or a compliment.,Key Look for praise.,寻求别人的夸奖。说明：Fish作动词用，指钓鱼。这条成语类似汉语的沽名钓誉，但一般来说fish for compliments只是表示希望得到别人的口头赞许或认可而已。Compliment 也可用单数。,5. Have other fish to fry 字面意思：还有其它鱼要炸（煎）。,Translation Dont ask me to do this and that. I have other fish to fry.,Key Have other more important things to do.,有其

5、它更重要的事情要做。,6. Neither fish, flesh nor fowl 字面意思：非鱼，非肉，也非家禽。,Translation The building has a strange design, its neither fish, flesh nor fowl.,Key Of an uncertain nature, neither one thing nor the other.,特点不明确；不伦不类；非驴非马；四不像。变体：Neither fish, flesh nor good red herring（好的红鲱鱼）。,7. Teach fish how to swim

6、字面意思：教鱼如何游泳。,Translation Dont teach fish how to swim, because he has been using a computer for more than 20 years.,Key Tell other more experienced and better qualified experts what to do.,教更有经验的专家如何做业内的事。教关云长如何耍大刀。,8. Throw in a red herring 字面意思：扔进来一条红鲱鱼。,Translation He is not really interested in w

7、hat we are discussing, and several times he tried to upset our discussion by throwing in a red herring.,Key Brought up something to distract peoples attention in an argument; introduce a subject which has nothing to do with what is being discussed.,转移别人注意力的话题或行为；提出与正题无关的话题。,9. Eat like a horse 字面意思：

8、像马一样能吃。,Translation He eats like a horse, but he is not fat. The secret is not to go to sleep immediately after each meal.,Key Eat a lot.,（指人）特别能吃，饭量大。无贬义。另一条成语Eat like a pig有贬义，吃的特别多，而且显得贪婪、令人恶心。字面意思是像猪一样能吃。,10. Lock the stable when the horse is stolen 字面意思：马被偷走以后才给马厩上锁。,Translation Your new bike h

9、as been stolen. Why do you want to buy this expensive lock now? Thats locking the stable door after the horse has bolted. You should spend less money and buy a cheap second hand bike.,Key Take careful precautions to do the right thing after it is too late.,不好的事情发生后才采取防范措施，但为时已晚。亡羊补牢有点晚。这条成语有两个变体：Loc

10、k the stable door after the horse has bolted. Lock the barn door after the horse is out. 字面意思：马脱缰之后才锁马厩。,11. Look a gift horse in the mouth 字面意思：往礼品马的嘴里看。,Translation I think your birthday present is very nice, so dont look a gift horse in the mouth!,Key I think your birthday present is very nice, s

11、o dont look a gift horse in the mouth!,瞧不起别人送的礼物，觉得不满意。说明：看一匹马的牙齿可得知马的年龄，养马的人都知道这一点。送你一匹马，你不要抱怨马有点老。,12. Put the cart before the horse 字面意思：把马车放在马的前边。,Translation You should first send your resume to the company before having an interview. Dont put the cart before the horse.,Key Put or say things in

12、 the wrong order.,说话办事的次序颠倒；本末倒置。,13. Ride the high horse 字面意思：骑高头大马。,Translation When the postgraduate visited his hometown in the remote province, he rode the high horse among the local people.,Key self-important; show off.,自大；炫耀。,14. Hold your horses 字面意思：让你的马停下来。,Translation Dont get so angry, J

13、ohn. Just hold your horses and I will see what I can do for you.,Key stop and wait for a minute; be reasonable.,劝别人冷静下来，多一些理智。,15. Hunt with the hounds and run with the hare 字面意思：带着猎犬去打猎，同时又跟着野兔去逃命。,Translation Which team are you going to support? Make up your mind now. You cant hunt with the hounds

14、 and run with the hare.,Key Try to support two opposing sides at the same time; take a middle course.,同时支持相对立的两派；脚踩两只船。,16. Beard the lion in his den 字面意思：在雄狮的巢穴里捋它的胡须。,Translation She was annoyed because she was not given a flat. So she bearded the lion in his den by arguing with the school princip

15、al.,Key Show no fear and dare to carry out extremely dangerous tasks.,表现无所畏惧，敢于做极其危险的事；敢摸老虎的屁股。,17. The lions share 字面意思：雄狮的份额。,Translation When his father died, the daughter has got the lions share of the familys property.,Key The biggest share of something.,（与人分东西时）相对来说大的或最大的一部分。说明：出自伊索寓言。,18. Mak

16、e a monkey out of someone 字面意思：把某人弄成一只猴子。,Translation As far as the knowledge of the computer is concerned, the little boy makes a monkey out of me all the time.,Key Make someone seem foolish or stupid.,使别人显得愚蠢。,19. Monkey with something 字面意思：像猴子一样胡乱触摸。,Translation Did you monkey with my computer? I

17、t does not work properly now.,Key Interfere with, meddle with; play mischievously with.,胡乱折腾某物。比如不懂电脑，随便去按键盘玩。,20. As quiet as a mouse 字面意思：像老鼠一样悄无声音。,Translation He sat at the corner as quiet as a mouse and listened to my story.,Key Very quiet, silent.,不说话；一句话也没有。,21. As stubborn as a mule 字面意思：像骡子

18、一样倔。,Translation You cant change his mind; he is as stubborn as a mule.,Key Obstinate, very stubborn.,脾气倔，固执。,22. Buy a pig in a poke 字面意思：买猪崽只是捅一下。,Translation Youll have to show me the bike; I dont intend to buy a pig in a poke.,Key Buy something without seeing it or without knowing its value.,没有见

19、到货就付款；或不知道商品的真实价值就购买。说明：买猪崽的时候不打开袋子看，只是把袋子里的东西它捅一下，也许里面只是一只用来骗人的猫。小猪值钱，猫没人要。,23. Puppy-love 字面意思：小狗的爱情。,Translation The two fifteen-year-old students rang each other every night. They thought they really were in love, but the parents knew it was puppy-love.,Key Young or inexperienced love.,小年轻的爱情；没经

20、验的爱情。变体：calf-love（小牛犊的爱情）。,24. Rat race 字面意思：耗子赛跑。,Translation I am quite happy with my job as a teacher and I have no desire to take part in the rat race of business.,Key Ruthless competition for greater wealth, fame, power, social status, etc.,争夺名利、钱财或社会地位的残酷竞争。,25. Rats abandoning a sinking ship

21、字面意思：耗子逃离正在沉没的船。,Translation Just like rats abandoning a sinking ship, the so called loyal supporters switched to the other side candidate when theirs began to lose.,Key Disloyal people who desert an institution or stop working for or supporting somebody.,不忠诚的人离开某个组织；停止支持某人；树倒猢狲散。,26. Smell a rat 字面

22、意思：闻到耗子味儿。,Translation He said so many nice things about the washing powder, but I smelt a rat and refused to buy the product.,Key Suspect that something is wrong.,怀疑有问题。,27. Cast pearls before swine 字面意思：把珍珠扔在猪面前。,Translation The teacher taught the weakest class at school; but it was all useless, f

23、or the students ignored her. She really was casting pearls before swine.,Key Show genuine things to people who are unable to recognize them.,把真东西拿给人看，但这些人不识货。跟对牛弹琴的意思不完全相同。跟明珠暗投意思相近。源于圣经。,28. Turn turtle 字面意思：海龟翻个肚皮朝天。,Translation The little boat nearly turned turtle in the strong wind.,Key (ship) Turn upside down, capsize.,专指翻船。,29. A whale of a time 字面意思：鲸鱼一