课堂里学不到的英语

2007/01/27 08:34 ..by zhanghongbiao

a bed of roses
在西方，玫瑰花是“幸福、爱情”的象征，而这条成语原指美丽芬芳的玫瑰花坛，引申一下就指“安逸舒适的环境”。

A: Finally my elder sister got married.Her husband loves her so much and made her a bed of roses.
B: A fortunate woman!

a lucky dog
英美的文化习俗有许多与狗有关的习语，但往往并无贬义，如：Every dog has its good day. “凡人皆有得意时。”

A：Did you watch the horse race last night? The black horse got the first again.
B:Yes, and I bet 1000 dollars on him.
A: Really? You lucky dog.
B: Wish you good luck, too.

a pain in the neck
词的本意是从看戏而来——如果一个坐在中间的人不断进进出出，相信你的脖子也会痛的。现在a pain in the neck已经不仅仅指戏院里那些不安分的观众，还可以进而代指一切让人头疼的人。

A: Alice asked us if we wanted to go the cinema with her and her friends?
B: No, I don't. You might not know that she's a pain in the neck.
A: Really? She seems quite nice and good.
B: I had a date with her once before. It was horrible.

all that
这是英语中的俚语，用来表示某人或某事十分出色、了不起。
A: I finished my paper a week ago.
B: Jesus! You're all that!
A: Well, maybe I just started early.

all your swans are geese
你的一切期望都成了泡影。
A: I have prepared for the English test for a whole week, but I just got a "B".
B: I am sorry to hear that. It seems that all your swans are geese.

an angle
“angle”本身的含义“天使，可爱的人”人尽皆知，但是它也有“可利用之人”这个意思。
A: San has just married Susan, you know?
B: Is that most wealthy girl in his company?
A:That's right, but she is an angel to him. That's to say Sam does not really love her.
B: Poor Susan!

around the corner
它的引申义是“即将到来”。
A: When he party be held?
B: It's around the corner, maybe the day afer tomorrow.

as long as your arm
用来表达一段很长的时间。这也许是因为和人体的其他器官相比，手臂算是较长的缘故吧。
A: They say the admission committee are voting for the applicants who apply for the MBA program
B: I am eager to know the result. But how long do you think I'll have to wait for the final decision?
A: As long as your arm. They have a lot of other things to do.
B: But I cannot let things drag along like that.
A: Yet you cannot force them to do things for you either.

at the crossroads
原意为“处在十字路口”，当原意稍稍被引申后，就表示“面临两难的选择”。
A: My brother is at the crossroads. He is confronting a big choice.
B: Oh? What is the matter?

at the eleventh hour
原意是指十二小时工作日中的第十一个小时，后来被引申为“在最后时刻，紧急关头”。
A: I finished this article at the eleventh hour, at the last moment.
B: How lucky you are!

back to the drawing board
“从画板开始”，即从设计草图开始，泛指从头开始。
A: How is your paper going? The professor asked us to hand it in next week!
B: Terrible! I guess it's back to the drawing board.
A: Then you should waste no time!
B: OK. I"ll start working right now.

backroom boy
其含义是“从事秘密研究工作的人员”。
A: What does Jerry's husband do?
B: He used to be a backroom boy for a secret program, anyway a research fellow, but now a professor in our university.
A: Great! So he has finally come to the front platform?!

bad sailor
这是一个固定习语，意思是“晕船”。
A:Tell me about the voyage!
B: The scenery is charming but my brother was a bad sailor.
A: Did he suffer a lot?
B: Nothing serious, and he was well after he got off the ship.

bathing suit
bathing suit是泳衣，而不是浴衣。在口语中它和swimming suit 是通用的。birthday suit不是生日礼服，而是你出生时穿的衣服。你出生时穿的是什么？当然是裸体了！
A: Do you want to go swimming tomorrow?
B: Sure, let's go together.
A: Tomorrow moring, 10 a.m., at the swimming center. Don't forget your bathing suit.
B: Are you making fun of me? How can I miss that? You want me to swim in my birthday suit?

be over the hill
“人到中年”。
A: How is your father, is he still busy?
B: Sure, he is over the hill now. You know he is busy as always. Middle-aged men are.
A: So you should remind him of his health.
B: Thank you so much, I will do so.

be taken aback
这词组的意思是“吓了一跳”。carrying large and expecting, 大肚子要生孩子了。
A: Guess whom I saw yesterday?
B: Whom?
A: Our former Chinese teacher. And I was taken aback.
B: What happened to her?
A: She is carrying large and expecting!
B: That's big news, isn't it?

beat a dead horse
英语里有关“horse”的短语很多，常说到的有“一匹黑马”（a dark horse），“拼命工作”(work like a horse),“本末倒置”(put the cart before the horse)等等。本例中关于“horse”的用法表达的是“争论已经解决的问题”的意思，类似的还有“flog a dead horse”(徒劳无功)，意思是继续做一件毫无成功希望的事情等。是有点汉语

中“死马当活马医”的意思。
A: You look very tired. Did you burn the midnight oil again?
B: As a matter of fact, we stayed in the meeting room till four o'clock in the morning.
A: What kept you so busy?
B: I didn't know either. It seemed that the group members were beating a dead horse.
A: Oh, that is too bad.

between you and me
这个成语是一个引喻，它原指夫妻之间的床头私语，现在转义指某些话要保守秘密，不得外传。
A: Hi, I am looking for you all over the campus.
B: Anything urgent?
A: I'm going to tell you a piece of news. It's between you and me.
B: I cannot wait any longer to hear it.

big house
指“监狱”。
A: I get a job in an international company to smuggle goods. It is a quick way to earn big bucks.
B: And it is a quick way to throw you into the big house, too.
A: Yes, I know. That is why I plan to quit the job next month.