英语PK台 第847期:英语里有趣的猫猫狗狗俚语

 　　Dialogue 1

　　Mark: Jingjing, check out what I got at the supermarket near your office.

　　马克: 京晶，看看我在你办公室附近那间超市买到了什么。

　　Jingjing: Pistachios? Those are my favorite nuts. That big jar must have cost a lot.

　　京晶: 开心果么? 那可是我最喜欢的坚果。这一大罐子一定花了不少钱吧。

　　Mark: They had a buy-one-get-one-free special.

　　马克: 他们正好有买一送一的特惠活动。

　　Jingjing: You lucky dog! I go to that supermarket a few times a week and have never seen nuts on sale.

　　京晶: 你真是只幸运的狗!（意思是你真幸运!）我每周都会去那家超市几次，但从来没见过坚果打折。

　　Mark: Are you trying to insult¹ me?

　　马克: （你怎么说我是狗）你想侮辱我吗?

　　Jingjing: Huh? Haven't you ever heard that idiom? A lucky dog is someone who doesn't work very hard but has good things happen to them.

　　京晶: 咦? 你没听过那个俚语吗? “幸运的狗”是指那些不需要做出什么努力，就会有好事发生在他们身上的人。

　　Mark: Oh, so you're just saying I'm lazy. I see.

　　马克: 哦，所以你就是说我懒惰咯。我明白了。

　　Jingjing: Take it easy, Mark. Hey, come to think of it, most idioms in English about dogs have to do with being lazy yet fortunate.

　　京晶: 放轻松，马克。嘿，仔细一想，英语中大多数关于狗的俚语都与懒惰但幸运有关。

　　Mark: Yeah, like “it's a dog's life.”

　　马克: 对，就比如“这过的简直是狗的生活”。

　　Jingjing: Exactly. You might say, it's a dog's life for foreigners who teach English in China.

　　京晶: 没错。你可以说，在中国教英语的外国人“简直过的是狗的生活。”

　　Mark: Hmm. I'll admit we don't have to work especially hard, and still have everything we need. Wait a second, what about “working like a dog”?

　　马克: 嗯…我承认我们确实不必特别辛苦地工作，就能获得我们所需要的一切。等一下，那“像狗一样地工作”怎么解释呢?

　　Jingjing: Could you use it in a sentence?

　　京晶: 你能用它造个句吗?

　　Mark: Sure. “I'm so tired this afternoon, because I was working like a dog all morning.”

　　马克: 当然。我今天一整个下午都很疲惫，因为我上午一直都在“像只狗一样地拼命工作”。

　　Jingjing: Yeah, I guess that means working very hard. Hey, there was one I wasn't sure about: “Love me, love my dog.”

　　京晶: 对哦，我想这里的含义是指要非常努力地工作。嘿，有一种说法我不是很确定：“爱我，就要爱我的狗。”

　　Mark: That's a saying, which means if you expect someone to love you, they should love everything about you.

　　马克: 这种说法也是个谚语，意思是如果你期待某人爱你，他们应该爱你的一切。（相当于汉语的“爱屋及乌”。）

　　Jingjing: Why does a dog get mentioned in that saying?

　　京晶: 那为什么要提到狗呢?

　　Mark: I think it's because some dogs smell bad or behave badly. So, if you love a person, you should accept that about them—even their pets.

　　马克: 我想这是因为有些狗闻起来很臭，或者行为习惯不好。所以，如果你爱一个人，就你应该接受他们的一切，包括他们的宠物。

　　“

　　New words : 习语短语

　　lucky dog 幸运儿

　　a person who doesn't try very hard but is still fortunate

　　idiom 俚语

　　a phrase that couldn't be understood from the dictionary meanings of the words, and is rather tricky² to use

　　it's a dog's life 不用特别辛苦工作，也能过得有模有样

　　not having to work very hard, but still having everything you need

　　working like a dog 特别努力工作，尤其体力工作

　　working very hard, doing work that is tough physically³ but doesn't make you think much

　　Love me, love my dog. 爱屋及乌

　　Love everything about me, accept me totally.

　　saying

　　谚语，格言

　　a certain sentence that expresses wisdom or an attitude (i.e. “Don't put all your eggs in one basket.”)

　　Dialogue 2

　　Jingjing: We talked about dogs. What about cats?

　　京晶: 我们谈到了很多关于狗的俚语。那猫的呢?

　　Mark: A lot of those are negative. People tend to think of cats as bad luck, or as selfish.

　　马克: 很多关于猫的俚语都是负面的。人们倾向于认为猫代表坏运气，或自私。

　　Jingjing: I wish more people would understand cats.

　　京晶: 我真希望更多的人能正确地了解猫。

　　Mark: Me too. Nevertheless, when you say someone is being catty, it means they sound like they are being polite, but they are really insulting⁴ you and being mean.

　　马克: 我也是。尽管如此，当说到某人像猫（一样狡猾）的时候，通常是指他虽然表面上听起来很有礼貌，但实际却是在刻薄地侮辱你。

　　Jingjing: That reminds me of another idiom I'm not sure I understand. “Let the cat out of the bag”—I know it's about telling a secret; but why a cat and why a bag?

　　京晶: 这让我想起了另一个我不太明白的俚语：“把猫从袋子里放出来”——我知道它的意思是泄露、揭开秘密; 但是这跟猫和袋子有什么关系呢?

　　Mark: I read somewhere that it was about merchants at a market. Pigs were usually sold in bags. And, when one guy accidentally⁵ opened a bag before buying it, there was a cat.

　　马克: 我在哪儿读到过，这种说法缘起于市场上的商贩。通常在市场上装在袋子里出售的是猪，但当一个顾客在付款之前不小心打开一个袋子时，却发现在里面的是一只猫。

　　Jingjing: Oh, so it's about a disappointing surprise.

　　京晶: 哦，所以这句俚语可以指泄露了令人失望的消息。

　　Mark: Yeah, if someone told you what your birthday present was going to be, and the gift was something like a cheaper mobile⁶ phone than the one you have now, you might say they let the cat out of the bag.

　　马克: 对，比如有人告诉你，他要送你的生日礼物是一部手机，但是比你现在用的手机更廉价的那种，你就可以说对方“把猫从袋子里放了出来”。

　　Jingjing: Hmm, I know sometimes guys are referred to as cats.

　　京晶: 嗯，我还知道有时候可以把男人引用称为猫。

　　Mark: Yeah, it's a slang⁷ term that means “guy”, as in, “he's a cool cat”.

　　马克: 对，有一个俚语就是把一个男人比喻做“一只很酷的猫”。

　　Jingjing: That doesn't sound very negative.

　　京晶: 这种说法听起来并不负面啊。

　　Mark: That's right. It'd be about a guy you don't know very well; but you think he's sly⁸ and able to handle himself in most situations.

　　马克: 没错。它是形容一个人你不太了解，但你感觉他很圆猾，无论什么情况都能应付自如。

　　Jingjing: Ok. One more, what about the Cheshire cat?

　　京晶: 这样啊，好吧。还有一个俚语，“柴郡的猫”是什么意思?

　　Mark: Oh, that's a reference⁹ to Alice in Wonderland. If someone has a big smile, because they're confident about something, but you don't know what it is, you could say they're smiling like the Cheshire cat.

　　马克: 哦，那是来自《爱丽丝梦游仙境》的一个典故。如果某人咧嘴笑得很开心，因为他对某事很自信，但是你并不知道背后的缘故是什么，你就可以说他笑得像“柴郡的猫”。

　　Jingjing: That sounds good. I guess cats aren't getting such a bad rap¹⁰ after all.

　　京晶: 听起来不错。这样一说，猫的名声似乎也没那么坏嘛。

　　Mark: Yeah, English idioms are kinda tricky.

　　马克: 是啊，英语的俚语挺有些复杂难懂的。

　　New words : 习语短语

　　(being) catty 说话表面客气，实则恶毒的

　　speaking politely but insulting someone in a mean way

　　let the cat out of the bag 走漏风声，泄露秘密

　　make a secret known to others, typically if it turns out to be disappointing

　　slang 俗语

　　a word that has a meaning different from the dictionary with certain groups of people

　　reference 提及，引用，参照

　　the name of a popular movie or book character, used to describe a person you know (among other things)

　　a bad rap 坏名声

　　a bad reputation, a way someone or something is often described badly

1 insult   

vt.侮辱，凌辱；n.侮辱的言词或行为

参考例句：

• You will insult her if you don't go to her party. 你要是不去参加她举办的聚会，就对她太无礼了。
• I can't sit down with that insult.我不能忍受那种侮辱。

2 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

3 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

4 insulting   

侮辱的

参考例句：

• She was really insulting to me. 她对我实在粗鲁无礼。
• All of us bristled at the lawyer's speech insulting our forefathers. 听到那个律师在讲演中污蔑我们的祖先，大家都气得怒发冲冠。

5 accidentally   

adv.偶然地；意外地

参考例句：

• Mary accidentally let out that her mother had telephoned.玛丽无意中说出她的母亲来过电话。
• As I turned around,I accidentally hit him in the face.我转身时不经意撞了他的脸。

6 mobile   

adj.可移动的，易变的，机动的；n.运动物体

参考例句：

• The old lady sits on a mobile chair every morning.那位老妇人每天上午坐在一把可携带使用的椅子上。
• She's much more mobile now that she's bought a car.自从她买了汽车后，活动量就大多了。

7 slang   

n.俚语，行话；vt.使用俚语，辱骂；vi.辱骂

参考例句：

• The phrase is labelled as slang in the dictionary.这个短语在这本字典里被注为俚语。
• Slang often goes in and out of fashion quickly.俚语往往很快风行起来又很快不再风行了。

8 sly   

adj.狡猾的，偷偷摸摸的

参考例句：

• You can't trust him,he's a sly old fox.你不能相信他，他是一只狡猾的老狐狸。
• I was ready to sly out the alley door.我准备从那边小门溜出去。

9 reference   

n.提到，说到，暗示，查看，查阅

参考例句：

• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。
• I like to have my reference books within my reach.我喜欢把参考书放到伸手可取的地方。

10 rap   

n.轻敲，拍击，责骂，厉声说出，说唱音乐，谈话，最少量；vi.轻敲，敲门，表演说唱音乐，畅谈；vt.抓，抢，拍击

参考例句：

• I heard a rap on the door.我听到有轻轻的敲门声。
• Today we are going to rap about relationships.今天我们要聊聊关系的问题。