VOA慢速英语2011--Expressions Involving the Nose and the E

Words and Their Stories: Expressions Involving the Nose and the Ears

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
A person’s nose is important for breathing and smelling. The nose is also used in many popular expressions.
Some people are able to lead other people by the nose. For example, if a wife leads her husband by the nose, she makes him do whatever she wants him to do.
Some people are said to be hard-nosed. They will not change their opinions or positions on anything. If someone is hard-nosed, chances are he will never pay through the nose, or pay too much money, for an object or service.
It is always helpful when people keep their nose out of other people’s business. They do not interfere¹. The opposite of this is someone who noses around all the time. This kind of person is interested in other people’s private matters. He is considered nosey.
Someone who keeps his nose to the grindstone works² very hard. This can help a worker keep his nose clean or stay out of trouble.
One unusual expression is that is no skin off my nose. This means³ that a situation does not affect or concern me. We also say that sometimes a person cuts off his nose to spite⁴ his face. That is, he makes a situation worse for himself by doing something foolish because he is angry.
More problems can develop if a person looks down his nose at someone or something. The person acts like something is unimportant⁵ or worthless⁶. This person might also turn up his nose at something that he considers not good enough. This person thinks he is better than everyone else. He has his nose in the air.
In school, some students thumb their nose at their teacher. They refuse to obey orders or do any work. Maybe these students do not know the correct answers. My mother always told me, if you study hard, the answers should be right under your nose or easily seen.
I think we have explained the nose expressions. What about ears? Well, I hope you are all ears or very interested in hearing more expressions. We might even put a bug⁷ in your ear or give you an idea about something. We also advise you to keep your ear to the ground. This means to be interested in what is happening around you and what people are thinking.
If you are a good person, you will lend an ear to your friends. You will listen to them when they have a problem they need to talk about. Our last expression is to play it by ear. This has two meanings. One is to play a song on a musical instrument by remembering the tune⁸ and not by reading the music. Play it by ear also means to decide what to do at the last minute instead of making detailed⁹ plans.
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This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, was written by Jill Moss¹⁰. I’m Faith Lapidus.
 

1. lead by the nose 牵着鼻子走
eg: Don’t let anyone lead you by the nose, use your own judgment¹¹ and do the right thing. 不要让人牵着鼻子走,自己有点主见,做该做的事情。
2. hard-nosed adj.顽强的,不屈不挠的,不讲情面的
3. pay through the nose
按字面解释,pay through the nose就是通过鼻子来付钱,这听起来似乎很痛苦,而实际上,pay through the nose的确切意思是付出比真正的价值高得多的钱,也可以说是付出的钱实在太多而让人感到心痛。eg: My brother Bob borrowed the money to open his restaurant five years ago when the interest rate was very high, so he’s been paying through the nose ever since.我哥哥鲍伯五年前借钱开饭馆的时候正好利率非常高,所以,他从那时起就一直在大笔大笔地还债。
4. keep one’s nose out of sth 避免插手(他人的事),尽量不卷入
eg: When Billy asked his sister where she was going, she told him to keep his nose out of her business. 当比利问他姐姐要去哪里时,她让他别管她的事。
5. nose around / about  找寻,打听(别人的事)
eg: We found a man nosing around in our backyard¹².我们发现有个人在我们后院里找什么东西。
6. nosy¹³ adj.好管闲事的,爱打听的
eg: Don’t be so nosy —it’s none of your business.别管那么多闲事——这与你无关。
7. keep one’s nose to the grindstone连续辛勤地工作
grindstone是"磨刀石"的意思。这个表达很形象,按字面意思来看,是说鼻子对着磨刀石。想象一下一个人低着头磨刀的样子,的确给人一种埋头苦干的直观印象啊。而且这个短语用动词keep表达一种持续的状态,把"埋头"的意思更生动地表达了出来。eg: These years those who’re keeping their nose to the grindstone can’t make bundles¹⁴. 这年头,只会埋头苦干的人是挣不了什么大钱的。
8. keep one’s nose clean 循规蹈矩,不做违法的事
eg: Since leaving prison, he’s man-aged to keep his nose clean. 自从出狱以来,他尽量做到规规矩矩。
9. no skin of my nose不关我的事
字面意思是:没有我鼻子上的皮。乍听起来让人有些摸不着头脑,这一俗语的实际意思是:……与我无关,我不在乎。eg: Hey, it’s no skin of my nose if Susie’s going out now with that guy! I don’t  care what she does —I broke up with her a month ago, when I met Helen. 嗨,苏茜现在是否跟那个家伙好,一起出去玩,这不关我的事！她干什么我都无所谓。我在遇到海伦以后就和她断了关系。
10. cut off one’s nose to spite one’s face (恼怒之下)伤人害己,损人不利己
eg: If you resign¹⁵ to inconvenience your boss, you are cutting off your nose to spite your face. 如果你辞职就是为了给你的老板找麻烦的话,那就是吃砒霜药老虎,伤人害己了。
据说,明代才子解缙幼年家住曹尚书府第竹园对面,在家门上贴了一副对联:"门对千竿竹,家藏万卷书。"曹尚书不忿自己的园景给他借用,于是叫人把竹砍短,最后索性全部砍去。解缙见了,随即把对联改为"门对千竿竹短无,家藏万卷书长有"。曹尚书不但没有难倒解缙,而且空自毁了自家的竹林,用英文来形容就是cut off one’s nose to spite one’s face。
11. look down one’s nose at 对……不屑一顾,蔑视
eg: Harry¹⁶ has never had to work, and he looks down his nose at people in business. 哈里从不需要上班,他也看不起上班的人。
12. turn up one’s nose at看不上,觉得不屑于(要、吃、做等)
eg: When I gave her the present, she turned up her nose at it.当我把礼物给她时,她很不屑。
13. have one’s nose in the air 非常傲慢,自高自大

1 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

2 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

3 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

4 spite   

n.（用于短语）虽然，不顾，尽管

参考例句：

• He has modern ideas in spite of his great age.尽管他年事很高，但思想观念却很入时。
• In spite of his anger,his remarks were restrained.他尽管生气，说的话还是有节制的。

5 unimportant   

adj.不重要的，无意义的

参考例句：

• Let's not quarrel about such unimportant matters.我们不要为这些小事争吵了。
• Money seems unimportant when sets beside the joys of family life.与天伦之乐相比，金钱显得微不足道。

6 worthless   

adj.无价值的，无用的，可鄙的

参考例句：

• Don't read worthless books.不要读没有用的书。
• He was worthless as a painter.他作为画家一事无成。

7 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

8 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

9 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

10 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

11 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

12 backyard   

n.后院，后庭

参考例句：

• I parked the car in the backyard.我把汽车停在后院。
• The residents didn't want a new factory in their backyard.居民不希望在他们住地附近建新工厂。

13 nosy   

adj.鼻子大的，好管闲事的，爱追问的；n.大鼻者

参考例句：

• Our nosy neighbours are always looking in through our windows.好管闲事的邻居总是从我们的窗口望进来。
• My landlord is so nosy.He comes by twice a month to inspect my apartment.我的房东很烦人，他每个月都要到我公寓视察两次。

14 Bundles   

n. 捆, 束, 一批, 一大笔钱 vt. 捆, 匆匆送走, 附赠 vi. 匆忙

参考例句：

• The goods are done up in bundles for shipment. 货物已打包以备装船。
• The books were tied up in bundles of twenty. 那些书被捆成20本一捆。

15 resign   

vt.放弃，辞去；把…交托给；使顺从；vi.辞职

参考例句：

• I've heard a whisper that he's going to resign.我听到了一个传闻说他准备辞职。
• You must resign yourselves to waiting a bit longer.你们要耐心多等一会儿。

16 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。