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第3章

Avoid, to do something to prevent something bad from happening. 避免,回避。He avoided meeting her eye. 他避开她的目光。

这句谚语其实就是告诉我们一个道理:防范于未然。

50、Adversity reveals genius; fortune conceals it. --------Horace

苦难显才华,好运隐天资。-------贺拉斯

adversity means a state of hardship or affliction; misfortune. 指的是逆境困难或苦恼的状态;不幸的意思。例如:A friend is known in adversity. 在患难之中才能看出 (真假) 朋友。

我们来看一些关于苦难的词汇。Hardship means extreme privation; suffering. 指极度困苦;苦难的意思。我们可以说:bear hardship without complaint,这就是任劳任怨的意思。

关于苦难,还有一些相关的谚语,例如:Misfortunes tell us what fortune is. 不经灾难不知福。

reveal means bring to view; show. 是指使显露;显示的意思。它的另一个意思是泄露,透露。例如:reveal a secret,就是泄露秘密的意思。

51、One must draw back in order to leap better. 退一步是为了进两步。

Draw back这个词组在这里指撤回;它还有其他几种解释。

(1) 退税;退款。

(2) 欠缺;不利条件:Slow drying is the chief drawback of this paint. 这油漆最大的缺点事干得慢。

(3) 障碍:Complacency is a drawback to progress. 自满是进步的障碍。

Leap means jump, 是跳跃的意思。又想到了另外几个词组,大家知道闰年的英语表达方式吗?哈哈。闰年:leap year; 由此推理,闰日 (2月29日) 就是:leap day.

这个谚语告诉我们这样一个道理:有时做事推一步,反而会有意想不到的收获哦。

52、Things past cannot be recalled. 往事不可追,往者不可谏。

Past, 是形容词,在这里修饰things,解释为过去的;刚过去的事情。形容词一般放在被修饰的名词或代词前面,但在某些情况下,可以后置。past, positive, following等形容词前置或后置皆可,而意义不变。可以说in years past, 也可以说in past years,意义相同。所以,在这个谚语里past属于后置。Past这个词还有很多解释,在这里我们来学习一些比较特殊的用法。 (1) (指范围、限度、能力等) 超过:It’ s past repair。这个东西没法修补了。/ It’ s past all belief. 简直不可思议。 (2) The train is past due. 火车误点了。 (3) 超过……之限制、权力或范围:be past praying for(there is no hope foe cure, improvement, etc. eg. He’ s past praying for. 他已经没救了。)

Recall, 在这里解释为回想,回忆,使回忆。I can’ t recalls having met him before。我记不起以前曾见到过他。/ The sight recalled the days of childhood to me. 那情景使我想起了童年。Recall还有其它几种解释: (1) 收回;撤销:recall one’ s words, 收回前言。/ recall an order撤销定货单。 (2) 叫回;召回:recall an ambassador from his post召回大使。 (3) 使复活;恢复:recall somebody to life使某人苏醒。

be recalled, 在这里是一种被动结构,解释为被想起,被追忆。

这个谚语告诉我们这样一个道理:过去的事情就让它过去,不必一直放在心上。相近的说法还有:

It’ s no use crying over spilt milk.

Let bygones be bygones.

53、Life being very short, and the quiet hours of it few, we ought to waste none of them on reading valueless books. -----Ruskin

生命是短暂的,生命中的宁静时刻更少,我们不应该浪费时间去读没有价值的书。------罗斯金

ought to, indicating obligation, 表示责任和义务。例如:We ought to start at once. 我们应该马上动身。Such things ought not to be allowed. 这类事情不该容许。

ought to, also indicating advice or recommendation. 表示劝告或推荐的意思。例如:You ought to improve your English before going to work in American. 你应该把英语学好些再去美国工作。

ought to也表示推测性的结论。例如:If he start at nine, he ought to be here by now. 要是他九点出发,现在该到这儿了。

这里,我们再来看一下must和ought to的区别。Must用以表示说话者命令或期待做成某事。例如:The children must be back by 4 o’ clock. 孩子必须4点钟以前回来。Ought to表示说话者发出指令,但暗含对方是否听从并无把握之意。例如:She really ought to be leaving now. 她现在可真该走了。

生命的可贵,正因其短暂,应该珍惜时间,做值得我们去做的事情。

54、Ignorance is bliss. 不知即为福。/难得糊涂。

Ignorance means lack of knowledge. 在这里是名词,解释为无知;无学;愚昧。Sheer ignorance of something对某事的全然不知。/ from ignorance出于无知。Ignorant是它的形容词形式,an ignorant error出于无知的错误。/ be ignorant of conditions at the lower level不了解下情。Ignoramus 毫无知识的人。

Bliss means complete happiness. 意思是巨大的幸福,狂喜。还可以解释为天堂。Blissful是它的形容词形式,解释为极乐的,有福的。

大家还记得郑板桥 “难得糊涂” 这句话吧,用英语表达就是Ignorance is bliss.

55、Better to complete a small task well, than do much imperfectly. ----Plato

一件小事作得完美胜过多少事做得虎头蛇尾。----柏拉图

task means a piece of (esp. hard or unpleasant) work that has to be done. 必须做的工作 (尤指困难的或讨厌的) 任务。例如:Perform the gruesome task of identifying the dead bodies. 执行辨认尸体这可怕的任务。Becoming fluent in a foreign language is no easy task, i. e. is difficult. 熟练地掌握一门外语是一项艰苦的工作。

task常用的搭配如下:

task somebody with something means give something to somebody as a task, 将某事作为任务交与某人。

task force means a group of people and resource specially organized for a particular (esp. military) task, 特派组,特遣部队。

taskmaster means a person who is strict in making others work hard. 监工

一件事情,无论大小,只要值得做,就一定得把它做好。

56、Circumstances alter cases. 环境改变案情。/环境不同,处理各异。

Circumstance means a fact, condition, or event concerned with and influencing another event, person, or course of action. 情况;情形;环境。We can’ t judge what he did until we know the circumstances. 我们才能对他的行为做出判断。In / under the circumstances是一个固定搭配,解释为既然这样,在这种情况下。

Alter, 修改,改变。Do you think you will alter your travel plans? 你认为你要改变你的旅行计划吗?我们来学习一个很特别的词组,alter ego, 意思是另一个我,知心朋友,知己。

Case, 有案件的意思,a civil case民事案件/ a criminal case刑事案件/ a case of robbery with violence一桩暴力抢劫案件。还可以解释为情况:as the case may be看情况,根据具体情况。

人处在不同的环境下就会有不同的行为。

57、Sorrows remembered sweeten present joy. -----Pollok

不忘过去的痛苦,才能倍感今天的幸福。-----波洛克

sorrow means a feeling of sadness or distress caused esp. by loss, disappointment or regret, grief. 悲伤,悲痛,懊丧,悔恨。

sorrow后常跟的介词有at/for/over. 例如:sorrow at somebody’ s death因某人去世而悲伤。sorrowing over his child’ s death因他孩子夭折而悲伤。

我们再来看一下这个单词的另一个固定搭配:

more in sorrow than in anger:with more regret than anger for what was done. 感到遗憾,倒并不生气。例如:It was more in sorrow than in anger that he criticized his former colleague. 他批评以前的同事,并非出于气愤而是为他惋惜。

这句格言选自苏格兰宗教诗人波洛克的 "时间的进程" 。

58、One good turn deserves another.

善有善报/以德报德

Turn, 在这里做名词,解释为 (帮助或损害别人的) 举动,行为:do somebody a good (bad) turn. 做一件有利 (损) 于某人的事。除此以外,turn还可以做动词,比如:turn a somersault翻跟斗;turn somebody against another使某人与另一人作对;turn a street corner沿街角拐弯。

再来学习几个关于turn的词组:turn upside down,颠倒,弄乱。Don’ t turn our arrangements upside down. 别把我们的安排搞乱了;Turn on the tears,一下子流起泪来;On the turn,正在转变中;To the turn of a hair丝毫不差地。

Deserve, to have earned something by good or bad actions or behavior, 应受;值得。Deserve punishment (a reward) 应受处罚 (奖赏) ;deserve to be mentioned值得一提。

59、Man is, properly speaking, based upon hope, he has no other possession but hope. ---Carlye

确切地说,人靠希望活着,除了希望,别无所有。---卡莱尔

properly means in a proper manner, 是指适当地,恰当地。例如:She will have to learn to behave properly. 她要懂得检点些。Do it properly or don’ t do it at all. 要干就得好好干。

参考前面一句:Hope is not only a lover’ s staff, but also human being’ s staff.

60、Familiarity breeds contempt. 熟悉易生轻侮。

Familiarity是形容词familiar的名词形式,表示熟悉;通晓。Familiarity with standard pronunciation对标准发音的通晓。

Breed, to cause a particular feeling or condition, 酿起;惹起;产生;是…的来源。

Contempt, a feeling that someone or something is not important and deserves no respect,轻视;轻蔑。Show contempt for something. 对某事物表示轻视/ hold somebody in contempt蔑视某人/ be beneath contempt不值得一顾。

这个谚语告诉我们这样一个道理:长久而密切相处会引起轻视的感觉。往往对一件很熟悉的事情可能使我们忽视其重要性,或者干一件事次数频繁就可能粗心大意。

61、Liberty without equality is a name of noble sound and squalid result. ----Hobhouse

没有平等的自由,只是金玉其外,败絮其中。---霍布豪斯

noble means impressive in size, appearance, etc; splendid, 是指给人印象深刻的,卓越的,非凡的意思。例如:a noble building宏伟的建筑;a woman with a noble bearing举止高雅的女子。

Noble的另一种意思是高贵的,高尚的,崇高的意思。例如:a noble lead, mind, gesture伟大的领袖,高贵的情操,高雅的姿态。

Squalid means very dirty and unpleasant (esp. because of neglect or poverty) 指污秽的,肮脏的,邋遢的意思。当然,它也指道德败坏,卑鄙的意思。本句话中的释义为后者。例如:a squalid tale of greed and corruption描述贪婪和腐败等丑恶现象的故事。

金玉其外,败絮其中,比喻虚有其表及外表好而实质坏的人或事。这句格言,通过这句成语来突出平等的重要性。

62、Don’ t make yourself a mouse, or the cat will eat you. 妄自菲薄,遭人奚落。

Make somebody something使成为;委派…为;任命…为;make somebody a star使某人成为明星。

Mouse老鼠,胆小鬼。Mickey Mouse米老鼠。Mouse还可以解释为我们平时经常用到的鼠标, click the mouse点击鼠标。

Or在这里做转折性的连词,解释为否则,通常和else连用。比如:Hurry up, or (else) you’ ll be late. 赶快,否则你要迟到了。

这个谚语从字面上理解的话就是:别拿自己当老鼠,要不猫会吃了你。引申一下:人若自贬,必遭人欺侮,要捍卫自己。

63、A fault confessed is half redressed.  错误能承认,一半已改正。/浪子回头金不换。

Fault, a mistake or imperfection过错;缺点,毛病。这都是我的错,用英语表达就是It’ s my fault.

Confess, to admit (a fault, crime, something wrong) 坦白;承认 (错误、罪行、错事) 。She confessed to having stolen the money. 她坦白说她偷了钱。加上ed,在这里修饰fault,做形容词,解释为已承认的错误。

Redress, to put right (a wrong, injustice, etc. ) 改正;矫正;纠正。

64、The wine in the bottle does not quench thirst. 瓶中酒不解渴。

这句谚语最早见于乔质? 赫伯特 (George Herbert) 所编的 “格言集” (Outlandish Proverbs 1640).

Wine,一般指葡萄酒。A glass of wine. 一杯葡萄酒;the wines of Alsace 阿尔萨斯葡萄酒;apple wine苹果酒。

Quench, to take away the force of (flames, desire, etc. ) esp. With water扑灭;抑制 (火焰、欲望等,尤指用水) 。To quench one’ s thirst with a glass of water. 以一杯水来解渴。

Thirst, the need to drink; desire for drink口渴;想喝水。还可以解释为渴望,Our people thirst for independence. 我们的人民渴望独立。

65、History repeats itself. 历史常常重演。

History, 历史;historic历史上著名的,有历史意义的;historical历史学的;historian历史学家。

Repeat, 一般解释为重说;重做;复述。Don’ t repeat what I told you. 别把我告诉你的话再告诉别人。而在这里repeat解释为重演;一再重复。History seems to be repeating itself. 和这句谚语是相同的意思。

66、A fall in a pit, a gain in your wit.   吃一堑,长一智。

pit: 深坑,矿井。pits in the road道路上的坑;work in the pit在矿井工作。the pit是指地狱。

gain: 获得,得到。No pains, no gains. 不劳则无获。也可以做动词,如:She is gaining in weight. 她的体重在增加。

wit: 智力,头脑。at one’ s wit’ s end智穷计尽,黔驴计穷。

这个谚语告诉我们……,参照:To err is human. <hehe>

67、He that has patience may compass anything.

人有耐心,无事不成。----拉伯雷(这是偶译的,请指教)

compass means device for finding direction, with a needle that points to magnetic north. 指指南针,罗盘的意思。

当然,这里的compass是个动词,意思是 “达到” 、 “获得” 。例如:compass one’ s ends达到目的;compass one’ s freedom获得自由。句中是 “成功” 的意思:To succeed in carrying out.

请参照:Roman was not built in a day.

68、The appetite grows by eating.   胃口越吃越大。---拉伯雷

appetite means physical desire, esp for food or pleasure. 是指肉体的欲望 (尤指对食物或享乐) ,食欲,胃口的意思。例如:When I was ill I completely lost my appetite. 我生病时完全没有食欲。Don’ t spoil your appetite by eating sweets before meals. 饭前不要吃糖以免影响食欲。

Appetite also refers to instance of a natural desire for sth. (对某事物的) 自然的欲望。例如:He was an amazing appetite for hard work. 他出奇地喜爱艰巨的工作。

69、Gloom and sadness are poisons to the soul.  抑郁和悲伤是心灵的毒药。

Gloom, a feeling of deep sadness, 忧愁;阴郁。The news of defeat filled them with gloom. 失败的消息使他们心里充满忧郁。它的形容词形式gloomy, 表示忧郁的;暗淡的。Our future seems gloomy. 看来我们的前途暗淡。

Sadness, 是形容词sad的名词形式,表示悲哀;悲伤。Their baby’ s death aroused great sadness in them. 孩子的死令他们悲痛欲绝。

Poison, a substance that harms or kills if a living animal or plant takes it in, 毒药;毒物。He tried to kill himself by taking poison. 他企图服毒自杀。

Soul, 心灵;灵魂。《心灵鸡汤》,就是Chicken soup for the soul.

70、A liar is always lavish of oaths. -----Corneille

骗子从不吝啬誓言。----高乃依

lavish in/of /with sth means giving or producing generously or in large quantities. 是指慷慨的,大方的意思。例如:He was lavish with his praise for/lavish in praising the project. 他对那计划赞不绝口。

另外,lavish sth on/upon sb/sth也是一个固定的用法。It means give sth to sb/sth abundantly and generously. 是指慷慨而大量地将某物给某人 (某事物) 。例如:lavish care on an only child. 对独生子女关怀备至。

71、What is the right must unavoidably be politic. ----Peel

正确的东西总是周密思考的结果。

unavoidable means can not be avoided, 是指不可免除的意思。

例如:unavoidable duties不可推卸的责任。

下面,我们来看一下有关下列短语:

certain death; 必定的死亡;

an inescapable conclusion; 不可逃避的结局;

an inevitable result; 必然的结果;

sudden but sure regret; 突然的但肯定的后悔;

an unavoidable accident. 不能避免的事故

politic means well judged, prudent. 是指行为得当的,审慎的意思。例如:When the fight began, he thought it politic to leave. 战斗伊始,他就想到走为上策。

72、A little neglect may breed great mischief.   小疏忽酿大祸。

Neglect, the act, ion of neglecting忽略;疏忽。The owner’ s neglects of repairs to his house房东疏于修理他的房子。

Breed, 原义是繁殖;生产,在这里引申为产生,导致,相当于lead.

Mischief, (formal) damage or harm; 0Q/xppF3A6fwkH4o1v2tohseHRAwiGeTZEdFAZo/pFKI6TAxswaevuO1sY1VJLAg

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