高中英语俚语系列---第四辑讲义.doc

046 Fly off the handle 大发雷霆My father flied off the handle because of my failure in college entrance examination.我爸爸因为我高考失利而大发雷霆。历史典故“handle”是掌握的意思，“fly off”表示脱离，自己的情绪脱离掌控当然会大发雷霆。据说这个俚语源于美国西部拓荒时期，人们用手工斧头砍伐树木，但由于自己做的斧头质量不好，所以斧柄经常掉落，人们就会大发雷霆。对话Kevin:Have you finished your project?你的项目做完了吗？Rose: Almost.快了。Kevin: OK,hurry up. I don't want to see the boss flying off the handle.好的，抓紧了，我可不想看老板大发雷霆。Rose: No problem.没问题。047 For the birds 毫无价值的；糟糕的What you have done for the company is proved to be for the birds.你为公司所做的一切都是毫无价值的。历史典故这个俚语的字面意思是“给鸟的”。据说以前马车普遍使用的年代，马在长途行进中需要休息方便。而在马拉完粪便后，小鸟便会围过来啄食。所以这个表达就用来形容不好的东西，引申为糟糕的。对话Kevin: Do you like the party I prepared for your birthday?喜欢我为你准备的生日派对吗？Rose: Why are you so considerate, Kevin?We arenot as close as you think.凯文，你为什么要这么体贴？我们的关系没有你想象的那么近。Kevin: Never mind, we will.没关系啊，我们会像我想象的那样的。Rose: Unfortunately, I have to tell you that what you have done is for the birds.很不幸，我不得不告诉你你所做的一切都是毫无价值的。048 Foregone conclusion 不可避免的结局Almost in all the movies,that the evil is finally defeated by the righteousness is a foregone conclusion.几乎在所有的电影中，邪不胜正都是意料之中的结局。历史典故这个表达同样出自伟大的诗人和剧作家莎士比亚笔下。这个表达出自他的作品奥德赛，但是现在的意思与当时不太相同，当时这个表达的意思是过去的事情，而现在成为了“不可避免的结局”的意思。对话Kevin: My experiment ended in failure.我的实验以失败而告终。Rose: It is a foregone conclusion I had told you before, because your experiment procedures were wrong.这是不可避免的结局，我之前就告诉过你，因为你的实验步骤是错的。Kevin: Yeah, I should have followed your advice.是啊，我真该听你的意见。Rose: Never mind. Don't give up and keep trying.没关系。别放弃，继续努力。049 (A)Frog in (one's) throat喉咙不舒服Is there a frog in your throat?Answer my question.你喉咙不舒服吗？回答我的问题。历史典故这个俚语的来源众说纷纭，有人说在河边喝水的时候不小心把青蛙也喝了下去，所以嗓子不舒服。但比较可信的还是嗓子不舒服的时候说话的声音比较像青蛙。对话Kevin: You should not take so much money with you.你不应该随身携带那么多钱。Rose:····Kevin: You are a girl,and you should not goalong the street alone in the night.It is dangerous.你是个女孩儿，不应该晚上一个人上街，这很危险的。Rose:Kevin: Is there a frog in your throat?Why don't you say anything?你喉咙不舒服吗？怎么不说话？Rose: I have done wrong and I have nothing to explain.我做错事了，没什么要解释的。050 Get the sack 被开除He got the sack for offending his superior.他因冒犯上司被炒鱿鱼。历史典故“sack”是麻布袋的意思。过去人们上班工作，总会带上一个大布袋子，里面装上自己工作会用到的工具和其他用品。如果老板想辞退一个人，就会把他的大袋子丢给他，意思即为让他走人。所以这个用语后来就通用为“被开除”的意思。对话Kevin: Nowadays the job market is sluggish. Many employees get the sack for insufficient reasons.如今就业市场很低迷，很多雇员被开除的理由并不充分。Rose:I have this experience myself.我深有体会。Kevin: I'm so sorry. Tell me about it.真抱歉，跟我说说。Rose: Three years ago I was dismissed after I went back work after I gave birth to my daughter. They claimed that I was unable to meet the deadline for several times which was totally nonsense.三年前，我生完女儿回到公司后，没过几天就被开除了。他们说我没法按时完成任务，根本就是瞎扯。051 Get up on the wrong side of the bed 心情不佳Today is a nice day, but I get up on the wrong side of the bed.今天天气不错，但我却心情不佳。历史典故这个俚语来自古罗马时期的迷信，当时人们认为如果一觉醒来后发现自己睡在床的另一边，则代表着厄运，有了厄运心情自然不好。对话Kevin: It seems that you get up on the wrong side of the bed,Rose.你看起来心情不佳啊，萝丝。Rose：Yeah, you are right.是啊，你看出来了。Kevin: Would you like to spit it out?怎么了？说说看。Rose: The TV play The Vampire Diary, which I like most didn't update this week and the heroine Katherine was going to die and I want to know what's going on later.我最喜欢的电视剧吸血鬼日记这周没有更新，女主角凯瑟琳上周就快要死了，我想知道下面的剧情。Kevin:Oh, such a big deal.哦，我还当什么大事呢。052 Gift of the gab 能言善道Seldom have I met a girl who has the gift of the gab like Jenny's.我几乎从未见过像珍妮这么有口才的女孩子。历史典故这个俚语是从古英语演化而来的，其前身是苏格兰文中的“gabba”，表示嘲笑。如果人说话犀利，有这种天赋，岂不就是能言善道么？对话Kevin: Jack has been admitted into a famous company as general manager.杰克被一家著名公司录用为总经理了。Rose:Jack?You mean the guy who didn't finish his college?杰克？你是说那个大学没毕业的家伙？Kevin: Yeah, I think his gift of the gab helped him get the good job.是啊，我觉得是因为他的口才他才得到这份工作的。Rose:I think so.我也这样想。053 Give me a break 饶了我吧Give me a break, please.I have been listening to you for three hours.你饶了我吧，我都听你说了三个小时了。历史典故这个俚语源于街头表演的艺人，他们表演累了就会休息一下，拿着自己的帽子向路人要赏钱，所以这个俚语的意思就是让我喘口气吧，饶了我吧的意思。对话Rose: Kevin, today is my treat. I have ordered you seven dishes.凯文，今天我请客，我为你点了七道菜。Kevin:Wow,what a big dinner!哇哦，真是一顿大餐啊。Rose:Here are some desserts.吃点甜点吧。Kevin: Oh, give me a break, Rose. I am too full to have anything.哦，萝丝，你饶了我吧，我太饱了什么也吃不下了。054 Give the thumbs up/down称赞/贬抑The general gave the thumbs up for the soldiers' performance in the battle.将军对士兵们的作战表现连连称赞。历史典故这是一个形象生动的俚语。“thumb”是拇指，所以从字面上来看，这个俚语的意思是“朝上/下竖大拇指”。我们在日常生活中经常会通过竖大拇指来赞扬或者贬抑某人，其也可用来表示赞成或反对某件事。对话Kevin:I'm excited and nervous about tomorrow's dissertation defense.我对明天的论文答辩既兴奋又紧张。Rose: Me, too.I hope that professor Lee will give the thumbs up for me.我也是，希望李教授会赞许我的论文。Kevin: You are asking for too much. If only he won't give the thumbs down.你也太贪心了吧，他不批评我就谢天谢地了。Rose:Don't undervalue yourself. You'll definitely go to pass.别妄自菲薄，肯定能通过的。Kevin: Thanks. I really need these.谢谢，我真的很需要你的鼓励。055 Go berserk 发狂I pissed my sister off by breaking her guitar this morning and she totally went berserk.早上我把姐姐的吉他弄坏了，她很生气，都发狂了。历史典故“berserk”源自古代北欧语言，是“披着熊皮的人”的意思，后来被引申为“狂战士”。爱瑟神族(Aesir)的主神奥丁(Odin)一直对狂战士加以庇护，所以狂战士好战且毫无恐惧和疼痛的感觉，而且攻击性很强。狂战士在进入战斗状态后会陷入癫狂，无法控制。所以后来人们用这个词形容发狂、暴怒的人。对话Kevin: You have been sitting in front of your laptop for almost 10 hours. Take a rest.That's bad for your eyes.你都在电脑前坐了十个小时了，休息一下吧，这样对眼睛不好。Rose: You think I like this?I have to finish filing these documents before 11p.m.I am going berserk.你以为我情愿吗？我得赶在十一点前把这些文件整理好。我都快抓狂了。Kevin: Don't push yourself too hard because it's unworthy.别把自己逼得这么紧，不值得。056 Go Dutch 各自付账Usually Americans go Dutch when they go out to eat, unless it is understood ahead of time that one person will pay for everyone.美国人外出吃饭通常是各自付账，除非之前有人说请客。历史典故17世纪时，荷兰被喻为“海上马车夫”，不仅有强大的海上军事实力，更是海上商品贸易的重要参与者。荷兰商人们已衍生出聚时交流信息，散时各付资费的习惯。商人流动性很大，一个人请了客，说不定再也见不到被请的人了。幽默的美国人将“Let's go Dutch”引申为“AA制”。对话Kevin： Keep your money.Today is my treat.把你的钱装回去，今天我请客。Rose: Oh, no,let's go Dutch this time.这次我们各自付账吧。Kevin: I am your boy friend and this should be my treat.我是你男朋友，应该是我付钱。Rose: My friends and I always go Dutch when we eat at restaurants.我和朋友们到饭馆吃饭的时候总是各自付账。057 Go haywire 疯狂的，混乱的Regulators are debating ways to step in when prices go haywire.当价格失控时，监管者们还在争论以何种方式介入。历史典故这个说法很地道，因为过去美国人经常把电线和稻草绑在一起(hay+wire)，来防止电线断掉伤到人。所以这个俚语的意思就是很危险的情况。对话Kevin:I thought you were going to India on a trip.我以为你们要去印度旅行。Rose: We had planned to,but our plans went kind of haywire.本来有这个打算，但我们的计划出了点问题。Kevin:Really?What happened?真的吗？怎么了？Rose:My husband got very sick and I got a big project all of a sudden.我丈夫生重病了，而我濡染街道一个大案子。058 Go out on a limb 冒险I will go out on a limb here, and predict that most of these situations will not involve any embezzlement by management.在这里，我要冒险推测一下，这些情况中的大部分并不包含管理层侵占公司现金。历史典故“limb”是树枝的意思、这个短语的意思就是站在树枝上。大家可以想象一下站在极细的树枝上多危险，所以这个短语后来就成了冒险的代名词。不过这里指的风险，并不是身体上的，而是指有辱名誉、丢脸或被误会的风险，也可用在财务方面。对话Kevin: Do you recommend I invest in this stock?你推荐我投资这只股票吗？Rose:It's pretty risky. However, there is a chance you can make a lot of money.这风险很高，不过也有赚大钱的机会。Kevin:I don't like going out on a limb and taking big chances with my money.我不喜欢拿我的钱去冒险Rose:In that case, it might be better not to choose this investment.那样的话，也许最好不要选择这项投资。059 Goody two-shoes 假正经；伪善者She's such a goody two-shoes that all the men I know are afraid to ask her out on a date.她真是自命清高。我所认识的那些男人都怕请她出去，怕跟她交朋友。历史典故这个说法很幽默，来自于一个小童话故事TheHistory of Little Goody Two-Shoes。故事的寓意是，如果你是个好心又正直的人，你就会遇到很多好事(寓意与现在的完全不同)。但后来这个用法渐渐演变为了贬义的意思，表示假正经。对话Kevin: I think Penny is a nice girl, modest andelegant.我觉得佩妮真不错，谦虚而又优雅。Rose: She is not as nice as you see.她可不像你看到的那么好。Kevin: Make it clear.说明白些。Rose: She is always to pretend to be a goody two- shoes when she goes out with his friend and another person when she is at home.她和朋友出去时总是假正经，而在家里又是另外一个样子。060 Green with envy 嫉妒；羡慕Alice's girlfriends were green with envy when they saw her new dress.爱丽丝的女友们看到她的新衣服很妒忌。历史典故英语中颜色常常代表了很多含义，比如这里的“green”。在莎士比亚的奥德赛中，他用“green eyes”形容人的嫉妒，后来“green”也就被赋予了这层含意。这个俚语直到19世纪才开始流行起来。对话Kevin:What do you think of my new uniform?你觉得我的新制服怎么样？Rose:Not bad. So you are satisfied with it?还行。你这就满意了？Kevin: Yeah,very much.是啊，很满意。Rose: Wait till you see my new skirt. You're going to be absolutely green with envy.你等着看我的新裙子吧，准叫你羡慕得不得了。8