西方基本文化常识扫盲Hot

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发烧Run a fever

Definition:
To be sick, with an unusually high body temperature; to be very hot due to illness.

Example:
1) Jane can't go to school today. She's running a fever.

Etymology:
'Run' has many meanings. In this phrase, 'run' means 'to continue to have', so 'run a fever' refers to a person maintaining a 'fever' (a high body temperature).

 

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地道英语：我彻底“崩溃”了
　　Jessia在北京学中文，她的中国朋友要是遇到了不知道用美语怎么说的词，就会来请教她。今天是怡茹要问的：崩溃。

　　Jessica：Morning,怡茹！ Oh.You don't look so well, are you sick?

　　YR: 生病倒没有，就是精神快崩溃了。老板让我做调研，一共需要1000多个样品数据！我已经做了两个星期，头昏脑胀，可还是没做完！I am going crazy!

　　Jessica: Don't freak out yet. 怡茹，咱们一块想想办法！

　　YR: Wait a second.。。你说，freak out?

　　Jessica: Freak is spelled f-r-e-a-k, freak; freak out就是崩溃的意思。

　　YR: OMG! That's totally me! I'm freaking out! 你说想办法，我已经上网找，问朋友，去图书馆查，都没有现成的数据，完全要自己一点一点搜集！ 我觉得我已经走投无路了……

　　Jessica: Yeah... seems like you are at the end of your rope. This phrase basically means you are out of options. I'm so sorry怡茹！

　　YR: At the end of my rope? 真形象。绳子到头了，没有别的办法。I'm so at the end of my rope! Jessica，你说要是我无法按时完成任务，那可怎么办呀！老板都催我两次了，我现在感觉如履薄冰。

　　Jessica: Yeah, being on thin ice is definitely not the best feeling in the world。

　　YR: On thin ice就是中文里说的如履薄冰吧？太形象了。

　　Jessica: You know what? I'm not worried about you. I think you can definitely finish the assignment on time!

　　YR: 真的吗？好，那我加油，一定按时完成，做得漂漂亮亮的！

　　Jessica: That's the spirit!

　　YR: 我去了！Bye Jessica!

　　Jessica: Wait怡茹！Before you go, tell me what you've learned today!

　　YR: 第一，崩溃可以用to freak out;

　　第二，走投无路，无计可施是at the end of someone's rope;

　　第三，如履薄冰on thin ice。
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一些非常有用的英语俚语

真正经常和老外打交道,感觉英语俚语还是非常有用,你可以不会用或者用不好,但如果看到了或听到了,不明白它的意思,那同样影响交流的,因为有些英语俚语太常见了,每个词都认识,但就是不知道是什么意思. 贴一些英语俚语,权当自己做个日记,同时也与各位一起分享.朋友们帮顶呀.

　　Be in the air 将要发生的事情
　　The feeling or idea that something new is about to happen or is going to change
　　Example: From the arguments going on at the meeting, it seems that a change in policy is in the air.
　　
　　
　　
　　Clear the air 消除误会
　　To settle a dispute and restore good relations
　　Example: We had a meeting with the workers, and I think we’ve cleared the air now.
　　
　　
　　
　　Cost an arm and a leg 极其昂贵
　　To be very expensive
　　Example: I love that fur coat. However, I don’t think I’m going to buy it because it costs an arm and a leg.
　　
　　
　　
　　A bad egg 缺乏道德的人
　　Somebody who has no moral principles and should be avoided
　　Example: You mustn’t lend Tim money, he’s a bad egg. You’ll never see him or your money again!
　　
　　
　　
　　In the Bag 稳操胜券
　　Said of an achievement which is secure
　　Example: We have the deal in the bag. The client came in this morning to sign the agreement.
　　
　　
　　
　　In the balance 未知的,不可预测的
　　Said when the outcome of a situation is unknown or unpredictable
　　Example: His career as a pilot is in the balance, as his eyesight does not seem good enough.
　　
　　
　　
　　Drive a hard bargain 极力讨价还价
　　To have the negotiating strength and skills to get the most advantageous price and conditions
　　Example: Amanda is negotiating the best price from the suppliers. She drives a hard bargain.
　　
　　
　　
　　Ring a bell 看上去或听起来非常熟悉
　　To look, sound or seem familiar
　　Example: That face rings a bell, where have I seen him before?
　　
　　
　　
　　Tighten one’s belt 节衣缩食
　　To cut down on spending because there is less income than before
　　Example: Now you are out of work, you’ll have to tighten your belt and give up buying new clothes and going out so often.
　　
　　
　　
　　Kill two birds with one stone 一石二鸟
　　To complete two tasks together, with less effort than doing them separately
　　Example: Since I’d gone to the store to buy some bread, I thought of killing two birds with one stone and invited Mr. Biggs to the party.

 

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Be in a black mood 情绪极差
　　To be so negative about everything that it is impossible for anyone to reason with him/her
　　Example: My father has been in a black mood for days, we dare not say anything to him.
　　
　　
　　
　　New blood 新成员
　　New people brought into an organization to introduce different and original ideas
　　Example: It was decided to bring new blood into the school by employing teachers with the latest training.
　　
　　
　　
　　Feeling blue 感到无精打采
　　Feeling sad or depressed
　　Example: She’s feeling blue, because the man she loves is far away.
　　
　　
　　
　　Get to the bottom of something 弄清真相
　　To find out the truth about something
　　Example: I’m trying to get to the bottom of why David left without saying goodbye.
　　
　　
　　
　　A piece of cake 轻松的事
　　Something which is very easy to do
　　Example: Here…let me put the batteries in for you. It’s a piece of cake.
　　
　　
　　
　　Pay a call 拜访
　　To visit somebody
　　Example: As we’re in this neighborhood, we might as well pay the Jacksons a call, we haven’t seen them for ages.
　　
　　
　　
　　By chance 偶然, 意外的
　　Unexpectedly; with no prior planning
　　Example: By chance, I bumped into my wife in the shopping mall
　　
　　Round the clock 夜以继日的
　　To do something continuously, without a break or pause
　　Example: The ambulance services worked round the clock hauling people trapped in the building to safety.
　　
　　
　　
　　Keep one’s cool 保持冷静
　　To stay calm in a difficult situation
　　Example: If the traffic is jamed, the only thing to do is keep your cool, or get out of the car and walk!
　　
　　
　　
　　In a tight corner 处于困境
　　In an extremely difficult situation
　　Example: Whenever I get into a tight corner, I try to rely on quick thinking to get out of it.
　　
　　

　　Keep in the dark 隐瞒
　　To keep something secret
　　Example: We know my brother has a new girlfriend, but he's keeping her name in the dark.
　　
　　
　　
　　Fall on deaf ears 不加理睬的, 不听取
　　Not to take any notice of what is said
　　Example: The city council’s order that garbage should be put in the bins fell on deaf ears; the sidewalks are still littered with trash!
　　
　　
　　
　　Take things easy 放轻松
　　To relax
　　Example: It's better for our health to take things easy than to worry about problems all the time.
　　
　　
　　
　　Eat like a horse 吃得很多
　　To eat a lot; to have a very big appetite
　　Example: Fred eats like a horse. When I was a growing lad like him, I used to eat a lot, too.
　　
　　
　　
　　Catch one’s eye 吸引某人注意
　　To attract somebody’s attention
　　Example: A movement behind the curtain caught my eye I thought it was a burglar and rushed out of the room!
　　
　　
　　
　　Have an eye for something 对某事(某物体)了解得非常清楚
　　To be very good at doing something, or have a great understanding of something.
　　Example: As a botanist, he has to describe and draw plants accurately, so he must have an eye for detail.
　　
　　Turn a blind eye .熟视无睹
　　To ignore an action, even though one should do something about it
　　Example: Parents will spoil their children if they constantly turn a blind eye to their bad behavior.
　　
　　
　　
　　Keep an eye on 照看, 密切注视
　　To watch carefully; to look after
　　Example: Keep an eye on my purse I'm just going to the bathroom.
　　
　　
　　
　　Lose face 丢脸
　　To have one's reputation spoiled; to be embarrassed
　　Example: The large drug houses have lost face, because smaller companies are selling similar products at a cheaper price!
　　
　　
　　
　　Lead the field 处于领头地位
　　To be the most successful person or group in an activity
　　Example: For decades, the House of Dior led the field in elegant fashion design.

 

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Get out of hand 失去控制
　　To be out of control
　　Example: The problem of suicide bombings is getting out of hand; there seems to be no way to stop them.
　　
　　
　　
　　Give a hand 提供帮助
　　To help somebody with something
　　Example: Please give me a hand and hold this board while I paint it.
　　
　　
　　
　　Learn by heart 牢记
　　To memorize something; to have learned something word for word or very precisely.
　　Example: At school we often learned Shakespeare’s sonnets by heart and recited them in front of the class.
　　
　　
　　
　　On hold 尚未办理的事情
　　Something set aside and waiting to be dealt with
　　Example: Our vacation plans are on hold right now; because my Dad’s just been admitted to hospital with a stomach ulcer.
　　
　　
　　
　　A dark horse 出乎意料的嬴家
　　An unexpected winner.
　　Example: A dark horse in this year’s basketball cup was Japan!
　　
　　The bottom line 本质内容
　　The most essential part of something
　　Example: We’ve talked a lot about taxation and immigration, but the bottom line is that we have to create more jobs.
　　
　　
　　
　　Live it up 狂欢一场
　　To enjoy a high standard of living and lead a carefree life
　　Example: The neighbors having been living it up ever since they won the sweepstakes.
　　
　　
　　
　　Look forward to 期待着
　　To relish some future prospect; to eagerly await meeting somebody.
　　Example: You can tell Jake is looking forward to his vacation he keeps telling us how many days there are left until he finishes college.
　　
　　
　　
　　Bear in mind 记住
　　To remember something which can be of help in the future.
　　Example: Before you start your perspective drawing, bear in mind you should first establish a vanishing point.
　　
　　
　　
　　Have a mind to 想做某事, 计划做某事
　　To be decided on ; to intend to
　　Example: The service in our hotel was terrible. I have a mind to write a letter of complaint.

 

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　Be in the mood 想要做某事
　　To feel like doing something
　　Example: She is not in the mood for playing cards and says she should really be preparing her lecture notes.
　　
　　
　　
　　Over the moon 欣喜若狂
　　Extremely happy
　　Example: She’s over the moon about her promotion she really wasn’t expecting it.
　　
　　
　　
　　Get a move on 赶快
　　To hurry up
　　Example: Get a move on! The train is about to leave.
　　
　　
　　
　　Over and above 除…这外, 额外的
　　In addition to
　　Example: Over and above our salary, we are getting a large bonus, because business has been very profitable this year.
　　
　　
　　
　　
　　Get the picture 了解某事
　　To understand something, to grasp some meaning
　　Example: When they started cutting back and laying people off at work, I got the picture and starting looking for another job.
　　
　　Be out of pocket 花光了钱的
　　To be without money
　　Example: He’s complaining because he spent all of his money on slot machines and now he’s out of pocket.
　　
　　
　　
　　Keep somebody posted 传达消息
　　To regularly give somebody up-to-date information or details of the progress being made.
　　Example: I phoned in at the end of each working day to keep my boss posted about developments at the trade conference.
　　
　　
　　
　　In the long run 最终, 最后
　　Over a long period of time, once a process has matured
　　Example: The grocery store is making a loss right now. In the long run, however, we hope to achieve a situation of stable profit.
　　
　　
　　
　　On a shoestring 生活拮据
　　In a thrifty manner; with costs or spending down to a bare minimum
　　Example: She lives on a shoestring she gets a tiny pension and has to budget very tightly.
　　
　　
　　
　　Lose track of 失去消息, 失去线索
　　To lose contact with somebody to not know where something is
　　Example: I lost track of Fran when she moved to Boston. I’ve even tried to locate her on the Internet.

 

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1,ace: She is an ace dancer.
　　
　　就是牛X的意思啊。
　　
　　2,all-nighter: I felt very tired after an all-nighter.
　　
　　通宵。
　　
　　3,beemer: That girl is driving a beemer.
　　
　　BMW, 宝马。气人的是，我们停车场里一辆牛款beemer的主人不是官最大的，当然不是最有学问的，而是一个有钱人的小千金。
　　
　　4,booze: I'm going to bring a bottle of booze to your party.
　　
　　酒
　　
　　5,bummer:
　　
　　坏事，不好的方面。别人要跟你说开车撞了电线杆子，你就要说 Oh, bummer!一表感同身受。
　　
　　6,chicken: He is really a chicken.
　　
　　弱人
　　
　　7,cool:
　　
　　港片里的“酷”啊，用得实在多。
　　
　　8,cop:That crazy driver was pulled over by a cop.
　　
　　警察，可不要当面叫啊，当面叫"ShuShu".
　　
　　9,couch patato: My roommate is a couch patato.
　　
　　喜欢长时间坐那看电视的懒蛋。
　　
　　10,deep pockets: I don't want to buy it, it's for people with deep pockets.
　　
　　富鬼。
　　
　　11,flip side: Don't watch the flip side, it's too personal.
　　
　　另一面，反面
　　
　　12,foxy: Look at that foxy lady!
　　
　　性感撩人的
　　
　　13,nuke: That country is working seriously on nukes.
　　
　　北韩，说你呢。 核弹。
　　
　　14,pain: That's a pain in the neck.
　　
　　烦人的，
　　
　　15,psycho: That psycho scared me.
　　
　　说人“有病”
　　
　　16,rock: You wanna your coke on the rocks?
　　
　　冰块， 注意介词
　　
　　17,shot: Do you wanna another shot?
　　
　　试试
　　
　　18,yukky: That dish was yukky.
　　
　　难吃
　　
　　19,get it: Did you get that joke?
　　
　　搞明白
　　
　　20,glitch: We shut the pc down since there was a glitch.
　　
　　小毛病，比如以前电脑里的一些莫名其妙的东西经常搞死机子。
　　
　　21,goofy: They were worrying about their goofy kids.
　　
　　傻，不懂事，顽皮
　　
　　22,grand: Give me two grands and the car will be yours.
　　
　　一千大洋
　　
　　23,groovy: His Mom made some groovy art.
　　
　　有品位的
　　
　　24,gross:
　　
　　恶心
　　
　　25,guts:
　　
　　胆量
　　
　　26,vibes: I have bad vibes about that person.
　　
　　对别人感觉如何的“感觉”。
　　
　　27,up: He has been up since married.
　　
　　高兴。“七喜”的英文是啥来着？
　　
　　28,veg: He veg out in front of TV all the time.
　　
　　“菜”在那不动
　　
　　29,好吃叫“yummy".鬼子喜欢听好话，他们要做点啥请你吃你可一定要装一装说”yummy".
　　
　　 30, fishy 可疑的。
　　That sounds fishy.

 

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31, drag 没劲的事
　　
　　It's such a drag to deal with them again and again.
　　
　　32, roll 走，离开。（今天还听一人说Ready to roll?来着）
　　
　　Are you ready to roll? Let's roll.
　　
　　33, nuts 疯
　　
　　Are you nuts? The trafic drives me nuts.
　　
　　34, freak out 紧张害怕
　　
　　Don't freak out if cops pull you over.
　　
　　35, rip off 骗了（钱了）
　　
　　I realized I was ripped off after payed $200 for these shoes.
　　
　　36, bug 讨厌
　　
　　Stop bugging me with your plan. I won't do it with you
　　
　　
　　 37 shrink =A psychotherapist 心理医生
　　38 airhead =A silly, rather unintelligent person.
　　His girlfriend is an airhead.
　　
　　39 a-yo 比较随便的打招呼，近似于"What' up?" "Hey!"
　　
　　40 buzz 打电话 Give me a buzz when you reach home.
　　
　　41 bread ＝money. breadwinner 养家的人
　　
　　42 booty 屁股 Check out her booty!
　　
　　43 boob 乳房
　　
　　
　　
　　 44 cheesey 很没品味，很土=corny
　　The gift I receieved from Ryan is cheesey.
　　45 cig cigarette的缩写 You got a cig?
　　
　　46 crap =nonsense
　　What he said is crap. Don't believe a word of it.
　　
　　47 f-u-c-ked up 可以表达很多意思，比如“糟透了，笨死了”
　　You are pretty f-u-c-ked up.
　　
　　48 freaky =weird
　　He's a freaky guy.=He is a freak.
　　
　　49 flick =movie
　　That was a good flick.
　　
　　50 get on (one's) nerves =to annoy
　　You really get on my nerves.
　　
　　51 goof 笨蛋 goofy=silly
　　
　　52 hang out (和朋友)出去消遣
　　
　　53 hooker 妓女
　　
　　54 hot 迷人
　　Man, that girl was hot!
　　She is such a hottie!
　　
　　55 juicy 桃色八卦的 a juicy scandal
　　
　　56 jerk 粗蠢之人
　　
　　57 jerk off =to masturbate
　　
　　
　　
　　48 jackass “公驴”，说人就是“蠢驴”的意思， MTV台就有一档叫JACKASS的节目，专门表演一些无聊又愚蠢的玩意儿逗乐
　　
　　49 pimp 拉皮条的
　　
　　50 puke =vomit
　　There's puke on the floor.
　　
　　51 pussy =vagina
　　
　　52 redneck （美国的）乡巴佬
　　
　　53 sassy ＝styling. 时髦的
　　Those clothes are sassy!
　　
　　54 nifty 棒，一流的
　　Here's a list of all-around nifty things that we've found over the years.
　　
　　55 screw up =err;mess up
　　They screwed up that paint job.
　　
　　56 suck 讨厌，烦人
　　Final exams suck.
　　
　　57 twisted = displeasing; MESSED UP
　　That's twisted!
　　twisted mind 奇思异想；怪脑筋
　　
　　58 meth Methamphetamine的缩写，即“冰毒”
　　
　　59 tweaker =a person who uses meth
　　
　　60 MDMA 摇头丸，也叫“Ecstasy”/“XTC”

 

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61 pot =Marijuana;joint 大麻烟
　　
　　62 crack 强效可卡因63 whiz 小便
　　I just took a whiz.
　　
　　64 gig ＝job
　　I just do these gigs as a cover.
　　
　　65 dump 甩了某人（比如女朋友）
　　
　　66 get high 爽一下
　　Do you get high?
　　
　　67 p-i-s-s off
　　
　　68 get a crush on somebody 迷上某人
　　
　　69 thirtyish = thirty something 三十多岁的 70 bent =angry
　　It's OK. Don't get so bent.
　　71 booze = alcohol
　　He promised to bring two bottles of booze to the party.
　　
　　72 call =prediction
　　The weatherman made a good call about when the storm would come.
　　
　　73 chintzy =cheap
　　That really was a chintzy present you got him.
　　
　　74 cut out =leave
　　It is late. I have to cut out.
　　
　　75 dope -drug
　　There are a lot of dope dealers around here.
　　
　　76 freebie 免费品
　　The pillow was a freebie
　　
　　77 get it ＝understand
　　I listened to the joke twice, but I still don't get it.
　　
　　78 grubby = unclean and untidy
　　Those clothes are too grubby to wear to the party.
　　
　　79 hairy =dangerous
　　That was a hairy plane trip. I am glad the storm is over.
　　
　　
　　80 fag 是"faggot"的简写， 对同性恋男子的贬称
　　
　　81 street smart 知道在城市生活该怎么处置一些事情，应该如何应付各种不同的情况，比如如何保护自己。
　　
　　82 chill/chill out =relax 放松，休息
　　Glad class is over! I'm ready to chill for the rest of the morning. I haven't had a chance to chill out these last few days, getting ready for school and all.
　　
　　83 ditch 做名词用是指地上的沟； 做动词to ditch表示要离开某个人，因为你不想跟他在一起了；或表示要马上离开一个不想再呆的地方。
　　It's too noisy. Let's ditch this place.
　　
　　84 hit the spot 感到过瘾，觉得很痛快。比如你肚子饿了，吃得心满意足，就可以说That food really hit the spot.
　　
　　85 big gun 大人物，对决策有重大影响的人
　　The company's big gun quarterbacked the meeting about their revenue report.
　　
　　86 quarterback 本意是美式足球的四分卫，做动词在可以表示"主持会议，或总管项目"
　　The project leader quarterbacked the meeting.
　　
　　87 lame 无聊，没意思，或者不合适的
　　Don't give me any lame excuses next time I want to do something!
　　
　　88 shot 是指什么东西坏了，或者人体的某个部位受伤了
　　I think my engine is shot. This is not good.
　　
　　89 damage 是指为某样东西或某个交易付的钱, 通常用"bad/not bad"来表示价钱高低
　　The damage for renting the car is pretty bad.
　　
　　
　　 90 choke 糟糕，失败的意思
　　I think New York is going to lose. Knowing them, their going to choke.
　　91 money 保持高水平，非常棒的意思
　　Yao Ming is money.
　　
　　92 hard headed =stubborn 顽固，固执
　　
　　93 drained =exhausted 非常累
　　You are full of energy. But I'm drained, I'm going to sleep.
　　
　　94 wired 一 精力充沛.
　　After the next cup of coffee, I think I'm going to be pretty wired.
　　
　　二 to be connected to something, such as being wired into the Internet, or being wired into a discussion.

 

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95 kick back 休息，和某人一起玩
　　It's a good time to just kick back and relax.
　　
　　96 one track mind 意思是脑子里光想一件事
　　Geez, you have such a one track mind sometimes.
　　
　　97 ticked off 为了什么事情生气
　　Crossing the streets in New York and Washington is dangerous. But getting ticked off about it won't do you any good.
　　
　　98 close call 差一点没发生的倒霉的事，或是差一点完不成的该做的事
　　
　　99 goof off (年轻人)一些无聊的事开玩笑
　　No more goofing off!
　　100. poop --To defecate 拉屎
　　昨天Fox台the 55th Emmy Awards Ceremony上，就有人说pooped his pants
　　
　　101. liplock 接吻 Madonna 和 Britney 那个French kiss大家都看见了吧
　　
　　102. snoozer---something tedious or boring 使人打瞌睡的东西
　　
　　103. sour-puss-----A habitually gloomy or sullen person 扑克脸
　　
　　104 toss-up---- even chance 原意为抛硬币，引申为“对半开的机会”
　　
　　It is a toss-up whether he will win or lose.
　　
　　105 pratfall---a comedy fall upon one's buttocks 屁蹲儿
　　
　　105 pick-up line:
　　a prepared opening line of conversation intended to get someone interested in having a causal sexual relationship.
　　
　　不知道中文里面又没有对应的词，我头一回听说这个词是看Will & Grace， Grace抱回一只小狗结果Will着了魔，吃饭睡觉都舍不得放下狗狗，Grace明白Will同志是太寂寞了，于是劝他go on a date，Will很不自信，她就鼓励道 You still have a pick-up line.
　　
　　106 poofter/pooftah/poufer: (Derogatory) 1. a male homosexual. 2. an effeminate male. --adjective 3. homosexual. 对男同性恋的贬称，尤其是对sissy的男同，我看过一个澳大利亚电影Head On，里面一个被激怒的的父亲对女装打扮的儿子就用了这个词儿。同意词还有pansy
　　
　　107 party animal: 1. a person who parties hard. 2. a person who is always going to parties. 派对动物
　　
　　108 party pooper: a person who has a discouraging or depressing effect, especially at a party. 冷场人物109, on the money
　　 正正好。比如说，两条线正好重叠，扔出去的东西击中目标等。
　　110， sabbatical
　　 这个不太是俚语。通常指老师或教授的带薪的长假。 111. nerd
　　If you call someone a nerd, it means you think he is weird and not cool.
　　A typical nerd is someone who wears glasses and carries a lot of books.
　　As a matter of fact, when I was growing up, a lot of kids called me a nerd because I didn't fit in.
　　112. cheesy 就是很俗气，质量很次，很愚蠢。人们经常用cheesy 这个词来形容电视节目，电影或者某个人说的话。
　　Cheesy means tacky or dumb. It's usually used to describe a TV show, movie, or something someone says.
　　
　　I think the new TV soap opera on Channel 6 is so cheesy. It is fake and the things they say on the shows are so weird. I don't know why these shows are so popular.
　　

 

[故乡的云]

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113. wimp 软弱的人，胆小鬼，或者是怕痛的人
　　A wimp is a weak person, a coward, or someone who can't take pain.
　　
　　114. guts 勇气
　　You only had enough guts today because I was here to support you. Usually you are a wimp!
　　
　　115. take a hike -----to tell someone to leave, or to tell someone to leave you alone.
　　If I were you, I would have told him to take a hike.
　　
　　116. blow off--取消约会，或者是不做自己不想做的事
　　Bob and I did make plans to go out last night. But he blew me off. He decided to go out with his girlfriend. It wasn't the first time he blew me off.
　　
　　There are some things in life you just shouldn't blow off.
　　
　　117. uptight----tense, irritable, or unable to relax.
　　
　　Sometimes if I feel a bit uptight, I have a few beers. That helps me relax.
　　
　　118. busted ------做坏事被抓到
　　
　　The police just busted someone for trying to steal my neighbor's car.
　　
　　119. creeep ---A creep is someone who looks and acts in a way that makes people suspicious and uncomfortable.
　　
　　He was always frowning, and wouldn't say hello to people. That's one reason I thought he was a creep. 120. wasted----喝得大醉
　　Last night a friend and I went out to a bar and got wasted, so I don't feel very good right now.
　　We were so wasted that we couldn't even stand up straight.
　　
　　121.to get a kick out of something-----为某件事感到很高兴
　　I said you get a kick out of watching me suffer. That means, you enjoy watching me suffer.
　　
　　122. whatever 表示说话的人对对方说的话很不以为然
　　
　　123 peanuts 数量很小，价值很低
　　A:How much money do you earn as a teaching assistant, if you don't mind my asking?
　　B:Eight dollars? That's peanuts!
　　
　　124. laid back: 形容一个人个性比较随和，不会轻易发脾气
　　Wanted: friendly, laid back female roommate to share a two bedroom apartment.
　　
　　125. to play hooky: 逃学，或者装病不去上班
　　I may play hooky once in a while, but I usually study hard.
　　
　　
　　126. to snap at somebody: 对某人嚷嚷，很生气地对某人说话
　　I'm sorry, Mikey. I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just that right now I'm so stressed.
　　
　　127. chip in: 凑钱买什么东西，或者是凑钱付大家一起吃饭的钱
　　The guys and I usually each chip in a few dollars when we go out for pizza on Friday nights.
　　
　　128. snail mail:通过邮局寄的信
　　Ever since e-mail became popular, people have used "snail mail" to talk about paper mail, because it is slower than e-mail.
　　
　　Everyone is so busy nowadays, no one seems to have time to write snail mail anymore.
　　
　　129. to rule: 很棒
　　
　　I said I rule the pool table. That means that I dominate the game.I can defeat anyone.
　　
　　Chinese food rules!
　　
　　130. to blow one's money on something: 把钱都浪费在了某样东西上
　　When we were at the mall the other day, you blew a whole week's pay on shoes

 

[故乡的云]

回复: 西方基本文化常识扫盲Hot

131 techie 技术专家,尤指电子电脑方面的高手
　　132 honcho 上司,老板
　　
　　133 weirdo/weirdie/weirdy 怪人
　　
　　134 mumbo jumbo: speech one doesn't understand
　　
　　135 sleep around: have sex with many people
　　He's never at home because he sleeps around so much.
　　
　　136 funky:strange; weird
　　
　　137 indie film: 独立电影
　　
　　138 fool around: play around; kill time 游荡;鬼混
　　
　　139 p-u-s-s-y: a physically weak person; wimp
　　
　　140 high-maintenance: 费钱费工夫的
　　He considered beautiful girls too high-maintenance.

 

[故乡的云]

回复: 西方基本文化常识扫盲Hot

Have a beef with sb 与某人发生矛盾，关系紧张
　　
　　如果一天你的外国朋友对你说：“Buddy, I've been through hell. I'm having a beef with my boss。”你该怎么回答？祝贺他和老板一起吃牛排，工作关系有新发展吗？那你的朋友一定不会再和你一起吃牛排了。
　　
　　在这个俚语里，beef意为“an argument”（争论、争吵）或“a complaint”（抱怨）。所以短语have a beef with sb就是“与某人发生矛盾，关系紧张”的意思。这种用法最早出现于19世纪后期的美国。
　　
　　在人类历史的大部分时间里，beef一直被看作是健康的食品，力量的来源。近几百年有关牛肉的俚语也都印证了这点。如果称赞一个人强壮，我们可以用beefy（健壮的，结实的）来形容他。而词组beef up则表示“加强，补充(人数、兵力)”等。
　　　
　　与星期有关的
　　
　　字串3
　　
　　1、 与Sunday有关的：　
　　
　　字串4
　　
　　Sunday best , Sunday clothes , Sunday togs , Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes高档、漂亮的衣裳；盛装。 字串8
　　
　　Sunday run长距离。 字串8
　　
　　Sunday painter业余画家。 字串2
　　
　　Sunday punch（拳击中）最厉害的一击；（对付对手的）杀手锏。 字串8
　　
　　Sunday saint伪善者。
　　
　　字串2
　　
　　
　　Sunday saint and Monday sinner假道学，伪君子。 字串4
　　
　　Sunday letter（历书上为表示一年之星期日所用的）主日字母。 字串4
　　
　　Sunday school（教堂中所设的）主日学校。（美）扑克牌戏。 字串8
　　
　　Sunday school truth众所周知的道理或事实。 字串5
　　
　　Month of Sundays很久。 字串8
　　
　　Mid-Lent Sunday , Mothering / Refreshment Sunday（牛津大学）校庆日前的星期日。 字串2
　　
　　Low Sunday业余的；复活节后的星期日。
　　
　　字串6
　　
　　To look two ways to find Sundays斜着眼看。 字串5
　　
　　2、 与Monday有关的： 字串1
　　
　　black Monday（学俚）放假后的开学第一天；执行死刑之星期一；黑色礼拜一（即复活节之后一日，因1360年的当天，天气严寒，爱德华三世之士兵都冻死于巴黎附近）。
　　
　　字串8
　　
　　
　　Blue Monday沮丧，闷烦（相对于欢乐的周末而言）。
　　
　　字串4
　　
　　
　　Saint Monday（特指交易所）懒散，工作很少的星期一。
　　
　　字串4
　　
　　Mad Monday 忙乱的星期一。
　　
　　字串2
　　
　　
　　Monday morning feeling , Monday feeling美国人在周末休假后星期一不想工作的那样一种心情。 字串2
　　
　　Monday morning quarterback放马后炮的人。
　　
　　字串3
　　
　　
　　Monday morning quarterbacking放马后炮。
　　
　　字串4
　　
　　
　　3、 与Friday有关的：
　　
　　字串1
　　
　　Friday忠仆，随从（源自鲁滨逊漂流记）。
　　
　　字串5
　　
　　
　　Man Friday男忠仆。 字串9
　　
　　Girl Friday得力助手（尤指女秘书）。
　　
　　字串8
　　
　　Pal Friday极受信赖的女秘书。 字串4
　　
　　Friday face神色不佳之人。 字串4
　　
　　Black Friday不幸的礼拜五，即有任何灾难发生的礼拜五；复活节前之礼拜五（神职人员于此日着黑装）。 字串8
　　
　　Good Friday耶酥受难节； 字串4
　　
　　T.G.I.F ( Thank God it’s Friday )报纸上刊出招聘一名能干的女职员的广告。 字串8
　　
　　4、 与Saturday有关的：
　　
　　字串1
　　
　　
　　Saturday-to-Monday周末休假；周末的。
　　
　　字串8
　　
　　Black Saturday黑色星期六（指工人已预借工资无钱可领的星期六）。
　　
　　字串6
　　
　　
　　Saturday night special便于周末作案的小手枪。
　　
　　字串7
　　
　　Saturday night massacre星期六夜晚大屠杀（指尼克松任总统期间白宫在1973年10月20日，周六晚上宣布解除水门时间特别检查官考克斯的职务，并解除拒绝把考克斯解职的司法部长理查森和副部长拉克尔职务）。

 

[故乡的云]

回复: 西方基本文化常识扫盲Hot

字串3
　　
　　
　　5、 与“星期”名称有关的几个名谚： 字串6
　　
　　He that sings on Friday , shall weep on Sunday ; He who laughs on Friday will weep on Sunday .乐极生悲。
　　
　　字串4
　　
　　
　　Choose a wife on a Saturday rather than a Sunday .节日假期，不宜选妻。（意指平时女子穿便服，故能更好地对之进行观察）。 字串7
　　
　　Come day , go day , God send Sunday .过了一天又一天，上帝快给个星期天。（此乃懒惰者的愿望，亦指懒惰的佣人盼望工作时间快快过去，休息和发工钱的日子快快到来）。 字串4
　　
　　附几个句子： 字串8
　　
　　1、 Mary , a well-known Sunday painter's girl Friday , went to the art exhibition in her Sunday best yesterday and made a hit with all the gentlemen there who seemed to have Sunday-go-to-meeting manners . 字串1
　　
　　2、 Joe slumped into his chair at the breakfast table , “monday morning feeling again , dear ? ” asked his wife .
　　
　　字串4
　　
　　
　　3、 I know it must be the battery .
　　
　　字串5
　　
　　
　　yeah , why didn’t you tell me earlier ? Monday morning quarterback .
　　
　　字串5
　　
　　4、 Friday , September 24 , the day the financial panic of 1869 began , has since been known as black Friday . 字串5
　　
　　5、 He bought a Saturday night special from a Sunday driver . 字串4
　　
　　6、 On the average they receive about five or six hundred calls a day , but this rises to close to a thousand calls after occasions like Richard Nixon's “saturday night massacre ”
　　Out of Pocket不只是“掏腰包” 字串6
　　
　　　　美国话里有一句话：“There's more than just meets the eye”，意思是除了表层意义以外，还有更深一层意思。这句话用在out of pocket上，可以说是恰如其分。 字串2
　　
　　　　out of pocket，一看这个说法，人们很容易想到，这是掏腰包的意思。对，这是表面意思，比如说，“The out-of-pocket expense for this tripis$500,and the rest is covered by the company.”(这次旅行，个人只需掏500美元，其他的都由公司包了)。注意这里“out-of-pocket”用了连字符“-”，表示一个整体概念：“掏腰包”。 字串6
　　
　　　　但在美语中，常听到这样的说法：“I’mout of pocket these days.”在这句话里，说“out of pocket”是“掏腰包”就讲不通了。这句话的真正意思是“I’m unavailable these days”或“I’m absent these days”“这一段我不在”。
　　
　　字串9
　　
　　　　据说，这个说法源于另一个说法“They are living in one another's pocket”（“他们终日厮混在一起”）。既然“pocket”能形象地描绘了“像挤在一个口袋里一样”的亲密，那么“out of pocket”便也可以说是“不在”或“失踪”了。
　　
　　字串7
　　
　　
　　1. kick ass 了不起 字串8
　　
　　　　A: Wow, you fixed my computer in less than 10 minutes. You're good.
　　
　　字串7
　　
　　　　A: 哇! 你不到十分钟就把我的计算机修好了呀! 你很棒!
　　
　　字串5
　　
　　
　　　　B: Yep. I just kick ass.
　　
　　字串8
　　
　　　　B: 是的! 我就是厉害! 字串6
　　
　　　　"kick ass" 除了字面上的「踢屁股」外, 还有「厉害、打败」的意思。当「踢屁股」时, 比如某人放你鸽子, 你很气, 就可以说: "I'm going to kick his ass." (我得踢他的屁股)。当「厉害」用时, 就像上面例句一样用。"kick ass" 还可作「打败某人的意思」。比如某人一向在某方面比你强, 终于有一天你比他厉害了, 你就可以说:"Hahaha...I kicked your ass."。觉得 "ass" 太难听的人, 就用 "butt" 吧! 字串4
　　
　　　　【不管ass,还是butt,都是屁股的意思。只不过butt比较正式一些。黛西怎么老是写这些东东，真是庸俗不堪，社会主义精神文明的垃圾，我们新中国的有志青年可要擦亮眼睛，辩明是非啊！呵呵呵呵... 海泓注】 字串7
　　
　　　　2. kiss ass 拍马屁 字串1
　　
　　　　A: Mary, I'm sorry for cheating on you before. Do you see any chance that we can get back together? 字串5
　　
　　　　A: Mary, 我真的很抱歉对你不忠实。你想我们可不可能重修旧好呢?
　　
　　字串5
　　
　　　　B: I don't know, but you can kiss my ass.
　　
　　字串3
　　
　　　　B: 不知道, 不过你可以亲我的屁屁(巴结我)。
　　
　　字串2
　　
　　
　　　　「亲屁屁」好象不大卫生吧! 不过人家就是这样用, 就照着「亲」吧!
　　

　　
　　

 

[故乡的云]

回复: 西方基本文化常识扫盲Hot

字串8
　　
　　
　　　　"cheat" 除了作弊外, 还有「不忠实」的意思。
　　
　　字串1
　　
　　　　3. XYZ 检查你的拉链
　　
　　字串1
　　
　　
　　　　Hey, man. XYZ.
　　
　　字串1
　　
　　
　　　　老兄啊! 检查一下你的拉炼吧。 字串8
　　
　　　　"XYZ" 是 "Check your zipper." 的意思。在美国, 填表选项时多用打「X」来表示(台湾则用打勾表示)。这个选项的动作就叫"Check", 也就是这里的XYZ 的 X所代表的。Y 是 Your, Z 就是 Zipper !
　　
　　字串8
　　
　　
　　　　4. Hit the road. 上路了
　　
　　字串1
　　
　　　　A: Do you want to come in for some tea? 字串4
　　
　　　　A: 你要不要进来喝个茶呢?
　　
　　字串7
　　
　　
　　　　B: No. I'm running late. I really need to hit the road.
　　
　　字串7
　　
　　
　　　　B: 不了。我快迟到了, 得上路了。 字串9
　　
　　　　"running late" 是快迟到了的意思。 字串4
　　
　　　　"Hit the road" 的 "hit" 有「去」的意思。好比某人每周去健身房三次, 你就可以说 "He hits the gym three times a week."。
　　
　　字串3
　　
　　　　"I really need to hit the road." 还可以用说成"I really need to get going."。
　　
　　字串9
　　
　　　　5. hang out 和朋友在一起 字串8
　　
　　　　A: I don't know what is going on lately. Jack seems to curse a lot these days. 字串1
　　
　　　　A: 不知道最近 Jack 怎么搞的。 他经常口出恶言。 字串4
　　
　　　　B: Well, that's just what you get from hanging out with the wrong crowd.
　　
　　字串9
　　
　　　　B: 嗯, 交错了朋友就是这样啊!
　　
　　字串8
　　
　　
　　　　"hang out" 是和朋友一起做一些事。看电影、逛街、聊天都算。也不限指异性朋友。 字串1
　　
　　　　6. click (两人)合得来 字串5
　　
　　　　I really like talking to her. I think we two really click. 字串1
　　
　　　　我很喜欢和她说话。我觉得我们两个蛮合得来的。 字串1
　　
　　　　好玩的字吧! 不过 click 不一定只用在异性之间。朋友之间的频率相同也可以用。
　　
　　字串4
　　
　　　　【以前只知道click the mouse,真是鼠目寸光啊！ 】
　　
　　字串4
　　
　　
　　　　7. suck 差劲 ; 糟透了
　　
　
　　

 

[故乡的云]

回复: 西方基本文化常识扫盲Hot

字串9
　　
　　
　　　　A: Guess what? We've just now missed the bus, and the next one won't come for another 45 minutes. 字串1
　　
　　　　A: 知道吗? 我们刚好错过公车了; 下一班(车)还要四十五分钟才会来。 字串7
　　
　　　　B: That sucks. 字串7
　　
　　　　B: 真逊!
　　
　　字串7
　　
　　
　　　　"suck" 是「差劲」的意思。 "That movie sucks." 是「那部电影真是糟透了」的意思。 字串4
　　
　　　　8. catch some Zs 小睡一下
　　
　　
　　A: Excuse me. I have to catch some Zs.
　　
　　字串6
　　
　　　　A: 抱歉! 我想小睡一下。
　　
　　字串9
　　
　　　　B: I thought you just woke up. Sleepy head. 字串9
　　
　　　　B: 我以为你才刚睡醒。爱睡虫。
　　
　　字串6
　　
　　
　　　　漫画里的人睡觉, 不是都画"Z,Z,Z..."来表示吗? 这里的 "catch some Zs" 就是这样来的。"I have to catch some Zs." 也可以说"I have to take a nap." 或 "I need to snooze."。 字串4
　　
　　　　【噢！真是长见识。我怎么就没有想到呢？真该去测测智商。】
　　
　　字串9
　　
　　
　　　　9. take a dump 上大号
　　
　　字串8
　　
　　
　　　　A: Would you mind closing the door? I'm trying to take a dump here. 字串5
　　
　　　　A: 你可不可以把门关起来呢? 我正在上大号。
　　
　　字串3
　　
　　　　B: Well, learn to lock the door next time. 字串8
　　
　　　　B: 那么下次学会把门锁起来吧! 字串4
　　
　　　　"dump" 是「丢掉」的意思, 「丢」什么不必我解释了吧?
　　
　　字串5
　　
　　　　「我要上厕所」(大小号都一样) 可以说 "I need to use the restroom." 或简单地说 "I need to go."。
　　
　　字串7
　　
　　
　　　　10. crank up 把声量调大
　　
　　字串8
　　
　　　　A: Hey! The volume is too low. Why don't you crank it up some? 字串1
　　
　　　　A: 嘿! 这声量太小了。你把它调大一点好吗?
　　
　　字串3
　　
　　　　B: No problem.
　　
　　字串3
　　
　　　　B: 没问题。
　　
　　字串5
　　
　　　　这里的「声量调大」也可以说 "turn it up"。意思是一样的。
　　
　　字串3
　　
　　
　　　　cranky 则是形容人暴躁、 易生气。如: "Why are you so cranky today? Something happened?" 你今天怎么这么容易生气? 发生什么事了吗?
　　
　　字串8
　　
　　咋一看，这个短语非常简练，一共只有4个字母组成，而光从字面上看的话，真的很难猜出它的意思。这个短语和字母T有什么关系呢？ 字串2
　　
　　　　其实这个短语的意思是：“恰到好处地；精确地，丝毫不差地”。和字母T有关的单词和短语中，大家最熟悉的要数T-shirts了，而to a T其实比T-shirts 出现得还早，它第一次以书面形式出现可以追溯到1693年。 字串9
　　
　　　　有关to a T的来源有好几种不同的说法，有的说这里的T指得是高尔夫球的开球区域、球座；也有人说是和建筑学中的梯形广场有关；还有一种说法是T最初是一个以字母T开头的单词，后来被简化为T。这个单词很可能就是tittle，tittle意思是“书写中的一小笔或一个小的记号”，也有“一点点，极小的一点”的意思，很巧的是，to a tittle和to a T的意思一模一样，早在to a T出现一个世纪之前to a tittle就被广泛使用了。
　　
　　字串8
　　
　　
　　　　来看两个例句：
　　
　　字串7
　　
　　　　That dress fits Jean to a T.（那件衣服对琼再合适不过了。）
　　
　　字串7
　　
　　　　My boss proposed a plan that suits me to a T.（老板提出了一个非常适合我计
　　
　　字串5
　　
　　英 文 turn (over) in one's grave（ 在 墓 里 转 侧 ） 就 是 “ 死 不 瞑 目 ” 、 “ 死 亦 难 安 ” 的 意 思 。 人 们 常 常 用 这 个 成 语 表 示 假 如 某 某 还 活 着 ， 一 定 会 为 事 情 痛 心 、 愤 慨 等 等 ， 例 如 ： 字串8
　　
　　If his father knew that he sold the house, he would turn in his grave.（ 要 是 他 父 亲 九 泉 之 下 知 道 他 把 房 子 卖 了 ， 一 定 不 会 瞑 目 的 。 ）

 

[故乡的云]

回复: 西方基本文化常识扫盲Hot

down under 南边（常指面半球的澳洲）
　　
　　downhill from here 从此都是下坡路（自此每况愈下）
　　
　　drop the ball 掉了球（失职）
　　
　　empty nest 空巢（儿女长大离家）
　　
　　every cloud has a silver lining 乌云也有银边（祸兮福所倚，塞翁失马）
　　
　　fall into place 落实，就绪
　　
　　fender bender 撞弯保险杠的车祸（小车祸）
　　
　　fight tooth and nail 爪牙并施，拚命抵抗
　　
　　fine line 细线（微妙的差别）
　　
　　fish out of water 如鱼离水
　　
　　flash in the pan 淘金盆里的反光（空欢喜一场，好景不长）
　　
　　fork in the road 岔路
　　
　　fox 狐狸（并无贬意）
　　
　　framed 被陷害，遭栽赃
　　
　　full throttle 加足马力
　　
　　get a foot in the door 一脚已经进了门里（获得立足点，占一份）
　　
　　get hitched 拴起来（结婚）
　　
　　get off on the wrong foot 起步便错（第一印象不佳）
　　
　　get the ball rolling 让球滚起来（动起手来）
　　
　　get/give the green light 绿灯亮了（获准行动）
　　
　　get up on the wrong side of the bed 起床下错边
　　
　　give the shirt off one's back 连衬衫都肯脱给人（慷慨成性）
　　
　　go one step too far 多走了一步（做得太过分了）
　　
　　go out on a limb 爬高枝（担风险）
　　
　　go overboard 过火
　　
　　go to hell in a hand basket 坐着吊篮下地狱（一坏不可收拾）
　　
　　go to one's head 上头上脸，冲昏头脑
　　
　　go under 沉没（破产）
　　
　　goose bumps 鸡皮疙瘩
　　
　　grasp for straws 抓稻草（绝望中的挣扎，快要淹死的人连漂浮的稻草也抓）
　　
　　guts 胆子

 

[昆虫国际]

回复: 西方基本文化常识扫盲Hot

这些话在美国千万不能说

林书豪
　　Everyone wants a piece of Jeremy Lin. From Linsanity to Lin-credible then Va-Lin-tine, news headlines have been trying to find wordplays to match the new sensation on the NBA court with his meteoric shoot to stardom。
　　人人都想跟林书豪扯上点关系。从“林疯狂”、“林不思议”，到“情林节”，新闻标题中变着花样地玩着文字游戏，来描述这位一夜成名的NBA新星。
　　However, “A Chink in the Armor”， a news headline that blamed Lin for his team’s loss of a game, is obviously a turnoff which threw a PR disaster at ESPN, one of world’s major sports network. It also cost an editor his job. The charge is racism。
　　然而，一条指责林书豪导致他所在球队输掉比赛的新闻标题“盔甲上的中国佬”却令人大倒胃口，也将身为全球最大的体育新闻网之一的娱乐体育节目电视网身陷公关危机。一位编辑甚至被炒了鱿鱼，罪名是使用种族主义词汇。
　　The case again reminds Americans that while the First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, a wrong choice of word might ignite a bomb。
　　这一事件让美国人再次意识到，虽然美国宪法第一修正案确保了言论的自由，但错误的措辞可能会引起轩然大波。
　　It’s also a warning to people outside the country who engage in international communications。
　　这也为其他国家从事国际交流的人士敲响了警钟。
　　Racism
　　种族主义
　　Put aside the context, the phrase “Chink in the armor” means the weak point in a supposedly strong defense. It is somewhat similar to “a fly in the ointment”。
　　如果不考虑具体语境，“盔甲上的破绽”这句短语指的是本该万无一失的防御中出现的弱点，有点类似于“软膏里的苍蝇”这个短语(意为一粒老鼠屎坏了一锅粥或令人扫兴的人或事物)。
　　The phrase is often deployed in sports writing to describe a player’s weakness which affects the whole team。
　　这一短语经常出现在体育报道中，用来形容因为某位队员的弱势而导致整个团队受影响。
　　But the word is also a racial slur against Chinese people。
　　但同时Chink这个词也是对中国人带有种族主义的诽谤。
　　With Lin’s Chinese heritage, the “Chink in the armor” was soon bombarded for its racial implication. To quiet public fury, ESPN issued an apology: “We regret and apologize for this mistake。”
　　由于林书豪的中国背景，这则题为“盔甲上的破绽(Chink在俚语中，贬义指中国佬)”的报道因带有种族主义色彩，很快招致人们炮轰。为平息众怒，ESPN公开道歉：“我们对这一错误表示遗憾和歉意。”

 

[昆虫国际]

回复: 西方基本文化常识扫盲Hot

Political correctness
　　政治正确性
　　Racist comment is taboo. But there are many more minefields that people try to avoid in daily life to avoid public offense。
　　带有种族主义色彩的评论是一大禁忌。但日常生活中存在更多的雷区，人们需要尽量回避以免引发众怒。
　　Former Harvard president Lawrence Summers in 2005 explained why there were fewer female scientists in elite universities. He put it down to different innate ability between men and women。
　　在2005年，哈佛大学前任校长劳伦斯 萨莫斯(音译)在解释了为何顶尖大学中女性科学家人数较少这一问题时。他将其归因于男女天生有别。
　　This caused a furor. Summers issued an apology: “I was wrong to have spoken in a way that has resulted in an unintended signal of discouragement to talented girls and women。”
　　此举引发轰动。萨莫斯公开致歉说：“我错误地用那样的方式说话，无意地发出了错误的信号，让有才能的女性感到受挫。”
　　Interpretations of history can cause offense. A French politician was sentenced to jail recently for remarks about the Nazi occupation of France。
　　诠释历史也会触怒公众。最近，法国一位政治家就因其关于纳粹占领法国的言论而被判入狱。
　　His remarks were considered “politically incorrect”。
　　他的言论被认为是“政治上不正确的”。
　　In the book A Short History of Political Correctness, Ruth Perry explains that in order to cause minimum offense to race, gender, age, profession, religion, culture, disability and so on, political correctness, as an umbrella, functions as a social consensus on language, policy, behavior and other ideas to ensure no social group suffers from discrimination。
　　在《政治正确性简史》一书中，鲁兹 帕瑞(音译)解释说，政治正确性是一把保护伞，作为就语言、政治、行为及其他思想而达成的社会共识，以确保所有社会群体不受歧视，最大程度上减小对宗族、性别、年龄、职业、宗教、文化、残疾的冒犯。
　　Thus any ignite violation of social taboos and political correctness could cause damage。
　　因此任何违反社会禁忌以及政治正确性的导火索都可能带来伤害。
　　“We live in a culture in which a breach of political correctness is criminal,” said Leo Schwartz in the Columbia Daily Spectator last week。
　　“在我们所处的文化之中，违反政治正确性即是犯罪。”里奥 施瓦兹(音译)于上周的《哥伦比亚观察家》中如是说。
　　Taboo-buster
　　禁忌语大扫除
　　Don’t joke about bombs: A new taboo due to the US’ war on terrorism. Remember Chandler Bing in Friends? He is detained for a joke. In real life, the consequences could be far worse。
　　不要拿炸弹来开玩笑：这是美国反恐战争所产生的最新禁忌语。记得《老友记》中的钱德 宾(音译)吗？他因为一个玩笑而被扣押。在实际生活中，其后果可能更严重。
　　Nigger: A taboo and very offensive word to call a black person. Although black brothers call each other nigger, you can’t。
　　Nigger(意为黑鬼)：这是一个禁忌语，而且对黑人一种十分不敬的称谓。尽管黑人兄弟间彼此这样称呼，但你不行。

 

[故乡的云]

一词多义引发的爆笑生活闻

从古英语到现代英语，英语一直在不断的发展变化，词义也不断的延伸扩展，由此产生了非常丰富的多义词(polesemy)，例如：free(自由的；免费的)，engaged(忙碌的；订婚的)，crooked(弯曲的；狡猾的)等等。当然从语言学角度来看其中有一小部分是同音异义词(homonymy)，例如：seal(封印；海豹皮)，hide(隐藏；兽皮)，ear(耳朵；穗)等等。这些词既是学习的重点也是难点. 以下就是我学习一词多义积累的一点心得，也许在你读完后，你会发现“一词多义”不仅不再可怕，也充满了智慧与乐趣。

　　一。旅行趣闻

　　由于free(自由的；免费的)具有多义性，新东方老师就闹过笑话。繁忙的暑假过后，新东方组织所有老师一起去泰国旅游。在旅行途中，我们希望所有老师照一个合影，所以必须找一个热心的路人帮忙。一个年轻的男老师早就盯上了站在路边漂亮的泰国MM，因此就想上去找她帮忙照相。他知道在泰国英语应该是通用的语言，所以上前就用英文说：“Excuse me! Are you free?”(请问，你有空吗？) 那个泰国的女孩生气的对他说：“Of course not. I'm not free。”那个老师接着问：“Why?” 泰国女人说：“I'm 200 hundred RMB for one night, or 30 dollars for whole day。” 听到这句话，这个老师才恍然大悟，原来她是泰国的妓女啊！(也可能是人妖，因为她身材实在是太好了， 本土的泰国女人身材都一般。) 这个泰国妓女由于自身的职业习惯，很自然把free理解为＂免费＂，而我们那位可怜的新东方老师也被误当作上前问价的一个穷“嫖客”了。不过那位老师还算机灵，立刻知道了那位泰国妓女理解错误，知道不给钱，她是不会服务的。所以他从兜里掏出了两块钱说：“I don't have 200 RMB, but I give you 2 RMB for one minute service, Ok?” 这个妓女笑笑说：“In one minute, what can we do? It’s not enough time for me take off your clothes(扒衣服还不够时间)”这个老师坏笑着说：“You don’t need to take off my clothes nor your clothes, and you just need to take a few photos of us。”

　　二。生活俗语

　　利用“一词多义”和“同音异义”可以创造出一种修辞手法，叫做双关(Pun)。最典型的一个例子就是：“Seven days without water make one weak。” 翻译有两层意思：①七天没有水使人虚弱；②七天没有水也成一星期。英语国家的人就是利用同音词'weak'和'week'说了句双关语。在电影“阿甘正传”(Forrest Gump)中，编剧也巧妙的利用了crooked的双关意思，对美国的政客讽刺了一翻。由于阿甘幼年脊椎有问题，所以甘太太带着年幼的阿甘去做脊柱整形，当医生看到他弯曲的背时，说了这样一句话：“His back is as crooked as politician。” 医生表面上是把阿甘像问号一样弯曲的背与政客作个比较，实际上是对美国政客满口仁义道德，实则势利狡猾的讽刺。因为 “crooked”有两层意思：①弯曲的；②不诚实的，狡猾的。在中文中其实也不乏“同音异义”词的双关。例如，马英九对阿扁说：“你提出全民公投的想法就像是往茅坑里面扔石头，会激起民粪(愤)啊！”

　　三。商业广告

　　许多广告公司为了让自己的广告impressive，也利用一词多义来创造出双关的效果。下面是美国某食品公司的坚果广告：You will go nuts for the nuts if you get Nux. “Nux”为坚果商标，发音与“nuts”相近，短语“go nuts”表示“发疯， 疯狂”，第二个“nuts”义为“坚果”，三者连用各取其义，充满情趣。"A better stretch for the long stretch."(某航空公司广告)。第一个“stretch”是“伸展”的意思，第二个“stretch”义为“连续的一段时间”，广告的意思是“为旅客在长时间的旅行中提供更好地自由伸展的空间。”两个“stretch”前后呼应，使消费者一听就感到舒服惬意。Try our sweet corn.You'll smile from ear to ear。(甜玉米广告)短语“from ear to ear”(笑得合不拢嘴)中的“ear”(耳朵)与这里的“玉米穗ear同音同形不同义。这则广告利用双关语ear表达了双重的意思：“你一尝就会吃一穗又一穗，高兴得合不拢嘴。

　　生活之中，处处留心，皆成学问。朋友们如果掌握了“一词多义，同音异义”创造的双关笑果，你的生活也就充满了驾驭词汇带来的乐趣。