本文转自:英语相对论公众号
1
in black and white
没错,跟你想的一样,黑白色,或者非黑即白的意思!
中国有句俗话叫“一竹竿子打死一船人”,用以说明下结论不可太武断,凡事皆有例外,并没有绝对的好坏和对错,世界也不是非黑即白的,英语中要表达类似意思,跟中文不谋而合的,那就是 in black and white
For example:
The situation is quite complicated, and you should not judge it in black and white!
情况很复杂,你不应该只是以非黑即白来评判。
black and white 除了是评判事物的标准,还可以是白纸黑字,就像中文里拿着欠条追债时说的一样,白纸黑字可写的清清楚楚的!其实英语中也可以这么表达;
For example:
I never thought they'd put it in black and white on the front page.
我没想到他们会把这白纸黑字地印在头版上。
2
have money to burn
是的,看到burn 了, 燃烧的意思,所以你肯定马上想到了“烧钱”这个意思,所以英语中用来描述土豪花钱不心疼的样子,就用have money to burn来表达了,俗称“钱烧得慌”
For example:
She always holds the newly released phone every time when I see her, it seems she has enough money to burn.
每次见到她的时候,她总是拿着最新发布的手机,看上去很烧钱啊!
看来全世界的土豪都是一样的,花钱如流水,似乎钱永远花不完。用英语表达也叫Spend money like water~
For example:
Miss Sophie would like to pack almost everything she sees in the shop and spend money like water.
Sophie 小姐花钱如流水,几乎要把商店里她看到的所有东西买回去!
3
blood is thicker than water
blood血液, thicker浓的,厚的..所以这句话就是“血浓于水”的意思,同样是用在强调亲情这一纽带的重要作用。
For example:
We believe that blood is thicker than water and Tom will help his sister out of trouble soon.
Tom 应该会帮助她妹妹的,毕竟血浓于水!
4
two heads are better than one
听上去很中式,但这句话真的就是“三个臭皮匠赛过诸葛亮”的英文表达,引申意义同样是指人多力量大,人多好办事等等。
For example:
I think we can find a solution to this problem soon if we can do it together, you know, Two heads are better than one!
我觉得大家一起动手的话能很快找到问题的解决方法,因为人多力量大吗!
5
be engraved on/in ...heart/brain/heart
“你存在, 我深深的脑海里,我的梦里,我的心里,我的歌声里…”
engrave 是铭刻,印刻的意思,所以这句话就可以直接理解为“深深铭刻/印在了 我的心里/脑海里/思想里…”等等意思…
For example:
The date of the accident remains engraved on my mind.
事情发生的那个日子已铭记在我心上。
6
shut/close one's eyes to ...
turn a blind eye to...
显然,这句话就是中文里“视而不见,对…熟视无睹”的英语表达了, shut/close 都有关闭的意思,对某些事闭起眼睛,所以有纵容,不作为等引申意义了,跟中文异曲同工!英文的另外一种表达是:
For example:
You can't just close your eyes to his violence.
你不能对他的暴力行为视而不见。
They seem intent on shutting their eyes to the problems of pollution.
他们似乎打算对污染问题视而不见。
7
I'm able to ...in my sleep
如何用一句话证明自己很厉害,中文里人们常说:我闭合眼睛也能….,如果要用英文表达这个意思,完全可以说:I’m able to …in my sleep.
For example:
I don’t travel a lot in this city, but I am able to name the main city streets in my sleep.
我对这个城市不是很熟,但是我闭着眼睛也能说出城市的主干道名称!
其实,英语口语还是以传递信息为主,并没有那么多条条框框的语法规则,所以流利和用词恰当最重要了,如果有一定的语法基础,又有大量的词汇做后盾,就不要羞于开口了,在某些情况下,甚至说一两个单词人家都能理解了,所以be confident (自信)才是更重要的,同时practice makes perfect(孰能生巧)!
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