Lesson 12 - FOLLOW YOUR NOSE / PAY THROUGH THE NOSE
时间:2019-01-06 作者:英语课 分类:美国习惯用语
今天我们要讲两个由鼻子,也就是nose 这个字组成的俗语。鼻子是我们嗅觉和呼吸的工具,是人体的一个重要组成部份。大概也正因为如此,英语里许多常用的习惯用语都和nose这个字有联系。比如说,你到华盛顿来访问,要上白宫去参观,可是走在路上好像迷失了方向。于是,你就在马路上问人怎么去白宫。你得到的回答可能就是:
例句-1: "Turn left at the next corner and then follow your nose -- you can't miss it."
这人说:"到前面的路口向左转,然后一直走就到了,你不会看不到的。"
很明显,这句句子里"follow your nose"的意思就是"一直走"。 Follow your nose还可以解释为利用嗅觉找到什么东西。例如:
例句-2: "You say you're looking for the French Bakery? Just walk two blocks north, turn left, and you can smell that wonderful smell of fresh bread baking: just follow your nose and it will bring you right to the front door."
这人说:"你是说你在找那个法国面包店吗?往北走过两条街,然后向左转,你就会闻到那烤面包的香味。随着香味走就会把你带到那面包店的门口了。"
"Follow your nose"在这句句子里着重的是嗅觉,而不是方向。今天我们要讲的第二个常用的习惯用语是: Pay through the nose。 Pay就是付钱的意思。按字面上来解释,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,或者说付出的钱实在太多而感到心痛。我们来举个例子吧:
例句-3: "My brother Bob borrowed the money to open his restaurant five years ago when the interest rate was so high, so he's been paying through the nose ever since."
这个人说:"我哥哥在五年前借钱开他那个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。"
这样由于利息高而付许多钱来还债当然谁也不愿意。可是,也有人心甘情愿出高价来买那些他们认为值得买的东西。下面一个例子就可以说明这一点:
例句-4: "Life is funny. When the famous dutch 1 painter Vincent Van Gogh was alive, nobody wanted to buy his pictures. But now rich people will pay through the nose for one, sometimes more than five million dollars."
这句话的意思是:"人生实在是很有趣的。当那位有名的荷兰画家凡高还活着的时候,没有人要买他的画。可是,现在那些有钱人却愿意出高价买他的画,有时候一张画就要五百多万美元。"
今天我们讲了两个和nose有关的常用词汇。第一个是follow the nose。Follow the nose可以指"一直走",也可以解释为随着你闻到的味道去找什么东西,或什么地方。今天讲的第二个和nose有关的词汇是to pay through the nose。To pay through the nose是付出很高价钱的意思。