时间:2019-01-08 作者:英语课 分类:英语笔译


英语课

   6个BBC最爱用的英语典故


  【编者按】我们经常会在BBC中听到的一些类似中国成语典故的习语,这些习语通常能够一语中的地传情达意,比如“达摩克利斯之剑”,“阿克琉斯之踵”,等等。这些看起来艰深晦涩的词汇,很容易一不小心就让人一头雾水。今天,我们就来说说这些习语的故事。
  1.The Sword of Damocles
  达摩克利斯之剑
  这个说法源自古希腊传说:迪奥尼修斯国王(Dionysius)邀请他贪婪的大臣达摩克利斯(Damocles)坐在自己的宝座之上掌管王位,达摩克里斯却发现自己坐在用一根马鬃悬挂的一把寒光闪闪的利剑下,仓皇而逃。
  迪奥尼修斯王用这个故事说明,国王的幸福和安乐都是假象,极大的财富和权力也意味着巨大的责任和危险。
  肯尼迪总统(President John F. Kennedy)曾在联合国大会(United Nations General Assembly)中用过这个习语,他说:
  Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles, hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by accident or miscalculation or by madness.
  每个男人、女人和孩子都生活在核武器的达摩克利斯之剑之下,被一根最细的线吊着,随时可能因意外或疯狂而被切断。
  2.Achilles' Heel
  阿克琉斯之踵
  Thetis (Achilles' mother) dipped Achilles into the river Styx to make him immortal 1. Unfortunately, she missed one heel.
  忒提斯(阿喀琉斯的母亲)把阿喀琉斯浸入冥河使他不朽。不幸的是,她错过了一只脚跟。
  “阿喀琉斯之踵”出自古希腊神话,意为一个人的弱点或缺陷。
  阿喀琉斯的母亲把婴儿的阿喀琉斯浸在冥河水(the river Styx)中,使他拥有了无穷的力量和不朽。他成为了希腊最伟大的英雄,直到在特洛伊战争(the Trojan War)中,特洛伊王子帕里斯(Trojan prince Paris)一箭射中他的脚跟,结束了他的性命。这是因为,阿喀琉斯全身上下都曾被冥河水浸没,除了他母亲紧紧抓住的脚脖子。
  例句:
  He is a star quarterback, but his injury-prone throwing arm is his Achilles' heel.
  他是一个明星四分卫,但是他容易受伤的投掷手臂是他的阿喀琉斯之踵。
  3.Caught Between Scylla and Charybdis
  陷入斯库拉和卡律布狄斯之间
  This map shows the Strait of Messina, the site of the twin menaces Scylla and Charybdis.
  这张地图显示了墨西拿海峡,被斯库拉和卡律布狄斯共同威胁的地点。
  “陷入斯库拉和卡律布狄斯之间”的这个说法,来源于古希腊神话中英雄奥德修斯的故事。在今天,它表达着进退两难,左右为难的意思。
  墨西拿海峡(Strait of Messina)被两个海妖(Scylla and Charybdis)守护着。斯库拉长着6个脑袋,捕获过往船只的水手;卡律布狄斯能够在一天之内三次吸入又吐出海峡中的水。在古希腊神话中,英雄奥德修斯(Odysseus)在特洛伊战争归来的航行中需要经过墨西拿海峡,他选择了靠近斯库拉,以避免整船倾覆的灭顶之灾,从而安全回家。
  例句:
  Pete would have preferred to be on good terms with both his wife and his mother, but the effort of pleasing one without offending the other was like steering 2 between Scylla and Charybdis.
  彼得也想与妻子和母亲都和谐共处,但是讨好一方都会触怒另一方,好比陷在斯库拉和卡律布狄斯之间一样,左右为难。
  4.By the Skin of Your Teeth
  紧贴牙齿的皮肤
  “紧贴牙齿的皮肤”,意思是涉险逃生,九死一生。
  在《圣经·约伯记》中,当约伯收到了上帝的百般考验后,他说道:
  “My bone cleaveth to my skin, and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.”
  “我的皮肉贴着骨头,我同牙齿的皮肤一起逃了出来。”
  他的意思是,他的逃生空间就如同牙齿的皮肤一样稀薄。后来,作家桑顿·怀尔德(Thornton Wilder)的剧作《九死一生》(The Skin of Our Teeth)就以此命名。
  例句:
  What might have happened if you did not escape by the skin of your teeth?
  假如你没有及时逃离,会发生什么?
  5.The Writing is on the Wall
  墙上的文字
  Belshazzar's Feast,by Rembrandt
  《伯沙撒的盛筵》,伦勃朗的名画
  这个常见于新闻报道和文学读本的“墙上的文字”,指的是迫在眉睫的不吉祥的预兆(a sign or warning of impending 3 disaster)。它来源于《旧约·但以理书》(Book of Daniel)。
  《旧约》中记载道,古巴比伦国王伯沙撒(King Belshazzar of Babylon)在宫廷设宴纵饮时,擅自使用了从耶路撒冷的圣殿中取来的高脚杯(goblets taken from the sacred temple in Jerusalem)。突然,墙上出现了一段看不懂的文字:“Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.”国王让犹太先知但以理(Daniel)来解释,原来那是触怒上帝而即将大难临头的意思。
  例句:
  When two people are discussing the layoffs 4 occurring in their company and one says to the other, "The writing is on the wall for all of us," she means their jobs are likely to be eliminated, too.
  当两个人在谈论公司正在发生的裁员时,一个人对另一个说:“墙上的字是对我们所有人写的。”她的意思是,他们的工作也岌岌可危。
  6.All Roads Lead to Rome
  条条大路通罗马
  You can still see portions of the Appian Way, which connected Rome to Brindisi, Italy, even though the road was constructed more than 2,000 years ago.
  现在你仍旧可以看到亚壁古道,将罗马与意大利的布林迪西相连,而这条道路早在2000年前就被建成了。
  “条条大路通罗马”的说法在12个世纪以前就已经存在了,这句话其实来源于真实的历史。今天,人们用这个说法用来表示,有不止一种方式都可以达成目的。
  这条史上第一条的伟大道路,长达5万英里的亚壁古道(the Appian Way)由罗马人建于公元前312年。奥古斯都·凯撒大帝(Emperor Caesar Augustus)在罗马市中心树立了名为Milliarium Aureum(金色里程碑)的碑石,从这座丰碑开始,所有道路向四周漫延,一路经过英国、西班牙,甚至到了北非!
  例句:
  Some people learn by doing. Others have to be taught. In the long run, all roads lead to Rome.
  有些人从实践中学习。其他人需要教才会。长远来看,条条大路通罗马。

adj.不朽的;永生的,不死的;神的
  • The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
  • The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽!
n.操舵装置
  • He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
  • Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵,口吻也马上变得温和了。
a.imminent, about to come or happen
  • Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时,严重的战乱爆发了。
  • The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。
临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 ); 停工,停止活动
  • Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
  • Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时,股票价格便大跌
标签: BBC
学英语单词
15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase
A. O. A.
abrasive grain
acidology
adphen
alpha-oestradiol
angakok
annual inflation rate
articularly
bacillus cloacae jordan b.zeae (burril) comes
bestestestest
bill collection
bipoiar taxis
black edging
blimming
bocas
buxuss
C. of C.
Caistor
Camellia acuticalyx
cann't
cantilever beam impact tester
cathode drop
cheq.
contredances
Corydalis trifoliata
cotton blushing
cotton tie
crosshead-pin
designator storage word
destruens mole
dispersed record
domain name system poisoning
driveabilities
drowned in
ellipsoid resonator
engine piston
esthiomenous
eulogious
experimental safety vehicle
folk-memories
g-sharp
gage location
gangliolytic
generate income
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gram force
groundwater
guide strip
highest-profile
hong kong identity card
hybrid transformer array
ice shove
imidie acid
initial mark up
innocenter
joyeusity
leconotide
limited information instrumental variables
line scanning waveform distortion
log charging
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mean-value theorem
microcide
modcom
module interconnection language
multichine
multinomial trials
net outflow of fund
one-dimensional structure
operating reports
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pelvicephalograph
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reticulated tortrix
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shearing wave
slow-down ions
sodium bromoiridite
spend ... on
support screw cap
sympathisers
Sysmä
teletels
ultraintuitionists
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upstream monopoist
uralloy
uranium(iii) sulfide
vertebrate palaeontology
yudofsky