时间:2019-01-14 作者:英语课 分类:美国习惯用语


英语课

我们今天要学的习惯用语都包括这样一个关键词汇,salt。 Salt这个词大家都熟,是盐。人们在生活中少不了它,一切活细胞也都需要它,人们意识到盐的重要性已经有好几个世纪了,所以由salt产生的习惯用语也不少,而且salt也有了多样化的词性,不仅当名词,也可以作动词。例如在今天要学的第一个习惯用语里:salt away。


我们都知道人们用盐来腌制鱼肉蔬果等新鲜食品以便长期保存已经有很长的历史了,所以salt away最初的意思是用盐存放新鲜食品,以备不时之需。


在一百多年前习惯用语salt away开始广泛流行,不再局限于腌制存放食品这个意思了。


我们听个例子来领会这个习惯用语的借用意义吧。这是个刚大学毕业的小伙子打算结婚成家,于是他在找工作,想使自己有能力负担新家庭。


我们听他怎么说,特别注意他话里的习惯用语 alt away指存放什么东西:


例句-1:That's right! I'm looking for a job that will help me salt away as much of my salary 1 as I can save every month. I'll need it to help our kids go to college, and to help us live when we retire 2. That's a long way off but it's not too early to make plans.


他说:对,我眼下正在找工作,以便让我每月能尽可能多从工资里省下钱存起来。我将来需要这笔款子供子女上大学,并在退休后帮我们过日子。尽管来日方长,但是及早打算总没错。


这段话里的salt away是指存放工资里的部分钱款。换句话说就是储蓄,习惯用语salt away尽管沿用至今已经一百多年了,但是仍然相当通用。例如我们常常会从劝说人们存款为退休作准备的银行广告里看到习惯用语salt away. 也常会听人说这句金玉良言:Salt away something for your old age. 存钱防老。


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在今天要学的第二个习惯用语里salt是名词:worth one's salt。 Worth意思是“值得的,” 要是直译worth one's salt是在说某人值他所得的盐。这可是一句赞美的话。


这句话的出典可以追溯到两千多年前的古罗马。那时候盐可不是今天那样普通的廉价商品;盐极其贵重。


在古罗马盐可以象金币银币一样当作货币来交换货物,所以当年有时会用盐作为军饷发给罗马士兵,因此英文中表示薪水的单词: salary就来自古体拉丁文中表示盐的词sal。这样说来,你可能已经明白worth one's salt相当于worth one's salary,也就是在说某人值自己所得的那份工资。换句话说是“称职的”,“有能力的”。


我们再看看worth one's salt怎么应用在实际生活中的吧。有位先生要告诉我们他的同事们对一位新同事Miss Lee的看法。这位小姐不久前受聘负责公司的预算编制工作。


例句-2:At first we weren't impressed 3 by Miss Lee - she's quiet and doesn't have much to say. But after we saw how fast she straightened out our budget 4 mess 5, we knew she was just what we needed. Now we all agree she's certainly worth her salt.


他说:我们起先觉得Lee小姐毫不出色,她只是个不声不响、默默无言的人。但是当我们看到她那么快就把我们预算开支那笔糊涂帐整顿得一清二楚,才醒悟到原来她正是我们需要的人才。 如今我们一致认为她确实称职能干。


这里的习惯用语worth her salt意思就是称职能干的。


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今天要学的第三个习惯用语是: back to the salt mines。 Mines是矿坑,salt mines当然就是盐矿。这个习惯用语的出典在一个多世纪前的俄国。当时沙皇把犯人送往西伯利亚的盐矿,罚他们在那儿开采盐。


盐矿里暗无天日又冰冷彻骨,可以想象在那儿没日没夜地干累断脊梁骨的活儿该有多苦。于是人们就用salt mines来夸张地比喻既艰苦又累人的工作场所了。而人们更常以开玩笑的口气来应用back to the salt mines这个习惯用语。


我们听个例子来体会back to the salt mines表达什么意思吧。这回是企业主管在说话。他中午带着部下出去美餐一顿,大家又吃又喝、谈笑风生,乐得忘乎所以了。这时主管突然看了一眼手表说话了。请注意他话里的back to the salt mines指回到什么地方去:


例句-3:Say, look at the time. It's already after one o'clock! I hope you all enjoyed this and everybody got enough to eat. We'll have to do this again one of these days, but right now I 'm afraid we have to go back to the salt mines and get to work。


他说:嘿,看看都什么时候了- 已经一点啦!希望大家已经尽兴也吃饱了,我们不久还得照样来一回,只是现在恐怕马上得回去“做苦工” - 上班了。


显然这里的back to salt mines是指回他们的办公地点去,主管这样说只是开个玩笑,办公室当然不能跟吃喝玩乐的地方相比,然而也绝对不象服苦役的盐矿。如今人们说back to salt mines往往是在开玩笑地表示不想工作最好轻松一下的心情。

 



n.工资,薪水,薪晌,薪金
  • The cost will be stopped out of your salary.费用将从你的工资中扣除。
  • I want to speak to her in the matter of my salary.我想就我的薪水问题和她谈谈。
vi.引退,退役,退休,退隐,退去,撤退,退却,离开;vt.撤退,辞退;n.隐居,撤退号
  • Next year his father will retire and take things easy.明年他父亲就要退休而过闲适的生活了。
  • When I retire,I shall make my home in the country.退休后我将在乡间安家。
adj.印象深刻的v.使感动,使印象深刻( impress的过去式和过去分词)
  • He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。
  • I was impressed by his handling of the affair. 他对此事的处理方式我甚感佩服。
n.预算;vi.编预算;vt.编入预算,安排;adj.廉价的
  • Are you doing everything possible to reduce your budget?你在尽一切可能降低预算吗?
  • There is a budget department on the first floor.一楼有廉价商品部。
vt.将…弄糟,混乱,妨碍,使紊乱;n.食堂,伙食,用膳,一份食品,混乱,乱七八糟,困境
  • Don't mess up my homework.不要弄乱我的家庭作业。
  • You'll mess up my hair.你会把我的头发弄乱.
学英语单词
al-amarah
antilabour
Araka
asamblea
autosuggestive
bang head against
Belg
blade with stepped root
bottom inner casing
bronnert process
buttillaries
calsey
Christia obcordata
coincidence factor
cone-apex angle
control of nematode
crude-copper
crustal disturbance
cultivated grassland
curry muncher
cyberbanks
digitalia
discharage
dredging equipment
drying hopper
dzhou
earthing installation
eclipse end
ecocritical
electronic punch
Eugaimardia
film scribing
fornicate
frances elizabeth caroline willards
Fugo
Garnet-jade
gear-stocking cutter
grade compensation
guttae argenti nitratis
Honeywell file access system
Hubble Atlas
hyalitis punctata
improper installation
infrared-guided missile
inter specified index
islet cell transplantation
Jackson's candle turbidimeter
Jerichoite
kidney tubules
Kwania, L.
leached
low-ceilinged
machinery classification certificate
make perfect
mononuclear leukocyte
moving coordinate
mucoraceaes
oil-gas anticlinal deposit
oner
oriente
output register empty
parlier
parroket, parroquet
periodograms
perturbant
pig-run
plasma lemma(seifriz 1928)'plasma membrane
polar code
polyvinyl acetate resin adhesive
Primula epilithica
pseudoglaucoma
psoralea esculentas
pyrolytic gas chromatography
relman
Rhododendron pemakoense
rough-terrain truck
SAP97
Scaliger, Joseph Justus
schwedler
seeming
show ankle
sialis lutarias
Staroye Maksimkino
str/n mouse
submitting entity
subroutine analyzer
supporting block for location
swing link guide
thermal chemical vapor deposition
thermocople junction
three-point attitude
threw her weight around
transposition type
triophosphoramide
turbocompressors
utility tape processor
vestigital sideband
water proofing of basement
wavelength resolution
way-going crop
wheat consumption
yellow tail