时间:2019-01-21 作者:英语课 分类:美国习惯用语


英语课

我们给大家介绍过两个由bean这个字组成的习惯用语,它们是:Full of beans and not worth a hill of beans. Full of beans是指一个人精力充沛,not worth a hill of beans是一钱不值的意思。今天我们还要给大家讲解两个和bean这个字有关的习惯用语。现在先来讲第一个:bean counter.


Counter这个字是来自动词count. Count就是中文里数钱的数。在count这个动词后面加上er就变成了名词counter,也就是数数的人。那么,bean counter就是:数豆子的人。作为一个俗语,bean counter的意思就是一个政府官员,或者一个公司的总管老是把时间浪费在鸡毛蒜皮的小事上,尤其是为了一点点钱算计个没完。那些为政府或公司真正干些实际工作的人都很讨厌这些bean counters。你们听了下面这个例句就明白了。


例句-1: I'm looking for a new job. This company I'm with now has too many bean counters. All they care about is how much we spend on postage 1 and phone calls. They don't care if you are the best salesman in the place.


这是一个人对工作不满,他说:"我得另外找个工作。我现在工作的这个公司里尽是那些小里小气的人。他们关心的就是我们在邮票和电话上花了多少钱,至于你是不是这个公司最好的推销员他们根本不管。"


******


为了一点点钱纠缠不休的人恐怕在政府和公司之外也同样存在。下面是一个丈夫在说他的太太。


例句-2: My wife is really a bean counter. No matter how much money I make, she never lets me buy more than new two shirts a year. And she insists on washing and ironing my clothes at home, instead of sending them out to the laundry.


这位丈夫说:"我的妻子老是算计一点点钱。不管我赚多少,她每年最多只让我买两件衬衫。她还坚持要在家里洗和烫我的衬衫,而不愿意送到干洗店里去。"


美国人花在干洗店里的钱是不少的。许多人尽管家里都有洗衣机,但是他们还是很习惯地把衬衫送到乾洗店里去洗。当然,干洗店洗的衬衫烫的很平整,领子浆得很硬。可是,洗一件衬衫大约得花一块多美元,如果每天换一件乾净衬衫,一个星期就得花六、七美元。这还不算洗西装、大衣等其它衣服的开支。妇女们也经常把连衣裙、衬衣、西装等送去干洗店。


******


下面我们要讲的一个和bean有关的习惯用语是大家经常会用到的:To spill the beans. To spill就是什么东西从容器里撒出或倒出来。To spill the beans就是豆子从容器里倒了出来。可是,to spill the beans是一个俗语。它的意思是:泄漏秘密,但是往往是不小心、或偶然地泄漏了秘密,而不是故意这样做的。我们来举个例子吧。美国人经常为了生日或其它值得庆祝的事给家人或朋友举行聚会,但是有的人喜欢在事先不让过生日的人知道。这样可以让他很突然,感到很惊喜。下面就是一个人在说他准备聚会的经历。


例句-3: That Sue 2 Ellen just can't keep her mouth shut! I invited her to our surprise party for Mary, and she went and spilled the beans to Mary. She says she's sorry but she certainly spoiled the surprise!


这人说:"那个苏爱伦,她就是闭不上她那张嘴。我请她参加为玛丽举行的聚会,但是事先不要告诉玛丽。可是,她跑去告诉了玛丽。她说她很抱歉,但是她却破坏了我们要让玛丽感到很惊喜的计划。"


******


庆祝生日的计划给破坏是够扫兴的。但是,这毕竟还不是什么太严重的事。下面这个例子里说的事可是很重要。这是一个妻子决定去人工流产,但是因为她知道她丈夫肯定会反对,所以计划先瞒着他,等做完人工流产再告诉他。这个妻子说:


例句-4: I planned to have the abortion 3 first and then tell Frank 4. But I made a mistake by telling his mother about my plan. She spilled the beans and Frank was so mad that he didn't talk to me for a whole month.


这位太太说:"我原来计划先去人工流产,然后再告诉弗兰克。可是,我犯了一个错误,把我的计划告诉了他妈妈。她又不小心说漏了嘴。弗兰克听了好生气,整整一个月没跟我说话。"


我很怀疑弗兰克的妈妈到底是说漏了嘴,还是故意去告诉儿子的。更怀疑弗兰克生气一个月是不是就能把这件事忘了。因为,人工流产本来就应该夫妇之间进行商量后再做出决定。



n.邮费,邮资
  • This dictionary is 100 yuan,postage included.这本词典连邮费共100元。
  • All letters must be stamped with the correct postage.任何信件都应该按所需邮资贴邮票。
vt.控告,起诉;vi.请求,追求,起诉
  • If you don't pay me the money,I'll sue you.如果你不付给我钱,我就告你。
  • The war criminals sue for peace.战犯求和。
n.流产,堕胎
  • She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
  • A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。
adj.坦白的,直率的,真诚的
  • A frank discussion can help to clear the air.坦率的谈论有助于消除隔阂。
  • She is frank and outgoing.她很爽朗。
学英语单词
active immunity
ajaccios
Almyropotamos
Ameca
amedo
angon
average daily calling rate
ball and inner ring assembly
barge to barge transfer
bills drawn under letter of credit
binary to decimal conversion
binnein mor
blowing spray
bomb calorimeters
branches at home and abroad
brick laid with mortar
capricorn beetle
carib woods
chimbley
complete set of eigenstates
contact flange
core and winding assembly
darrayne
disprovide
diverting dam
draw ... up
drift epoch
droseras
electron paramagnetic resonance
europium acetate
exchange volume
field investment
flairing
gemmifications
general call signal
Gentiloni
genus pedilanthuss
global liquidity
gone over
Hai Phong
heat-producing reaction
hflo
independent fault
inlaces
internal fuel
ionic speaker
irreversible circulation
ks-standard loading
latex examination gloves
LAVINIA
lipophilic compound
literatize
Loboc
macrocyclic compounds
metal-semiconductor-metal diode
monosuits
nonpsychological
notched furnace
oil sump tank
pallidofugal
Parafasciolopsis
pass-over offset
pentaradiate
pickup points
Pillsbury, Lake
plaque-infested port
plasma lipids
playdohs
public lawyer
Puccinia epimedii
put one's best foot first
radicicol
ratten-
readmitance
reclaiming by centrifuge
red-shank
relational instruction
resource productivity
sampling length
scare someone out of his wits
seasonal group profile code
settleability test
small wiring
soft corruption
spoliation
steam and gas
stereochemical formula
sun-bathing
suppression hangover time
tax reimbursement for export
thermofocal
tracepoint
tunnel in rock
twofold degeneracy
uncorrugated
unfavorable variance
union colourimeter
wetting of cloth
whidder
Wycakon-G
yudha