时间:2019-02-05 作者:英语课 分类:实用英语


英语课

    Color our World with Words

  用颜色词把生活天地点缀得五彩缤纷
  林丽芳
  Claude Monet, the French, cried, “Color is my day-long obsession 1, joy and torment 2.”  Swiss artist Paul Klee wrote, “Color possesses me.”  Monet and Klee weren’t just philosophizing.  Scientists have found that colors shape moods and emitions.  For example, red-walled rooms may induce anxiety and anger, while green tones may calm the nerves.  Given a pigment’s power, writers and poets should embrace color with as much abandon as painters.
  法国画家克劳德·莫奈大声叫道:“我终日被颜色所困,既令我快乐,又令我苦恼。”瑞士艺术家保罗·克勒也写道:“颜色占有了我。”莫奈和克勒并非在阔谈哲理。科学家们已经发现颜色确实影响人的情绪和情感。如红色墙壁的房间可使人忧虑,进而发怒;而绿色调则可使人镇静。由于颜色具有如此之神力,作家与诗人也必当如同画家一样尽情地拥抱颜色。
  The very notion of “color” has a myriad 3 of meanings.  A resolute 4 person “sticks to his colors”.  Picturesque stories have “a lot of color.”  “Colorful language” is distinctive 5 and vivid.  The tonal quality is “color”.  At a flag raising, the soldiers “salute the colors”.  Whites used to call non-Caucasians “coloreds”--a slur 6 that backfired when Blacks retorted by calling Caucasians “people without color”.
  有关“颜色”名符其实的概念确有各式各样的意义。一个坚定的人“坚持自己的立场”。形象生动的故事具有“各种情调和趣味”。“有声有色的语言”是具有特色的和生动的。音调的音质为“音色”。升旗仪式中,士兵们“向军旗敬礼”。白种人过去蔑称非白种人为“有色人种”——此一玷辱之词受到黑人的反击,回敬白种人为“无色人种”。
  In fact, more expressive 7 than the word “color” are the colors themselves.  Blue, the color of the vast sea and sky, is by extension the hue 8 of the infinite, of remote distances and times.  A seagull soars into “the blue”.  Unexpected guests “pop in out of the blue”.  In the 16th century, Ben Johnson wrote, “Blueness doth express trueness,” because blue also means patrician 9.  Moralists pass “blue laws”; and aristocrats 10 are “blue bloods”.  For us common folk, blue may mirror the melancholy 11 of mortals dwarfed 12 by the infinite.  A businessman away from home on Christmas “has the blues”; a grumbler 13 “sings the blues”; a jilted lover “sings the blues”.
  事实上,色彩本身所表达的意义又比“色彩”一词丰富多了。蓝色这一指浩瀚的大海和茫茫的天空的颜色,也被引申为指一望无际、无限的空间和时间。一只海鸥蓦地飞向“蓝天”。不速之客“突然造访”。十六世纪时,本·琼生写道:“蓝色确实表示真实”,因为蓝色还意味着高贵的。道德家们通过了“清教徒法规”;出身贵族的人皆“名门望族”。对于我们普通人来说,蓝色可以反映在大千世界里显得极其渺小的凡夫俗子的忧郁。一个在圣诞节仍然出门在外的商人“情绪低落”;一个对世事不满的人“表示悲观”;一个被抛弃的失恋者“垂头丧气”。
  Red is passion and action, the color of Mars, named for the Roman god of war.  A communist is a “Red”.  Reporters vie for “red-hot” scoops 14.  Honored guests get the “red carpet treatment”.  Red also has negative connotations.  We are “red-faced” when angry or embarrassed.  Police sometimes catch thieves “red-handed”.  A “red nose” drinks too much.  A “red herring” diverts attention from the main issue.  A failing business runs “in the red”.  A “red eye special” is a cheap but exhausting overnight flight.
  红色是激情,是行动,是罗马战神马尔斯的颜色。一个共产党人是一个“赤色分子”;记者抢先得到“最新新闻”;贵宾受到了“红地毯的礼遇”。红色也可表示异于上述褒奖的一些意思。当我们生气或感到尴尬时,我们就会“面红耳赤”;警察有时当场捉住“正在作案的”小偷;“酒糟鼻子”是指纵酒者;“熏鲱”是指避开主要问题转移注意力的东西或话题;一个经营亏损的企业“出现赤字”;“通宵航班”则指价格低廉但使人精疲力竭的夜间飞行航班。
  White implies freedom from spots, blemishes 15, or moral impurity 16.  G. K. Chesterton waxed lyrical, “White…is not a mere 17 absence of color, it is a shining and affirmative thing, as fierce as red, as definite as black….  God paints in many colors; but He never paints so gorgeously, I had almost said so gaudily 18, as when He paints in white.”  We wave the “white flag” to call a truce 19, surrender, or show we are unarmed.  A “white lie” is a harmless untruth, while “white magic” is good magic.  White may conjure 20 up negative images as well.  Although “lily white” implies purity, “white as a sheet” denotes terror (the sheet evoking 21 images of shrouded 22 ghosts).  A “white elephant” is something of dubious 23 value or a rare artifact that is a burden to maintain.  Cowards “show the white feather”.  A “white chip” stock is of minimal 24 value (as opposed to coveted 25 “blue chip” stocks or, in Hong Kong, the “red chip”).
  白色意味着无瑕,意味着清白,意味着道德的纯净。英国的切斯特顿是这样抒发对白色的情感的:“白色并非无色,而是光彩夺目、确切存在之物。它有如红色之艳丽,黑色之鲜明。上帝用斑斓色彩描绘了我们的世界。我也曾经近乎炫夸地称道,只有用上了白的颜色,他才绘出了如此灿烂绚丽的世界。”我们挥动“白旗”,以示休战或投降,或是告诉对方:我们放下了武器;“小谎”是无恶意的谎言,而“乞灵于天使的白法术”是好戏法。白色也与消极负面的意思相联系。虽然,“纯洁无瑕的”是纯白的,但“像纸一样白”却使人产生恐惧(纸一样白的颜色,不禁使人联想到裹着寿衣死鬼的形象)。“累赘的东西”则比喻某件既无用又累赘,成为沉重负担的东西。懦夫“显示懦弱或胆怯”。“微不足道的,最小数值的”股票是指价值微小的股票(与令人垂涎的“蓝筹股”或在香港的“红筹股”)相对。
  The Black leader Malcom X complained that White men’s dictionaries glorify 26 white and Whites, but vilify 27 black and Blacks as tainted 28 and evil.  Thus, “black deeds” become evil acts, “black thoughts” are gloomy; a “black look” betrays anger.  The dissolute “black sheep” of the family may succumb 29 to “blackmail”.  We fear the witch’s “black cat”.
  黑人领袖马尔科姆曾经抱怨说:白人的词典赞美白色和白人,而把黑色和黑人诋毁成下流、邪恶。因此,“black acts”成了邪恶的行为;“black thoughts”是悲观的思想;“black look”是(表示生气、厌恶或憎恨的)瞪眼、怒容、愠色;家中放荡的“害群之马、败类”可能会对他人进行“敲诈、勒索”;我们都惧怕女巫的“妖术”。
  Green is the color of spring and nature.  Federico Garcia Lorca, Spanish poet and playwright 30, wrote: “Green, how I want you green.  Green wind.  Green branches.”  An environmentalist is a “Green”, and people with a knack 31 for growing plants have “green thumbs”.  Green, the color of spring growth, also reminds us of youthful naivete.  A “green hand” is fresh and inexperienced, and “green horns” are na?ve, easily deceived, and unfamiliar 32 with the ways of a place or group.  Green may even imply weakness.  A pale or sickly child is “green around the gills”.
  绿色是春天,是大自然的颜色。西班牙诗人和剧作家费德里哥·加西亚·洛尔卡曾写道:“绿色,我多么需要你呀绿色。绿色的风。绿色的树枝。”一个环境保护论者是个“绿化论者”;具有园艺技能的人拥有“绿手指”。绿色,初春嫩绿的颜色,又使人想起年轻时的天真幼稚。“green hand”是没经验的新手;“green horns”是幼稚、易受欺骗的人,对某处或某一群体还未熟悉。绿色甚至可以意味着虚弱。一个苍白、病态的孩子是“面露病容的”。
  Every color on the linguistic 33 palette, from patrician blue and angry red to royal purple, is pregnant with meaning--but the image birthed depends on the languages used.  In English, “black gown” originally meant the college gown and later became a figurative expression fro a learned person or a scholar.  In Chinese, “black gown” refers to a “yamen runner” in feudal 34 China, and “green cloth” is China’s equivalent of “scholar”.  In China the Emperor or the influential 35 people in temples don the “yellow gown”, while the Roman emperor and the archbishop wear the “purple”.  Chinese might swagger at being called a “Red”, but Americans would cringe.  Chinese “red tea” is, for English speakers, “black tea” (though to my unsophisticated eye it’s neither).  Chinese “white water” is actually just boiled water, sans tea, coffee or anything else, never to be confused with the English “white coffee”, which means coffee with milk or cream.  “Brown sugar” is “red sugar” into Chinese eyes.  If an American is beaten “black and blue”, a Chinese will always find him “green and purple”.  Jealous Chinese are “red-eyed”, yet jealous Americans are “green eyed (red-eyed suggests weepy or sleepy)”.  In China, a lucky day is a yellow day; in America it is a “red-letter day”.  A Chinese “blue book” is a chief source for later work.  In English, a blue book is the social register for bluebloods, a blank booklet for college exams, a government publication, or the U. S. Air Force project for studying flying saucers.
  在语言这块调色板上的每一种颜色,从显贵的蓝色、带怒的红色到皇家的紫色,都孕育着个中之意,但所产生的确切意象则有赖于所使用的确何种语言。在英语中,“black gown(黑色的宽大长外衣)”原为一些大学生的服装,后来人们借指有学问的人、学者。而汉语中的“black gown(皂衣)”则指的是封建时代中国的“衙役”;“green cloth(青衿)”才相当于“学者”。中国的皇帝及寺院中有权势者穿的是“黄袍”,而罗马皇帝与大主教则身着“紫袍”。中国人被人说成“走红”,可能会神气十足,而美国人听了一定会感到畏缩不安;中国人的“红茶(red tea)”,对说英语的外国人来说却是“black tea”,(虽然在我这个不谙世故的眼里看来,它们既不红也不黑);中国人的“白开水(white water)”,事实上是不加茶叶、咖啡或任何其它东西的开水,万不能与英文的“white coffee”相混淆,“white coffee”是加牛奶或奶油的咖啡。“brown sugar”在中国人眼里则成为“红糖”,一个美国人明明被打得“青肿的、淤血的(black and blue)”,中国人却说成“青一块、紫一块”(green and purple)”;嫉妒的中国人是“眼红(red-eyed)”,而嫉妒的美国人则是“green-eyed(嫉妒的、妒忌的;在美国人看来red-eyed意味着落泪或乏困)”。在中国,幸运日称为黄道吉日;但在美国,喜庆日却是“red-letter day”。汉语中,“蓝本(blue book)”指的是一著作所根据的底本,而英语a blue book可以用作社会上记录贵族的名册、大学考试成绩的空白登记本,也可以是政府公开发表的文件,或是美国空军研究飞碟的计划书。
  Chinese wear white for mourning, Americans don black.  American brides wear white, the color of purity and virginity, while Chinese brides might dress in red for good luck--shocking those Americans who associate red attire 36 with prostitution.
  葬礼上,中国人穿白色衣服以示哀悼;而美国人则着黑装。美国的新娘着一身洁白的婚礼服,这颜色象征纯洁、童贞;而中国的新娘很可能会一身红装,以示吉祥——这简直吓坏了美国人;因为,他们通常把红衣服与卖淫联系在一起。
  Chinese “yellow literature” is pornography, and not to be confused with the English “yellow journalism 37”--sensationalist journalism.  Pornographic films in America are “blue movies”, not “yellow movies”.
  汉语里的“黄色文学作品”是色情文学,不能与英语的“yellow journalism”混为一谈——后者指的是采用耸人听闻手法的报刊杂志的文章;美国的色情电影是“blue movies”,而不是“yellow movies”。
  Proper cross-cultural use of color is challenging but rewarding for a language learner.  So take up the linguistic palette and the pen, and live language as you live life--not in black and white but in vivid color.
  根据文化差异,正确使用颜色词,对每一个语言学习者而言既是挑战,也是十分有益的。因此,请拿起语言的调色板和笔,不仅仅是用单调的黑白色,而是用鲜明生动折色彩,就像把我们的生活变得丰富多彩那样,把我们的语言也变得五彩缤纷。



n.困扰,无法摆脱的思想(或情感)
  • I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
  • She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。
n.折磨;令人痛苦的东西(人);vt.折磨;纠缠
  • He has never suffered the torment of rejection.他从未经受过遭人拒绝的痛苦。
  • Now nothing aggravates me more than when people torment each other.没有什么东西比人们的互相折磨更使我愤怒。
adj.无数的;n.无数,极大数量
  • They offered no solution for all our myriad problems.对于我们数不清的问题他们束手无策。
  • I had three weeks to make a myriad of arrangements.我花了三个星期做大量准备工作。
adj.坚决的,果敢的
  • He was resolute in carrying out his plan.他坚决地实行他的计划。
  • The Egyptians offered resolute resistance to the aggressors.埃及人对侵略者作出坚决的反抗。
adj.特别的,有特色的,与众不同的
  • She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
  • This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。
v.含糊地说;诋毁;连唱;n.诋毁;含糊的发音
  • He took the remarks as a slur on his reputation.他把这些话当作是对他的名誉的中伤。
  • The drug made her speak with a slur.药物使她口齿不清。
adj.表现的,表达…的,富于表情的
  • Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
  • He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的,富于表情的,生动活泼的脸。
n.色度;色调;样子
  • The diamond shone with every hue under the sun.金刚石在阳光下放出五颜六色的光芒。
  • The same hue will look different in different light.同一颜色在不同的光线下看起来会有所不同。
adj.贵族的,显贵的;n.贵族;有教养的人;罗马帝国的地方官
  • The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。
  • Its patrician dignity was a picturesque sham.它的贵族的尊严只是一套华丽的伪装。
n.贵族( aristocrat的名词复数 )
  • Many aristocrats were killed in the French Revolution. 许多贵族在法国大革命中被处死。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • To the Guillotine all aristocrats! 把全部贵族都送上断头台! 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的
  • All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
  • He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过,他感到很郁闷。
vt.(使)显得矮小(dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式)
  • The old houses were dwarfed by the huge new tower blocks. 这些旧房子在新建的高楼大厦的映衬下显得十分矮小。
  • The elephant dwarfed the tortoise. 那只乌龟跟那头象相比就显得很小。 来自《简明英汉词典》
爱抱怨的人,发牢骚的人
  • He is a grumbler. 他是一个爱抱怨的人。
  • He is a dreadful grumbler. 他是特别爱发牢骚的人。
n.小铲( scoop的名词复数 );小勺;一勺[铲]之量;(抢先刊载、播出的)独家新闻v.抢先报道( scoop的第三人称单数 );(敏捷地)抱起;抢先获得;用铲[勺]等挖(洞等)
  • two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
  • I used three scoops of flour and one(scoop)of sugar. 我用了三杓面粉和一杓糖。 来自辞典例句
n.(身体的)瘢点( blemish的名词复数 );伤疤;瑕疵;污点
  • make-up to cover blemishes 遮盖霜
  • The blemishes of ancestors appear. 祖先的各种瑕疵都渐渐显露出来。 来自辞典例句
n.不洁,不纯,杂质
  • The oxygen reacts vigorously with the impurity in the iron.氧气与铁中的杂质发生剧烈的化学反应。
  • The more general impurity acid corrosion faster.一般来说杂质越多酸蚀速度越快。
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
adv.俗丽地
  • She painted her lips gaudily. 她的嘴唇涂得很俗艳。 来自互联网
n.休战,(争执,烦恼等的)缓和;v.以停战结束
  • The hot weather gave the old man a truce from rheumatism.热天使这位老人暂时免受风湿病之苦。
  • She had thought of flying out to breathe the fresh air in an interval of truce.她想跑出去呼吸一下休战期间的新鲜空气。
v.恳求,祈求;变魔术,变戏法
  • I conjure you not to betray me.我恳求你不要背弃我。
  • I can't simply conjure up the money out of thin air.我是不能像变魔术似的把钱变来。
产生,引起,唤起( evoke的现在分词 )
  • Some occur in organisms without evoking symptoms. 一些存在于生物体中,但不发生症状。
  • Nowadays, the protection of traditional knowledge is evoking heat discussion worldwide. 目前,全球都掀起了保护传统知识的热潮。
v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 );保密
  • The hills were shrouded in mist . 这些小山被笼罩在薄雾之中。
  • The towers were shrouded in mist. 城楼被蒙上薄雾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
adj.怀疑的,无把握的;有问题的,靠不住的
  • What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
  • He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。
adj.尽可能少的,最小的
  • They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
  • I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家,所以我的花费很小。
adj.令人垂涎的;垂涎的,梦寐以求的v.贪求,觊觎(covet的过去分词);垂涎;贪图
  • He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
  • Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》
vt.颂扬,赞美,使增光,美化
  • Politicians have complained that the media glorify drugs.政治家们抱怨媒体美化毒品。
  • We are all committed to serving the Lord and glorifying His name in the best way we know.我们全心全意敬奉上帝,竭尽所能颂扬他的美名。
v.诽谤,中伤
  • But I also do not want people to vilify.但希望我也别给人诬蔑。
  • Two chose not to vilify Skilling,however.然而,也有两个人并不愿诋毁思斯奇林。
adj.腐坏的;污染的;沾污的;感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 );使污染;败坏;被污染,腐坏,败坏
  • The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
  • He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》
v.屈服,屈从;死
  • They will never succumb to the enemies.他们决不向敌人屈服。
  • Will business leaders succumb to these ideas?商业领袖们会被这些观点折服吗?
n.剧作家,编写剧本的人
  • Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
  • The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。
n.诀窍,做事情的灵巧的,便利的方法
  • He has a knack of teaching arithmetic.他教算术有诀窍。
  • Making omelettes isn't difficult,but there's a knack to it.做煎蛋饼并不难,但有窍门。
adj.陌生的,不熟悉的
  • I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
  • The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。
adj.语言的,语言学的
  • She is pursuing her linguistic researches.她在从事语言学的研究。
  • The ability to write is a supreme test of linguistic competence.写作能力是对语言能力的最高形式的测试。
adj.封建的,封地的,领地的
  • Feudal rulers ruled over the country several thousand years.封建统治者统治这个国家几千年。
  • The feudal system lasted for two thousand years in China.封建制度在中国延续了两千年之久。
adj.有影响的,有权势的
  • He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
  • He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。
v.穿衣,装扮[同]array;n.衣着;盛装
  • He had no intention of changing his mode of attire.他无意改变着装方式。
  • Her attention was attracted by his peculiar attire.他那奇特的服装引起了她的注意。
n.新闻工作,报业
  • He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师,可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
  • He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。
标签: 颜色
学英语单词
abdominal cavities
accelerator ZDMC
agrip
alginic acid
anacanthus
anti-bottom quark
arrested failure
associated emission
banderol, banderole
basic separating
basosexine
Belling saccharimeter
bepitying
Biassini
bitterweeds
cammaron
capital of Oklahoma
change-over channel steamer
charge-storage diode
chloralkaline
chlorobenzyl chloride
cholecystokinin (cck)
complemeent (darlington 1932)
correlation analysis method
countervailing
deformation loss
detectable effect
dimethyldihydroresorcinol
direct-current grid bias
distributed feedback
dyadic array
electronic shower
Elsholtzia hunanensis
filter editor
food and beverage expenses
footlongs
glass reinforced concrete glass
grant woods
harangue
heading per steering compass
herringbone pipe
hewsons
hinchleys
Holter system
incipient incision
incipient scorch
Incomati (Komati)
internal strapped block
isoolivil
laser-Raman spectrometry
laxogenin
leakage and drip
Lisfranc's tubercle
lobes
macgregor hatch cover
maximum colour acuity
medium irrigated emulsion
metachromatic bodies
Molatón
Morinville
nabzenil
negotiated meaning
nitrogen-to-protein conversion factor
non-americans
offspringless
organizatory
Otego
Over-allotment option
OWRS
Panax schin-seng Nees
Passengers Ships in Inland Waters
pastoral stage
pentetate
petersen sir elutriator
phase interchange rate
Polygonum patulum
pteroxygonum giraldii dammer et diels
rabelo
relieve stress
schwalb
scratch resistance
seat cover for vehicle
security option
seen with half an eye
self starter
sequential data structure
setting-out work
shapiro-wilk test
side by side display
superimposed preeclampsia
sweated joint
telocollinites
tendon lengthening
thermal radiation destruction distance
topological relation
total equity
ultraviolet dwarf
uredinology
Vilyuy
virtual volume
volumetrics
xanthohumol