时间:2019-02-06 作者:英语课 分类:美国习惯用语


英语课

  今天我们要学的习惯用语有共同的关键词,happy。大家也许早就知道happy意思是“快乐的。”我们要学的第一个习惯用语是: happy-go-lucky。 Lucky是“幸运的。” Happy-go-lucky是个相当古老的习惯用语,沿用至今有三百来年了。听到这个习惯用语包含happy和lucky这两个词,你也许在揣摩它一定用来描绘一个无忧无虑的幸运儿。你这是只猜对了一半。

我们听个例子来进一步体会happy-go-lucky,这个习惯用语的含义究竟是什么吧。他要告诉我们他朋友Bob的事儿。Bob可不是什么幸运儿。恰恰相反,Bob刚丢了工作,女朋友又跟他吹了,如今连房租都付不起,到处欠人的钱。然而他却说Bob is happy-go-lucky,你听听他为什么这样说。

例句-1:In Bob's place I'd never get out of bed. But he's happy-go-lucky as ever, greets 1 you with that big smile, tells a few jokes, then invites you for a drink. What a guy!

他说:要是我处在Bob的地位我管保消沉得都不想起床了。但是Bob仍然是一如既往的乐天派。他满面笑容地跟你打招呼,说说笑笑,再请你喝上一杯。 可真有他的!

刚才说过Bob遇上了一连串的倒霉事儿,但是他却还是兴高采烈的,可见他是个乐天派。这种人即使在困境中也无忧无虑,因为老确信自己会时来运转。所以happy-go-lucky这个习惯用语的意思就是乐天知命,随遇而安的。

******

当然一个人要是happy-go-lucky,他难免会是盲目乐观。我们再学个用来描绘另一种乐呵呵的人的习惯用语: slap 2-happy。 Slap是用巴掌拍击。Slap happy原来出自拳击运动,说脑袋多次遭到打击因而晕头转向的那种人。Slap happy现在也常用来指人昏头昏脑的,但是却不是因为受到某种打击。是什么原因呢? 我们来听个例子,这段话说的是Mark,他太太刚为他生下了第一个宝贝。注意里面用到的习惯用语slap happy。

例句-2:The baby was born a month ago but Mark is still slap-happy about it. He keeps telling everybody all the smart things his kid does - to tell the truth, he's getting pretty annoying 3.

他说:小宝宝是一个月前生的,但是Mark至今还乐得晕呼呼地。他逢人就谈孩子的那些聪明举动。 老实说吧,他可真叫人腻烦。

Mark为自己有了小宝贝而乐得忘乎所以,老跟人谈才一个月大的小孩有多聪明,叫人不胜其烦,可见Mark是给自己的幸福冲昏头脑了。所以slap-happy用来描绘被幸福或者胜利冲昏头脑的人,是高兴得晕头转向的意思。

******

再学个由happy发展而来的习惯用语: happy-camper。 Camper是野外露营的人,每年夏天成千上万美国人都爱带上孩子去野外山林间露营。露营是老少咸宜的度假方式。它既给爸妈一个休闲轻松的机会,也让孩子能跟小伙伴朝夕相处玩耍。

多数去露营的人回家时都兴致勃勃,觉得山河田野间的大自然生活多么清新宜人。从八十年代起happy camper开始成为习惯用语,用来描绘对自己的日常生活状况心满意足的老老少少。

奇怪的是如今人们常常会在否定句中用习惯用语happy camper。下面就是个典型例子。它描绘一次糟糕的飞越美国的旅行。

例句-3:It was an awful trip! We took off late, the air was bumpy 4, the plane was jammed, the toilets got stopped up, the food was terrible - we sure weren't happy campers when we landed.

他说:这次旅行糟糕透了!我们起飞就晚点,空中气流不稳飞机因而颠簸得厉害。这次航班挤满了乘客,抽水马桶偏又阻塞不通,而且机上供应的饭食难以下咽。到着陆时我们都怨气冲天。

这里的weren't happy campers含义是对所处的境遇非常不满意。



v.欢迎( greet的第三人称单数 );迎接;致意;(以某种方式)对…作出反应
  • An escort of ten airplanes greets the famous aviator. 由10架飞机组成的护航队迎接这位著名的飞行员。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Louis greets her with the usual wild joy in the great moment of his day. 路易斯在一天中最高兴的时刻里,以通常那种狂喜的心情来迎接她。 来自辞典例句
n.掴,侮辱,拍击声;vt.拍击,侮辱,惩罚,申斥;adv.正面地,直接地,突然地
  • He sent the horse forward with a slap on its rump.他拍了一下马尾,马便向前跑去。
  • He gave her a slap on the cheek.他打了她一耳光。
adj.使人恼怒;令人生气的
  • These flies are annoying me.这些苍蝇真使我心烦。
  • The boy broke the teapot.How annoying!这男孩把茶壶打破了。真可气!
adj.颠簸不平的,崎岖的
  • I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
  • The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄,成了一条崎岖不平的小径。
学英语单词
acid disproportionation
acid-base balance
acute simple red cell aplastic anemia
Ajasse
allowable flooding
analysis by synthesis
arbalester
backdooring
basil mints
Bencao Yanyi, Augmented Materia Medica
big-city delinquency problems
Birmasil special alloy
boiler convection tube bank
bold-face type
Butea
carry generation
chemical burn of auricle
chemical mutagen
chestnut coal
continuous cooling rate
continuous pressure operation
controversial issue
copper mt.
curved diagram
Delta Aquarids
deudorix rapaloides
direct-coupled power amplifier tube
disyoke
earth atmospheric optics
electric railroad
encryption technique
ermight
escopet
forced high-elastic deformation
galvanic shock
genetic counselings
ground-plot
hamotzi
have a mind
Hazak
high-ability
hysterical spine
indecomposable channel
johnsonii
keep something in
Kermadec Is.
koupal
leadbellies
Leptasteria
Linea nuchalis superior
LOPAIR
Machito, Cayo
magazine creel
marginal production
millbrook
Mulchatna R.
occlusal guide plane
ocular counterrolling test
offshore well
omnifont reader
oxedrine
passive detector
pavonine
personal financial statement
Petit-Canal
pilwo
pole-vault stand
potential pacemaker
prediction of spontaneous combustion
pulse multiplex coding
quondary
ravels
realsalt
residential care
rubbish bin
sags and crests
seal casinghousing
shostak
shotfiring cable tests
silica-rich
singing propeller
slim-waisted
slough-off
solar flare hazard
Spirillum litorale
sprung out
starter drive
succussions
sulpho-acid
sweatsoaked
tale teller
trackback
trustcards
Tsukumi
twiddle-twaddle
two-point bit
ultra-high-frequency wave
unberried
web grammar
welfare cheater
Yamato Seamount
Zaiwa