时间:2019-02-18 作者:英语课 分类:美国习惯用语


英语课

我们今天要讲的几个习惯用语都表示这样的意思:地位优越、或者境遇良好。第一个是: sitting pretty。 Pretty不是个生词,它解释“漂亮的。” 但是习惯用语sitting pretty可不是“坐著很漂亮”的意思。让我们听个例子来体会sitting pretty这个习惯用语的确切含义:


例句-1:My friend Joe has been a poor farmer working hard all his life. But he's sitting pretty now on: a big oil company found a big pool of oil under his land and today he's a millionaire.


他的朋友Joe向来是个辛劳耕作、勉强维生的穷苦农民,然而一家大石油公司在他的土地下发现了一大片油田。他顿时成了百万富翁,当然从此就不愁吃穿,安享清福了。


既然他的地下有丰富的石油蕴藏,石油公司必然要出高价买他的地。他顷刻间家产百万,再也不必终年操劳,就能坐享其成了。所以这里的sitting pretty描绘某人处于不愁吃穿、经济宽裕的地位。


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我们再学个习惯用语: in the catbird seat。 Catbird是美国的一种鸟,它的啼声有点像猫叫因而得到这个名字。美国一位有名的体育节目广播员Red Barber在五十年前起用了这个习惯用语in the catbird seat,并且令它家喻户晓。


这位广播员的家乡在美国的南端。那儿多的是catbirds。这种鸟儿喜欢在高高的树顶上唱歌。这一方面因为在高不可攀的树顶上没人能侵犯到它的安全,同时也为了让自己的歌声能传向四面八方。


让我们听个例子来体会sitting in the catbird seat比喻意义是什么。这段话在说打扑克。


例句-2:All the players seemed to have good cards because they kept raising the bet. But Helen just tried hard not to smile: she was sitting in the catbird seat with a royal flush nobody could beat.


他说:几个打牌的手上似乎都有好牌,因为他们在不断提高赌注。但是Helen却在使劲儿憋住不笑出来,因为她手上握著五张最大的同花顺子,几乎必胜无疑。


会打牌的人都知道大同花顺子是所向无敌的,虽然每个人手上牌都不错,但是强中还有强中手,更有强人在后头。Helen握著这样一手好牌,她就处于必胜的优越地位了。所以习惯用语sit in the catbird seat意思是处于必胜无疑的地位。


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我们再学一个表示境遇良好的习惯用语: happy as a clam 1。 Clam是蚌。蚌都把自己埋藏在河床或者海滩的泥砂里。


这个习惯用语来自北大西洋沿岸地带。蚌最喜欢涨潮的时候,因为好多水掩盖了它居住的洞穴。它就更安全了;人们既找不到它,也不可能把它挖掘出来当美餐了。


习惯用语happy as a clam说的就是被水和泥砂掩盖著而乐滋滋的蚌。当然,窝在水底下泥砂里也不见得有多么美好,然而蚌却就是乐在其中。那么习惯用 happy as a clam用来比喻什么呢?让我们听个例子来体会。


例句-3:My uncle is retired 2 now and happy as a clam. He's not rich by any means but his pension is just enough to let him live quietly and visit his daughter in California every winter.


他说:我叔叔现在退休了,倒也满自得其乐的,当'他绝对不算有钱,但是他的退休金却刚够他过安闲日子,每年冬天还能去看看他在加州的女儿。


他叔叔的退休金刚够他过安闲日子,每年还可以去加州探一次亲。他的生活水平当然和有钱人的奢华没法比,但是他叔叔却也自得其乐。这样看来happy as a clam,用来描绘虽境遇平常、却怡然自得的心境。

 



n.蛤,蛤肉
  • Yup!I also like clam soup and sea cucumbers.对呀!我还喜欢蛤仔汤和海参。
  • The barnacle and the clam are two examples of filter feeders.藤壶和蛤类是滤过觅食者的两种例子。
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
学英语单词
(of a silkworm) molt to go through the chrysalis state
amethystanthus japonicus nakai
Ampcoloy
antipodism
arsentsumebite
asymmetric conductivity
autogyro rotor
bacterial calls
ballet british colombia
bioocclusion
biotropic
birth control measure
carried-out
Caryophyllineae
cell granulations
chimney exit diameter
chresard
closer-in
consultation committee
coolant distribution unit
cryptands
Cupressus sempervirens
daylight robberies
direct-geared
dito
domestic staff
electronic band
exceptional performance
eye-blinks
fixture for boring machine
flood-level rim
formrs
green machine
hisds
homatropine eye drops
i could have wept
Iepê
igloo
imagistically
intropressions
isooctyl alcohol
joint and several obligation
laser raman photoacoustic spectrometry
lebanese pounds
line terminator
love beat
main spar
mapmakings
mat-forming
mecke
media check
meta-anthracite
methylmetal-crylates
mixed tumor of submaxillary gland
monarchia
moss locust
muckamuck
Muhamut
musculoligamentous
nitrocellulose varnish
nonstratified crown
Norheimsund
onagers
online monitoring
ooxanthines
order Spirochaetales
oxoglutaric
particulars of goods
pestiferously
postheparin
potato beans
power supply main
precipitron
press agencies
PsLogList
refolds
relieving oppression and masses
rere-county
residence half
restimulates
self-directing missile
single-spindle lathe
slab amplifiers
sode ash
soft-pedalleds
sphericities
static MOS inverter
stratified sand
stringifying
subsonic ejection seat
swallowers
systems analysis and design
target.com
the means of production
tourism area
true folding
uncastigated
uniform heat flux
vestibule floor
visual relief map
width of ruled area