时间:2019-02-19 作者:英语课 分类:美国习惯用语


英语课

今天我们要学的几个习惯用语都有这个词horse。 Horse大家都熟,是几乎遍布世界各地的“马。” 早在四千五百年前,居住在中亚地区的游牧民族就已经开始驯服野马供人坐骑或参与战事了。直到一百来年前马匹还在世界各地被普遍应用于耕作、运输和战争,但是如今在美国马匹却主要用在运动项目中了。


由于马匹在人类历史上发挥的作用很大,因而产生了不少由horse组成的习惯用语。我们要学的第一个是: be on one's high horse。 High horse如果直译就是高头大马。早在十四世纪的时候地位高高在上的人骑的马匹得尽可能地高大,以显示他们高人一等的身份地位。他们骑上了这样的马匹就能居高临下地俯视他人了。


习惯用语be on one's high horse如今表达什么意思呢?让我们听个例子来琢磨。这是在说老朋友Bob近来的反常行为:


例句-1:Since Bob was elected president of the club, he's been up on his high horse, ordering the rest of us around as if we were his personal servants.


他说:自从Bob当选为俱乐部主席以来,他就趾高气扬起来了,把朋友们差遣得团团转,就好像这些人都是他雇的佣人一样。


Bob把周围的朋友当自己的佣人一般地差使,可见他自以为高人一等,不尊重他人。所以be on one's high horse意思就是趾高气扬、渺视他人。


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我们再学个习惯用语: beat a dead horse。一匹死马你再怎么抽打也不会站起来往前奔跑了,所以beat a dead horse实际上是在做无用功,当然这个习惯用语是用来作比喻的。让我们听个例子来体会它的意思吧。说话的人是在劝告一位政界人士。


例句-2:You're only beating a dead horse when you talk about your opponent stealing the last election. That's over and done with; it's much better to talk about his record after he got elected.


他说:如今木已成舟你再谈政敌窃取上届选举成果也是徒劳无益、于事无补的了;你还是谈谈他当选后的政绩如何为好。


当然,在选举已成定局之后,讨论对手在选举中是否弄虚作假已经太晚,再也也改变不了选举结果了,就等于在白花力气地抽打一匹死马一样改变不了局面,所以beat a dead horse,意思是在已经失去意义的问题上白花力气,或者说是事后再作无效的努力,换句话说是徒劳无益。


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我们再来学一个习惯用语,里面的horse意思可不同:clothes horse。 Clothes是衣服的总称,clothes horse原来是指那种晾晒衣服的架子。既然是晾衣架,上面必然会披挂各色各样的衣服,而且人们还时时会从晾衣架上取下干的、挂上潮的,也就是说架上的衣服时时在更换。但是clothes horse作为习惯用语的时候是什么意思呢?让我们听个例子来体会clothes horse比喻什么样的人。


例句-3:Sally is a real clothes horse: she pays an awful lot for all the new outfits 1 she wears, and she looks like a million bucks 2. But she earns a good salary and can afford nice things.


Sally花费好多钱来给自己买新衣服。她的穿戴相当奢侈华丽,但是她的工资待遇优厚,所以能买得起贵重的东西。


既然Sally收入丰厚,又愿意把好多钱花在新衣服上,想必Sally打扮入时,所以说 Sally 是a real clothes horse,意思是爱打扮、好赶时髦的人,这可以指女人,也可以用来说男的。

 



n.全套装备( outfit的名词复数 );一套服装;集体;组织v.装备,配置设备,供给服装( outfit的第三人称单数 )
  • He jobbed out the contract to a number of small outfits. 他把承包工程分包给许多小单位。 来自辞典例句
  • Some cyclists carry repair outfits because they may have a puncture. 有些骑自行车的人带修理工具,因为他们车胎可能小孔。 来自辞典例句
n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 );钱;(英国十九世纪初的)花花公子;(用于某些表达方式)责任v.(马等)猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 );抵制;猛然震荡;马等尥起后蹄跳跃
  • They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
  • They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》
学英语单词
8-level vestigial sideband
a brass farthing
ace boon coons
active-centre
additional cannon pinion
Aegean Islands
alae vomeris
Alexander's crown
ampex
Amstelmeer
arats
Auranti cortex siccatus
automatic multi-screwdriver
backtrackings
bipolar front end
birth ratio
browzing
calibration liquid
Calochortus albus
Cau, Song
cdot
claim entitlement
Clarensac
classified as
colometrogram
containment cooling system
contract transportation
convolution operation
cooling method
CPRO
data handling equipment
diarylmaleimide
e in altissimo
energy-sapping
enforcement notice
entropy balance equation
Erb paralysis
exemplary role
fabry perot cavity
ferrimagnetisms
fishery processing ship
foreign capital in flow
furnace foundation
furnculosis
gauze sponge
godelier
grafite
grasps the nettle
hold in pledge
huntington-heberleim sink and float
hydraulic machine
hylion
infusoriform embryo
iodobromite
ketonic ester
logic(al) value
magnetic card filing cabinet
manufacturer's wire
masais
mauremys reevesii
memory time
migratory thrombophlebitis
misstating
nail smith chisel
noise pollution
NOT AND
optical depolarization
order Salientia
p.c.b.s
parabolic flight
permitio
perpendicular electric constant
persuadability
phlegmasia
pstis
pulse attenuator
Red Cross and Red Crescent
rheology of elastomers
saddle-bows
safe handling of cargo
screw driver for cruciate slot
seminists
smooth-surface
space-based observation
spherical iron particle
superfamily sphecoideas
theory of genasthenia
time-to-pulse height converter
to the advantage of
toric smoothing machine
touchinesses
translation tool
tread bracing layer
unryu-gata
vertical velocity gradient
waist packs
waitressed
walt whitmen
wholesomest
work loose
zinc dithiofuroate
Zitazonium