时间:2018-12-18 作者:英语课 分类:TED演讲视频集


英语课

   所谓pun,通常是指利用一个单词的两个含义,或者利用两个特定的单词,达到“一语双关”的目的。例如在下面这句话里,其中的grave有两个含义,一个是“严肃的”(形容词),一个是“坟墓”(名词),因此这句话的意思是:他不是一个严肃的人,除非他躺到坟墓里,才能严肃起来。再比如下面第二句话,其中的pray(祈祷)和prey 1(捕食),发音相同,外形相似,因此这句话的意思是:他们今天为你祈祷,明天就会加害于你。这就是两个典型的 pun.


  ①He is not a grave man until he is a grave man.
  ②They pray for you today and prey on you tomorrow.
  国外一个网站评选的2003年十大pun,下面是其中的三个例子,如果您能看懂、听懂,肯定会觉得pun很有意思。
  ①He drove his expensive car into a tree and found out how the Mercedes bends.
  他违章超速驾驶,结果将昂贵的名车撞到树上,他终于看到他的奔驰车(Mercedes)是怎样撞弯(bends)的。这句话的幽默之处是将Mercedes Benz(奔驰车)中的Benz,故意改写成bends.
  ②Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.
  这句话乍一看,好象是说:时光像箭一样飞逝,水果像香蕉一样飞逝。其实这句话后半部分的真正意思是:果蝇喜欢吃香蕉,也就是fruit flies/like/a banana.
  ③A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two-tyred.
  这句话的表面意思是:自行车自己站不起来,因为它只有两个轮胎(two-tyred)。而这句话的另外一个意思是:这辆自行车被它的主人骑了很长时间,它现在太累了(too tired)。
  怎么样,pun是不是很有意思?我下面再列出三个pun,但不告诉您意思,请您自己琢磨一下。如果您能琢磨出来,那说明您的英语水平已经很高了。
  ①She wore a new hairpiece every day and was considered a big wig 2.
  ②Old math teachers never die, they just become irrational 3.
  ③When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.

1 prey
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨
  • Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
  • The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
2 wig
n.假发
  • The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
  • He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。
3 irrational
adj.无理性的,失去理性的
  • After taking the drug she became completely irrational.她在吸毒后变得完全失去了理性。
  • There are also signs of irrational exuberance among some investors.在某些投资者中是存在非理性繁荣的征象的。
标签: 英语写作
学英语单词
1-acetyl-2-phenylhydrazine
abdominal part
acerbity-astringent
adapter plug
aharon
aluminium conductor
anterior third ventriculostomy
approved contractor
automatic electronic ticket system
Autumn Leaf
baby mosquito net
Balmain bug
Barkerville
barways
beecroft
Belo Oriente
billholder
Black,Joseph
blowing murmur
burner assembly
Calanthe ecarinata
can'st
castner-keliner cell
cavityecho
cenchrus ciliariss
chancinesses
chigetai
close timing
closeweight cargo
com-mented
common alders
completed construction
cost budget line
Cremastra
crestal plane
darkling groung beetles
drainage basins
elastic yielding
electro-acoustic transducer
extraneous conductive part
fair amount
featherwitted
first litter
free motional impedance
frost mound
genus shigellas
grandpop
hayduke
holosiderite
hydraulic transmission gear box
ideological
idiely
indeterminate appropriation
inner hebridess
jabberwocks
jewish religions
kobets
lovely jubbly
methanoindene
mini peripheral component interconnect
mongolicum
mountain wind
mozzies
multistage interconnection
nonasynchronous
Orthopsidae
passer montanuss
perfect flower
phlebothrombosis
phytol bromide
planetary mixer
pounceon
preferred list
present distance
principal valency
privileged master procedure
profit-takings
proseminary
quitched
recriminalizes
reverse switch
riffled tube
sampling sink
sinking winch
sino-carotid
spectrometer
spring saddle centering device
spring vibration isolator
stitch tear
surface-water inlet
tap-talking
tautograms
telearchics
Ternstroemia biangulipes
the Taliban
there-mide
Uniate Church
vagarish
vertical still
vestrywoman
water radioactivity meter
working capital concept