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
-humoured
Abarema lucida
acceptable tolerance
ait moulei
antisymmetric
automatic sequence-controlled calculator
average void depth
bad behavior
biloquialist
bin men
bomb method
braking controller
brightness stabilizer circuit
burl
caecilians
chessylite
chrominance component demodulator
circular conical surface
circulator failure
classical pathway of complement
cold spare
compound-nucleons reaction
cotunneling
cryodesiccation
crystal unit
decentralized controller design
destler
die line
differential geometry
dihydrotestosterone n-octyl enol ether
discrete uniformity
duplex pressure proportional
eleocharis japonica miq.
fehling reagent
fishbase
flavonols
frisks
gas fired air furnace
highly acid
hyporeninaemic
intelligence
interdepartmental statistics
intersterified lard
kestose
kirschmer beater
knowledge bank
krytron
legal appropriation
leunaphos
liquid conduction
lower covert
maneuverable re-entry vehicle (marv)
medtronic -hall prosthetic heart valve
memorandum on instructional methods
methylesterases
military-training
mixed sphagnum bog
morphemes
multi-area file
Orito
pannery
Penkridge
perfluoroalkyl group
Peristylus taipoensis
phosphoesterase
Phytodinium
pigments
plagiarized
polyparium
power section box
preheat hot cathode lamp
presi-dent
program preparation aids
pyridindole
RIA-Novosti
scotomizations
sebific duct
segment mold
self-referring
shaded-relief map
shottage
sight obstruction
stream potential (electrofiltration potential)
strontium hydrate
sunflower-seed oil
Sunipia hainanensis
superconducting electric machine
tar gas
thermocompression bonding
timequake
trajectory space
transfer of colour
Troland
umbilical cords
unreduced
Usnea angulata
websurfed
weight holder
weighted T-graph
yousuf
yurii
Ziziphora pamiroalaica