与动物有关的英语成语

2018-08-03梁小明

中学生英语·阅读与写作 2018年7期

梁小明

英语和汉语虽然是两种不同的语言，但这两种语言在某些方面也有一些相通之处。以与动物有关的成语为例，汉语里我们常说的“亡羊补牢”、“一石二鸟”、“吠犬不咬人”等成语在英语中都能找得到。我们一起来读读下面这篇文章吧，其中含有不少与动物有关的成语。

How many idioms are there in English that are drawn from animal life？

英语中有多少来自动物生活的成语呢？

For example， when we do two things at once and the same time we “kill two birds with one stone”， or if we are greedy and foolish， we “kill the goose that lays the golden eggs”. A bad-tempered person is “like a bear with a sore head”， an awkward1， heavy-footed person is “like a bull in a china shop”， and a person with a bad character is “the black sheep” in a group.

例如，当我们同时做两件事时，我们是“一石二鸟”，或者如果我们贪婪和愚蠢，我们就是“杀鸡取卵”。一个脾气不好的人“像一头忍受头痛的熊（脾气暴躁）”，一个笨拙、笨重的人就“像一头瓷器店的公牛”，一个品行不好的人就是“害群之马”。

But lets leave the foolish person or the bad person， and consider the wise man. A wise man “never counts his chickens before they are hatched2” or “buys a pig in a poke3”—he always examines carefully what he is buying before he pays his money. He will always， of course， do things in the right order and not try to “put the cart before the horse”. He will leave alone things that might cause trouble， as he would say “let sleeping dogs lie”， nor will he waste good things on people who cant appre-ciate them； he does not believe in “casting pearls before swine4”. There are some people who always take safety measures5. When it is too late and “lock the stable6 door after the horse is stolen”， that， he considers， is as fool-ish as “putting the cart before the horse”. When bold measures are necessary he takes them and “takes the bull by the horns”. And when an ill-tempered， sharp-tongued friend says something unpleasant， he doesnt worry too much； he knows “a barking dog does not bite”. If he knows a secret， he keeps it； he is not the one to “let the cat out of the bag”. He knows， too， that there are things you cant force people to do. As he would say， “You can lead a horse to the water， but you cant make it drink”. And he would， of course， be too generous-hearted to “look a gift horse in the mouth”. Hes a cheerful， hard-working fellow， and “works like a horse”. He isnt proud， “riding the high horse”， and is always willing to help others in difficulty， “putting his shoul-der to the wheel” and never giving “a white elephant” to them. He pities7 the poor fellow who has “never had a dogs chance” and “leads a dogs life”， perhaps because misfortune8 has always “dogged his footsteps”.

我们暂且不管那个笨蛋还是坏人，想想聪明人吧。聪明人“从不在小鸡孵蛋前数小鸡（从来不打如意算盘）”或“瞎买东西”——在付钱之前，他总是仔细检查要买的东西。当然，他总是把事情做得井井有条，而不是试图“把马车放在马前（本末倒置）”。他不管可能引起麻烦的事情，因为他会说“不要自找麻烦”，他也不会把美好的东西浪费在那些无法欣赏它们的人身上；他不相信“对牛弹琴”。有些人总是采取安全措施。当太迟了，“马被偷了才去关厩门”时，他认为这是和“本末倒置”一样的愚蠢行为。当有必要采取大胆措施时，他“当机立断”采取行动。当一个脾气暴躁、说话尖刻的朋友说了一些不愉快的事时，他并不担心，他知道“吠犬不咬人”。如果他知道一个秘密，就会保守这个秘密，他不是“泄露秘密”的人。他也知道，有些事情是不能强迫别人去做的。正如他所说：“你可以把马牵到水里，但你不能逼它喝水”。当然，他也会宽宏大量，而不是“对得到的礼物吹毛求疵”。他是一个开朗、勤奋的人，“工作非常努力”。他不傲慢，不“趾高气昂”，总是愿意帮助有困难的人，“把肩膀靠在輪子上”，从不给他们“无用的累赘”。他怜悯那个“从来没有机会”和“过着牛马不如的生活”的可怜人，也许因为不幸总是“缠住了他的脚步”。

Now I had better stop or you will think I am “riding my horse to death”.

就说到这里吧，否则你会认为我会“骑马而死”。