英语习语趣谈【2】熟悉的陌生人 Do the honors & grow on someone

本栏目由李福兵原创编写,Eyre绘图。

一次美丽的邂逅,往往就发生在你最需要帮助的时候。记得在念书的时候,有一回在人民公园,迎面走来一位pretty foreign girl, 我灵机一动,冒了一句 “Excuse me, could you do the honors?” 那女孩睁大了蓝色的眼睛看着我,茫然不知所措。

“I mean if you could help us to take a picture,”I said.

后来才明白,这个女孩原来来自德国,在外国语大学攻读中文,对英文只是略懂一二!最后,她终于明白了我的意思,并帮我拍了张照片。对了,朋友们知道这里的do the honors是什么意思吗?一般地,do the honors 通常指“尽地主之宜”。大家都知道honor是尊敬的意思,通常情况下在一个家庭中,像介绍客人,盛鸡汤,斟酒等事宜都由长者来完成,所以长者就是在做一件值得尊敬或尊重的事,自然do the honors意思就演变为“尽地主之宜”的意思了,有时特指接下一份荣誉的工作。所以除了我们要请人帮忙时用这个习语外,当我们请某人做一件有意义的事时也可以用它呢!在举例子前我们先看一个生词片语:talk someone into doing something,它的意思“说服某人做某事。”

It’s important to try to talk crowd here into being quiet. I think it’s no doubt that you are the only one that could do the honors.
(译文:尽量的使这儿的人们安静下来很重要,毫无疑问,只有你才是最佳人选。)

对于德国,起初我是没有什么特别记忆的。可是自从和那位德国女孩简单的谈论之后,the country, Germany, is growing on me! 这里我用了一个片语:grow on, 它的意思是“渐渐令某人喜欢上。” If something grows on you, you gradually like it more and more. 比如有一个地方刚开始时你不喜欢,但后来你却渐渐的喜欢上了,这时你就可以用这个片语。看看下面这段话,体会一下其用法吧!

Do you like the city you’re working in? When I came to the place after graduating from university, I didn’t like it because of the bad weather and the inconvenient traffic. But now it’s growing on me because of the kind people who always try their best to help you when you are in trouble. On the other hand, the freeway had been built by the end of last year, we can see more and more beautiful women drive cars and say hello to us. Don’t you enjoy this kind of life? I enjoy it, but till now I haven’t had a car…
(译文:你喜欢现在工作的城市吗?当我从学校毕业来到这个地方时,我并不喜欢他,因为这儿天气不好,交通也不便。但现在我渐渐的喜欢上了这个城市,因为当你处于困难时,这儿的人们总是尽力帮助你。另外,高速公路也在去年年底建成通车了,我们能看到越来越多的漂亮Mm向你打着招呼。你喜欢这种生活吗?我喜欢,可我直到现在还没有车?!)

结束语:今天我们学了两个片语。一个是do the honors指“尽地主之宜”,常用来指“帮个忙或接下一份荣誉的工作”,注意honor必须要用复数形式honors. 另一个是grow on someone, 它的意思是“渐渐令某人喜欢上。”注意这个片语只能用于主动语态,fox example, 我们只能说the city is growing on me, 而不能说I’m growing on the city.

英语习语趣谈【1】我的野蛮女友 Volcano﹠Sponge

本栏目由李福兵原创编写,Eyre绘图。

和一个脾气火爆的人相处很难,然而与女朋友相处又谈何容易呢?可是偏偏那个脾气火爆的女孩却成为了你的女友,也许你常说的一句话说就是“Don’t yell at me! You are really a volcano!” 大家知道这句话是什么意思吗? 我们知道, volcano是火山的意思,但在3美语中,volcano常常是指脾气火爆的人。你想想,像火山一样的发泄,这人还不火爆吗?If someone is called volcano, it means he has a bad temper, that is to say he is easy to become angry, even because of little cases.

下面我们来看个例句,加深一下印象。

Getting along with a volcano is not easy, but not impossible. We can’t change people, but we can change how we treat them. So in the first place,clarify the situation and try to understand his or her viewpoint. Secondly, even if he or she is rude for you, respond politely.
(译文:与一个脾气火爆的人相处不容易,但并不是不可能。我们不能改变别人,但我们能控制我们如何对待他们。所以首先要弄清楚情况并且尽量的理解他。其次即使他对你很不礼貌,你也要礼貌的回应。)

除了脾气火爆的人我们可以使用volcano来形容外,英文中的sponge(海绵)可以用来形容另外一类人。sponge原意是指海绵,在美国的口语中,常用来指那些永远只拿不给的人。你想想,海绵不是一个劲的吸水吗?用来形容那些一毛不拔的人不是很形象么?If someone is called sponge, it means they are very closefisted. They always benefit from others but never return.

下面我们来看一个例句,之前我们先看一看cope with这个词组,它与deal with相同,常相互代替,指“处理,对待”的意思。

How to cope with people who always take but never give back? To those sponges, the only thing we can do is to limit our help without feeling guilty.
(译文:如何对待那些只接受而不给予的人?对于他们,我们唯一能做的就是尽量的减少我们的帮助而不要感到内疚。)

总结语:今天我们主要学了两个词的用法,一个是volcano,一个是sponge,都用来形容人,但意思不一样。volcano常用来指“脾气火爆的人”。还有一些和volcano相关的习语比较容易理解,这里简单介绍一下:第一个是dance on a volcano,从字面上看,意思是指“在火山上跳舞”, 意指“面对危险还悠然自乐”;第二个是sit on a volcano,意思是“坐在火山顶上”, 指处境危险。Sponge 用来形容那些只接受而不给予的人,当然如果你翻译成寄生虫未尝不可,只是刻薄了点。

世博英语脱口秀【24】如何介绍别人

美语朗读
精彩讲解

Know Your Facts Before Introducing Someone

If you find yourself in a situation where you have to introduce someone formally in America, it is best to ask the person you’re introducing how she or he would like to be introduced. Should you include his or her first name in the introduction? Should you share any information about the person such as his or her job title or interests? This has to be done ahead of time, of course, so advance planning is necessary. When introducing a woman, if you don’t know her marriage status (whether she is single or married) it is best to use the title Ms. before her last name. It would be embarrassing to call a person Miss if they were already married or Mrs. if they weren’t!

中文翻译

在美国,如果你需要正式地向别人介绍某人,你最好事先问一下当事人想怎么被介绍,介绍时是否应该说出他/她的全名;是否应该告诉别人他/她的个人信息,比如工作、兴趣等。这些都得先问好,所以事先需计划一下。在向别人介绍一位女士时,如果你不知道她是否已婚,那最好还是在她的姓名前用Ms.这个称谓,要不然如果你用Miss(小姐)来称呼已婚的太太或是用Mrs.(太太)来称呼未婚的小姐都会显得很尴尬。

必备字词

必备字词

introduction n. 介绍
Thanks for the introduction. I have a better picture of your company now.
谢谢你的介绍,我现在对你们公司有所了解了。

ahead of time 提前
Please inform ahead of time so I can get ready for the meeting.
请你提前通知我,这样我就能准备好。

marriage status 婚姻状况
I don’t know her marriage status, so I don’t know how to introduce her.
我不知道她的婚姻状况,所以不知道怎么介绍她。

embarrassing a. 令人为难的
It was such an embarrassing situation.
当时的情形实在令人难堪。

每日一句

每日一句

It is best to ask the person himself.
最好问他本人。

A: Do you have any information about the meeting?
B: I am not quite sure. It’s best to check with the organizer.

A:你有关于那个会议的消息吗?
B:我不太清楚,最好去问问会议组织者。

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