第83讲 江山易改，本性难移 Old habits/traditions die hard & Where there's a will, there's a way

本教程已正式出版，版权归属世博英语网站。未经世博英语书面授权，请勿转载！

俗话说江山易改，本性难移，这个俗话常用形容那些改不了旧习的人们。英文中也有相同的表达：old habits die hard.

It’s no doubt that we all have bad habits. As the saying goes, “old habits die hard”, our earnest attempts to break those habits often end in frustration.
(译文：毫无疑问，我们都有不好的习惯。正如俗话所说：本性难移，我们认真的努力要改掉它却总以失败告终。)

片语old habits die hard的意思是“恶习难改。”从字面上看它的意思是“旧习惯很难死掉”，不正是人们常说的“本性难移”吗？The idiom is used to say that it is difficult to make people change their attitudes or behaviors. 注意这个片语还可以表达为：old traditions/customs die hard. 如：

She never demands his husband stop smoking because she knows it isn't necessary. As the saying goes, “Old traditions die hard.”
(译文：她从来不要求他的丈夫戒烟，因为她知道这是没有必要的。正如俗话所言“本性难移嘛。)

汉语中有句俗话叫世上无难事，只怕有心人。它告诉我们只要心中有志，就能克服困难，所以有人也称之为“有志者事竟成”。呵呵，英文中还真有这个片语呢？

Perhaps there is an element of truth in sayings that old habits die hard, but there is another saying called “where there is a will, there is a way”. It tells us that if you keep a stiff upper lip to chase your goal, you will get successful.
(译文：也许，俗语本性难移有可信之处。但是也有另一个俗话叫有志者事竟成。它告诉我们如果你坚定不移的追求你的目标，你就会获得成功。)

片语where there is a will, there is a way严格讲是一个谚语，从字面上很容易理解其意思：哪儿有了志气(有了必胜的信念)，就会有一条路(通往成功的路)，这不就是指有志者事竟成吗？The idiom is used to say that if you really want to do something, you will find a way to succeed. For example:

We have failed so many times to do the experiment. But as the saying goes, “where there is will, there is way.” Let’s try it again.
(译文：我们的实验已经失败很多次了。但是俗话说有志者事竟成，让我们再试一次。)

结束语：英语学习也许真的很难，不过俗话说的好，有志者事竟成(where there is a will, there is a way)，只要努力，就能成功的学好它。关健是要克服我们的惰性，许多人曾不止一次的发誓要学好英语，可是最终因为自己的惰性而不得不放弃，所谓本性难移呀(old habits die hard)!