諺語、慣用語
不管張三李四。
Every Tom, Dick and Harry. *舉出常用的男孩名,表示“不論誰都……”、“不管張三還是李四”。雖然沒有女孩名,但男女都可用。
My daughter had a homestay in America. (我女兒為體驗當?shù)厣?,去美國了?
So did every Tom, Dick and Harry. (不管誰都能去啊。)
I like sexy girls. (我喜歡性感的女人。)
So does every Tom, Dick and Harry. (無論誰都是這樣的。)
一波未平一波又起。
Out of the frying pan into the fire. *frying pan “平底炒菜鍋”,直譯是菜從鍋里炒出來又掉進了火里。
舍名求實。
I live to eat.
Pudding rather than praise. *不太常用的說法。
瞎貓碰上了死耗子。
Every dog has his day.
Bob won the lottery. (鮑勃中了頭彩。)
Every dog has his day. (瞎貓碰上了死耗子。)
Everyone has good days.
Everyone gets lucky sometimes. (誰都會有走運的時候。)
A flying crow always gets something. *不太常用的說法。
說曹操,曹操到。
Speak of the devil. *“說到惡魔,惡魔就來”。源自諺語Speak of the devil and he will appear。
Speak of the devil.常用于口語中。
Here comes John! (約翰來了。)
Speak of the devil. (真是說到曹操,曹操到。)
情人眼里出西施。
Love is blind. *直譯是“愛情是盲目的”。表示人們一旦談戀愛,就會失去正確的判斷能力,無法冷靜地看待事物。
一舉兩得。
Kill two birds with one stone. *直譯是“一石可以打中兩只鳥”,即“一舉兩得”。
不聞兇訊便是吉。
No news is good news.
I haven't heard from John lately. (好久沒有約翰的消息了。)
Well, no news is good news. (是啊,不聞兇訊便是吉。)
光陰似箭。
Time flies. *表示時間像飛一樣地過去了。Tim flies是Time flies when you are having fun.的省略說法。即“越高興時間過得越快”。
時間就是金錢。
Time is money.
百藝不如一藝精。
Jack of all trades, master of none. *Jack是男子名,一般表示“某人或男人”。此句的意思是什么事都去做的人沒有一件事是能精通的。
三思而后行。
Look before you leap. *直譯“飛之前先看看”,表示“付諸于行動前要慎重地考慮,做好準備”。
百聞不如一見。
Seeing is believing. *“眼見為實”,即只有自己親眼所見,才能信服。
無風不起浪。
There is no smoke without fire. *傳聞總是有出處的,“無火的地方不冒煙”。
誠實總是上策。
Honesty is the best policy. *常以為不正當行為能獲得好處,但從長遠來看,結(jié)果是采取正當行為才是上策。
晚做總比不做強。
Better late than never.
男孩子就是男孩子嘛!
Boys will be boys.
John got into a fight again. (約翰又打架了。)
Boys will be boys. (男孩子就是男孩子嘛!)
知識就是力量。
Knowledge is power.
Knowledge is power. (知識就是力量。)
That's why he's so successful. (所以他才成功。)
冰凍三尺非一日之寒。/羅馬不是一天就建成的。
Rome was not built in a day. *要做大事不是一朝一夕就可以成功的。
條條大路通羅馬。
All roads lead to Rome. *為達到同一目的,可以采取多種手段。
There are many roads to success. (有許多辦法可以取得成功。) *常用語。
入鄉(xiāng)隨俗。
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. *“在羅馬就要照羅馬人做的去做”。即“到另一個地方就要遵從那里的風俗習慣”。口語中常省略成Do as the Romans do.
熟能生巧。
Practice makes perfect. *任何事情都反復練習是成功的秘訣。
歷史總在重演。
History repeats itself.
Another war started. (又一場戰(zhàn)爭開始了。)
History repeats itself. (歷史總在重演。)
禍不單行,福無雙至。
When it rains, it (always) pours.
功夫不負有心人。
Where there's a will, there's a way. *有堅強的意志和決心的話,無論有多大的困難都能克服。
行動比語言更響亮。
Actions speak louder than words.
(錢財?shù)?來得容易去得快。
Easy come, easy go. *輕易得來的錢財,是不被珍惜的。來得容易,去得也容易。
血濃于水。
Blood is thicker than water.
有其父必有其子。
Like father, like son. *父子相似的意思。
Like mother, like daughter. (有其母必有其女。)
戀愛和戰(zhàn)爭都是不擇手段的。
All's fair in love and war. *在戀愛和戰(zhàn)爭中任何策略都是正當?shù)摹?
美貌不過一張皮。
Beauty is only skin deep. *“再漂亮的美女削去一層皮后就和丑女無二樣”,即“看人不能只看外表而要重視內(nèi)涵”。
Beauty is but skin deep.
東西總是人家的好。
The grass is always greener on the other side (of the fence). *直譯是“(籬笆)那邊的草總是綠的”。
不勞則不獲。
You cannot make an omelet without breaking eggs. *直譯是“不打碎雞蛋就做不成蛋包飯”。意思是做任何事如果不努力,不付出犧牲,不投資的話,是得不到結(jié)果的。
流水不腐,戶樞不蠹。
A rolling stone gathers no moss. *不斷活動的石頭是不會長上像青苔這類東西的。即“能不斷保持新鮮”。也可以把它看做相反的意思,“不斷變換工作和搬家的人,沒有熟練的事情,也存不下錢”。
患難見真情。
A friend in need is a friend indeed. *in need “遇到難處,貧窮”,indeed 是“真正的”,這兩個詞押韻,給人以節(jié)奏感。
只會工作不會玩的人是沒意思的人。
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. *這句可以譯成“只讓學習不讓玩的孩子會變成愚蠢的孩子”。
事實勝于雄辯。
The proof of the pudding is in the eating. *直譯是“不吃布丁不知道布丁的味道”。即“不實際去試試,是不會知道它的真正的價值”。
歲月不待人。
Time and tide wait for no man. *tide 是“潮水”,此處與time同義,表示時間。
越快越好。
The sooner, the better.
When should I come over? (什么時候來合適?)
The sooner, the better. (越快越好。)
正好。
On the nose.
How many people came to the party? (有多少人來參加晚會?)
A hundred people, on the nose. (正好100人。)
Exactly.
On the dot.
捉迷藏。
Hide-and-seek
Let's play hide-and-seek. (我們玩捉迷藏吧。)
Okay. (好吧。)
未完待續(xù)。
to be continued *用于電視連續(xù)劇等的最后,表示“待續(xù)”。
一個巴掌拍不響。
It takes two to tango. *直譯是“跳探戈舞是兩個人的事兒”。
Joe is always starting arguments with Sue. (喬總是和蘇爭論不休。)
Well, I think it takes two to tango. (不過,我是覺得一個巴掌拍不響。)
Both sides must be blamed.
They are the same.
They are both responsible.
They are both wrong.
Both of them should be blamed.
盡快。
As soon as possible. *縮寫是ASAP。
Should I mail this letter to you? (我可以把這封信寄給你嗎?)
Yes. As soon as possible. (對,請盡快寄來。) *電話中的對話。
隨便吃。
All-you-can-eat.
buffet
smorgasbord
Eat as much as you like.
Eat as much as you wish. *作為句子應為“你想吃多少就吃多少”。
多項選擇。
multiple-choice
multiple-choice questions (多項選擇題)
各就各位,預備,跑!
Ready, get set, go!
On your mark, get set, go!
從頭到尾。
from A to Z. *是開始字母A到最后一個字母Z,即“從開始到最后”、“完全”的意思。
I don't know anything about driving. (我一點也不懂駕駛。)
I'll teach you from A to Z. (我會從頭到尾教你的。)
entirely (完全地)
completely (完全地)
始終/一直/一貫
all long *用于“從一開始我就說過吧”等句子中,表示“從開始就……”。
So, she is married. (所以,她結(jié)婚了。)
I've been telling you that all along. (我從一開始就告訴你了。)
from the very beginning
all this time
since the start
就我的記憶來說……
As far as I can remember,...
What's John's last name? (約翰姓什么來著?)
As far as I can remember, it begins with M. (就我的記憶來說,它的第一個字母是M。)
To the best of my memory,...
As far as I know,... (就我所知……)
If my memory serves me right,... (如果我沒記錯的話,……)
以牙還牙,針鋒相對。
Tit for tat.
John kicked me, so I gave him tit for tat.(約翰踢我,所以我以牙還牙。)
這是我為什么在這兒的原因。
That's what I'm here for.
What are you studying at Harvard? (你在哈佛大學學什么?)
Economics. That's what I'm here for. (學經(jīng)濟,這就是我為什么在這兒學習的原因。)
2+3等于5。
Two and three is five.
Two plus three is five.
Two and three makes five.
Two and three equals five.
我們有天壤之別。
We're as different as night and day.
We're completely different. (我們倆完全不同。)
We have nothing in common. (我們沒有任何共同點。)
東施效顰。(機械模仿。)
M see, m do.
She just bought a new car just like yours. (她也買了一輛跟你一樣的車。)
Well, m see, m do. (是嘛,真是東施效顰。)
以先后順序為準。
First come, first served. *“按到達的先后順序”、“按報名順序”,直譯是“第一個來的,第一個得到供應”。
Do you take reservations? (你預訂了嗎?)
No, first come, first served. (沒有,先來的先得。)
On a first-come, first-served basis.
過時了。
It's out of date.
Look at my camera. (你看我的照相機。)
But it's out of date already. (可它都過時了。)
It's old-fashioned.
It's outdated.
It's behind the times.
電視有長處,也有短處。
TV has its merits and demerits.
TV has its good and bad points.
There are good and bad points about TV.
我利用了他的弱點。
I took advantage of his weakness. *take advantage of...“利用……”。
我長了不少見識。
I've learned something.
The TV show was interesting. (那個電視節(jié)目很有意思。)
Yeah, and I've learned something. (是呀,我長了不少見識。)
I've learned something new. (我學到了一些新東西。)
那會引起火災呀!
It's a fire hazard. *hazard表示“人力無法躲避的危險”。
Look at John's toy! (快看約翰的玩具。)
It's a fire hazard. (那會引起火災呀!)
It could catch on fire easily. (這很容易著火。)
It could cause a fire.
什么事都有可能發(fā)生。
Anything could happen.
There's no knowing what may happen.
You never know. (任何事情都是很難預料的。)
Anything's possible.
It could happen to you. (對你來說什么都有可能發(fā)生。)
將來可以用來作參考。
for future reference
You should keep the book for future reference. (你該把這本書收好,以便將來作為參考。)
在我背后。
behind my back *意為“在我聽不到的地方”、“看不到的地方”,用于當人們四處活動,偷偷摸摸地說一些壞話時。
Everyone is laughing at me behind my back. (大家都在背后笑話我。)
How do you know? (你怎么知道的?)
secretly (秘密地)
in my absence (在我不在的時候。)
without my knowledge (背著我)
換換心情。
for a change *“偶爾地”、“換心情”、“追求變化”、“變化一下”、“別開生面的”、“下次”等情況時用。
Let's take a walk for a change. (我們?nèi)ド⑸⒉綋Q換心情吧。)
Okay, let's. (好吧,走。)
instead (別這樣!)
有錢能使鬼推磨。
Money talks. *金錢是給與勢力和權(quán)力的東西。表示金錢的力量非常大。
Jane married a millionaire. (簡和一個大富翁結(jié)婚了。)
Money talks. (真是有錢能使鬼推磨。)
Money talks, bullshit walks. 比較隨便的說法。
別說喪氣話。
Never say die. *直譯“絕不言死”。無論遇到什么情況也不能絕望,始終要盡最大的努力,堅定信心抱有希望地堅持下去的意思。
過去的事情讓它過去吧。
Let bygones be bygones. *表示“過去的事情就讓流水沖走吧”、“過去的事情再責備也不管用了”。
有總比沒有強。
Better than nothing. *東西也許不多,不那么充分,但總比一點兒沒有強。
酒肉朋友。
A fair-weather friend. *直譯是“好天氣下的朋友”、“順利時才與你交往的朋友”。與“A friend in need is a friend indeed”(患難之交見真情)正好相反。
滴水匯成河。
Every little bit helps. *無論多么小的善行,其行為都是寶貴的,無論多么小的事情,只要匯集在一起,都能起到大的作用。