2.CulturalReflectionsonProverbsProverbsmayprovideinteresting
glimpsesorcluestoapeople’sgeography,history,socialorga
nization,socialviews,etc.Anewbroomsweepsclean.新官上任三把火Ma
nyhandsmakelightwork.众人拾柴火焰高。Don’tputoffuntiltomorroww
hatyoucandotoday.今日事今日毕。Killtwobirdswithonestone.一箭双雕
。Hastemakeswaste.欲速则不达。Wherethere’ssmokethere’sfire.无
风不起浪。Thegrassisalwaysgreenerontheothersideofthefence.
这山望着那山高。Beautyisonlyskindeep.好花不常开，好景不常在。Sparetherodan
dspoilthechild.玉不琢不成器Giveapersonadoseofhisownmedicin
e.以其人之道还治其人之身。Manproposes,Goddisposes.尽人事，听天命。/谋事在人，成事在天
。Itisasintostealapin.勿以恶小而为之，勿以善小而不为。Revengeisadish
thatcouldbeeatencold.君子报仇，十年不晚。Everydoghasitsday.人人皆有得
意日。/十年风水轮流转。Theaboveexpressionsgetsimilar/samemeanings
bothinEnglishandChinese.Butsomeothersgetdissimilarities
:良药苦口利于病，忠言逆耳利于行。Frankadviceislikegoodherbalmedicine,ha
dtotakebutultimatelybeneficial.瓜田不纳履，李下不整冠。Neitheradjust
yourshoesinthemelonpatch;noryourhatunderaplumtree.一
人得道，鸡犬升天。Eventhedogsswaggerswhenitsmasterwinsfavor.H
ardtofindequivalentsAbsencemakestheheartgrowfonder.越是不见
越想见。Anappleadaykeepsthedoctoraway.一天一苹果，医生远离我。Letsleep
ingdogslie.莫惹是非。Youcan’tteachanolddognewtricks.年逾花甲不堪
教。Youcan’thaveyourcakeandeatittoo.鱼与熊掌不可兼得。Lightenin
gneverstrikesthesameplacetwice.福无双至，祸不单行。坏事不过
二。祸无双至。同一灾害不会在同一场所重复发生。Oneswallowdoesnotmakeasumm
er.一叶知秋。一燕不成夏。一花独放不是春。Surfacesimilarities,butdif
ferencesIttakestwotomakeaquarrel.一个巴掌拍不响。Amissisasgo
odasamile.差之毫厘失之千里。Gildingthelily.锦上添花。Lifebeginsatfo
rty.三十如狼，四十如虎。Ifyouliedownwithdogs,youwillgetupwithf
leas.近朱者赤，近墨者黑。TheProverbsinEnglishandChineseCulture
趁热打铁。Strikewhiletheironishot.不入虎穴焉得虎子。Nothingventured,
nothinggained.打铁还得自身硬。Forgingtheironneedsastrongbody.行行
出状元。Everyprofessionproducesitsownbest.亡羊补牢未为晚已。It’snever
toolatetomend.眼不见心不烦。Outofsight,outofmind.物以类聚人以群分。Bir
dsofafeatherflocktogether.三思而后行.Lookbeforeyourleap.
TheProverbsinEnglishandChineseCultureWherethereisa
will,thereisaway.有志者事竟成。Worksmaketheworkman.勤工出巧匠。Cons
tantdroppingwearsthestone.水滴石穿。LikeFather,likeson.有其父必有
其子。Greatmindthinkalike.英雄所见略同。Romewasn’tbuiltinaday.冰
冻三尺非一日之寒。Wherethereisalife,thereisahope.留得青山在不愁没柴烧。Spa
retherod,spoilthechild.棒打出孝子，惯养忤逆儿。TheMottosintheCh
ineseandEnglishCulture.Ittakestenyearstogrowtrees,but
ahundredtorearpeople.十年树木百年树人。Eattolive,butnotliveto
eat.吃饭为了活着，活着不是为了吃饭。Afriendinneedisafriendindeed.路遥知马
力，日久见人心。Speechissilver,butsilenceisgold.言语是银，沉默是金。Twodo
gsstriveforaboneathirdrunsawaywithit．鹬蚌相争，渔翁得利。The
MottosintheChineseandEnglishCulture.山重水复疑无路，柳暗花明又一村。Some
times,thingsmayseemtobeprettybad,butifyouworkhard,th
erewillbealightattheendofthetunnel.亦余心之所向兮，虽九死其犹未悔。Fo
rtheidealthatIholddeartomyheart,I’dnotregretathousa
ndstimestodie.苟利国家生死以，岂因祸福避趋之。Ishalldedicatemyselftothe
interestsofthecountryinlifeanddeathirrespectiveofperso
nalwealandwoe.TheMottosintheChineseandEnglishCulture
.华山再高，顶有过路。Nomatterhowhighthemountainis,onecanalways
ascendtoitstop.人或加讪，心无疵兮Myconsciencestaysuntaintedinspi
teofrumorsandslandersfromoutside.兄弟虽有小忿，不废懿亲。Differenceb
etweenbrotherscannotservetheirties.不畏浮云遮望眼，只因身在最高层。Wehav
enofearofthecloudsthatmayblockoursightaswearealread
yatthetopoftheheight.TheIdiomsRelatedtotheChineseC
ulture吃豆腐——toeatthebeancurd放鸽子——tostandsbup泼冷水——tot
hrowthecoldwateron敲竹杠——torobbyatrick走过场——todosthas
aformality打酱油——towalkbyorbenotinvolvedin炒鱿鱼——tobed
ismissedfromtheoffice唱高调——tohaveanemptytalk拉大旗作虎皮——deck
oneselfandfrighten挂羊头卖狗肉——sailunderthefalsecolorThe
IdiomsRelatedtotheChineseCulture丧家犬——apersonoutoffavor
冷板凳——acoldreception闭门羹——refusalofentrance笑面虎——afriendl
y-lookingvillain替罪羊——awhippingguy敲门砖——asteppingstoneto
success撒手锏——thetrumpcardorspecialty醋坛子——apersontobeje
alous此地无银三百两——averypoorliereleasingthetruth不见兔子不撒鹰——to
taketheactionattheappropriatemomentTheTwo-partAllegori
calSayinginChinese狗撵鸭子-呱呱叫——todosthverywell吃了秤砣-铁了心——
tobedeterminedtodosth.茶壶倒饺子—有口道不出benotgoodatexpressin
goneself老鼠跑进风箱里-两头受气-sufferfrombothsides瞎子点灯—白费蜡——todos
thuseless十五只水桶打水—七上八下----tobeupset擀面杖吹火—一窍不通---toknown
othingabout王婆卖瓜—自卖自夸—toboastoneself老牛拉破车—慢慢吞吞—tomakesl
owprogress猪鼻子插根葱—冒充大象—todosthpretendedlyTheTwo-partAl
legoricalSayinginChinese徐庶进曹营—一言不发——Holdthetongue.骑驴看唱本—
走着瞧—Readingwhileriding.孔夫子搬家—净是输—Keeplosingallthetime.
三九的萝卜—动了心。Amid-winterturnip—theheartisfrozen(moved).阎
王爷出告示—鬼话连篇。Thekingofthehell’sannouncement–aseriesoflie
s.猫哭老鼠—假慈悲。Acatcryingthemouse’smisfortune–shammercy.牛角抹
油—又尖又滑—becunningandtreacherous正月十五贴门神—晚了半个月—It’stoolate
todo…SomeExpressionsintheInternetculturehold得住—bea
bletocontrolasituation卖萌—topretendtobelovable坑爹—tob
echeated;悲催—miserableorfailing打酱油——towalkonorlookon杯
具——sadorunhappy给力—tomakesbcheerup正能量—thepositivefac
tors纠结—tobeannoyed;拍砖—tocriticizeonthenet潜水—toconcea
loneselfontheinternet.任性—todosomethingatone’swill
SomeExpressionsintheInternetCultureGF—girlfriend;CY—se
eyouY——why;PS——Photoshop高大上—somethingthatisgran
dwithhighgrade元芳，你怎么看？havenoone’sownopinion躲猫猫—torem
oveoneselffromtheresponsibility小鲜肉—somehandsomeyoungguys
esp.popstars女汉子—somegirlswiththemasculinity也是蛮拼的——top
uttheheartandsoulintodoingsomething.LJ—rubbish;FQ—the
cynicalyoungmenBC—theidiot;94—youareright8147—Don’t
getangry;555—feelsadandcryTheTaboosintheChi
neseCulture入赘——marryintoandlivewiththebridefamily.怀春——
tofallinlovewith有喜——tobepregnant临盆——tohaveabirth续
弦——toremarryafterthewifedied失聪——losethehearing发福——bec
omefat苗条——tobethin不适——tobeill保洁员——thecleanerT
heTaboosintheWesternCulturetowashhand——方便togotobed
with——同房，上床Tohaveasexwith——云雨，风月Thelongillness——不治之症
Tobeunemployed——下岗，待业Topassaway——过世，作古，归西Inthefamilyw
ay——行动不便Physicallychallenged—腿脚不灵，要做妈妈了Unmarriedwomen——单身女
士Mentalproblems——精神疾病Theseniorcitizen——银发族ColorsinC
hineseandEnglishRed--InChinese,redusuallyhassomethingto
dowithhappiness,fortunes,fervency,auspiciousness.Suchas,红
喜字，红盖头，红地毯，红灯笼，红包，红利，满堂红。Also,reddenotestherevolution.Sucha
s红旗，红领巾，红军，红色根据地。InEnglishredhassomethingtodowi
thbloodorinfelicity,implyingbleeding,dangerorviolence.Fo
rexample,redintoothandclaw血淋淋；aredtagtothebull令人生气的事
情,beinthered负债亏空；seered大发脾气，redrevenge血腥复仇ColorsinC
hineseandEnglishYellow–InChinese,yellowhassomethingwith
sovereign,harvest,andwealth.Forexample,黄袍，黄榜，黄道吉日。Alsoit
isrelatedtosomethingpornographicandscurrilous,suchas黄色电
影，黄色小说，黄碟。InEnglish,yellowjustreferstoacolorexisting
inourlife,suchas,yellowcard黄牌，ayellowalarm黄色警报，yello
wline黄线，yellowlight黄灯，yellowpage黄页。ColorsinChinesean
dEnglishgreen–InChinese,greenisrelevanttopeace,safety,
hope,environmentalprotection,suchas绿色食品，greenfood;绿色产业gre
enindustry;绿色能源，greenpower，绿色产品，greenproducts.Sometimes,it
hassomethingtodowiththeadulterybetweenmenandwomen,suc
has绿帽子，绿头巾.InEnglish,greenisthemostvaluablecolori
nthenature,also,itmeansimmature,suchasgreentomatoes不成熟
的人.Aswellgreenimpliesbeingenvywithsomebodysuchasgreen
withenvy.greenagreenhand(生手，易上当受骗的人)，greengoods(新鲜货)，a
greenman(新来水手)，agreenoldage(老当益壮)等等。green-eyed“嫉妒”、“眼红”You
areexpectingtoomuchofhim.Heisstillgreen,youknow.（你对他
要求过高，他还没经验嘛。）greenback“美钞”greenpower“金钱的力量”或“财团”White:t
hecolorofsnowWesterncountryFair,pure(inthewedding)Lucky
(eg.awhiteday)ConservativeModernmeaning:equal,fromthefil
m“white”ChinaUnlucky(葬礼，白事）Crafty(奸诈的，eg.白脸的曹操）Vain(eg.没效
果，白费力气）不付出代价而享受（eg.吃白食，小白脸）WhiteSnowWhite,whiteChrist
mas,awhitesoultheWhiteHouseHehaswhitehands.whitehand有
“pure”(纯洁)、或“unstained”(清白)之意。whitewar指没有硝烟的战争，常指“经济竞争”。whit
eelephant（昂贵却派不上用场的物体或物主不需要但又无法处置之物）whitegoods表示纯洁、美好、善意、合法、公
平、幸福、轻轻的、政治上反动等awhiteflag白色“白手”“白手起家”startfrom
scratch;buildupfromnothing白眼thetiredlook白丁verycommon
people表示清楚、明白、陈述、纯净、无代价的、无效的、政治上反动的等“White”inChinese白班da
yshift白鹭egret白内障cataract白痴idiot白开水plainboiledwater白血病le
ukemia白眼supercilious白手起家tostartfromscratchblackblack
money（黑钱）blackmarket（黑市交易或黑市）ablackletterday不吉祥的日子，倒霉的一天
blackox不幸blackfigure，intheblack都表示“盈利”、“赚钱”表示“严重的，不受欢迎的
，不吉利的、罪恶的、不合适的、不合法的、愤怒的”等“黑色”黑心人theverycruelpeople黑帮t
hereactionaryorganizationsgatheredsecretly多表示贬意如“阴暗的、非法的、秘密
的、坏的、狠毒的等BlackinChinese黑眼镜sunglasses黑货smuggledgoods黑心
肠evilmind黑话cant黑体字boldfacetype黑咕隆咚pitch-dark黑死病theplague黑
更半夜inthedeadofnightTranslationofblack1.blacktea红茶(而
不译为黑茶)汉语中的“红茶”译成英语是“blacktea”，字面上意为“黑茶”，这是因为汉语针对茶水的颜色而言，故称其为“红
”，而英语的着眼点则放在茶叶的颜色上，故称其为“黑”。2.blackandblue青一块紫一块(而不是青一块黑一块)
Blue:thecolorofskyWesterncountrySad(eg.getthe
blues;blues—aslowsadstyleofmusicthatcamefromthesouther
nUS)Obscene(mentionedabove,bluebook)Noble,highlyprivileged(
e.g.blue-blooded=belongingtoaroyalornoble)Modernmeaning:f
reedom(fromthefilm“blue”)China表示天空和大海的颜色。京剧中的蓝脸表示人物刚直勇猛、坚毅勇
敢、桀骜不驯，有心计等如窦尔敦，单雄信，马武等。blueheisarealblueblood.（他是真正的贵
族。）blue-eyedboys“受到管理当局宠爱和特别照顾的职工”bluebook（蓝皮书）blue-skym
arket（露天市场），blue-collarworkers（从事体力劳动的工人）Youlookbluetoda
y.What‘swrongwithyou?你今天看起来闷闷不乐，出了什么事？“忧郁，伤感，沮丧”ablueM
onday(倒霉的星期一)inabluemood(情绪低沉)bluemoon;onceinabluemo
on“罕见之至，极不可能”"千载难逢blueGrey:themixedcolorofb
lackandwhiteWesterncountryExperienced(e.g.greyhand老手）Bor
ing(e.g.agreybook)Gloomy(e.g.greyprospects)Reliable,expen
sive(灰色是西方消费者联想到贵重的，质量可靠的商品）Chinaalsothemeaning–gloomy,de
pressed(e.g.灰心丧气，心灰意懒）Cheap,unqualified(灰色使消费者联想到廉价货，水货）
Purple:themixedcolorofredandblueWesterncountry
Royal(e.g..borntothepurple=bornintoahighsocialclass)Fla
shyandwithoutsubstance(华而不实的，e.g..apurplepassage)ChinaProp
itious(祥瑞，e.g..紫气冲天，紫气东来）Pink:paleredWes
terncountryHealthy(e.g..Inthepink=ingoodshape)Mostlyrefe
rredtofemale(e.g..Pinkjobs:女性的职业）ChinaRelatedwiththecol
orofpeachRomantic(e.g.桃花运）Thevaguerelationshipbetweenme
nandwomen(桃色新闻）AnimalsinEnglishandChineseDragon-
--inChineseculture,itisatotemwithmanyroyalassociations
,suchas龙颜，龙床，龙袍，龙体，龙榻，龙心大喜,龙颜大怒。AndalltheChinesepeoplec
allthemselvestobetheoffspringofthedragon。IntheEngli
shculture,dragonreferstoagianthorribleanimalliketheliz
ard,meaningbeingterribleordisgusting.Therefore,inthewes
tapersonlikeadragonusuallyimpliesthatheishorrible,vi
ciousanddisgusting.AnimalsinEnglishandChineseDogs–I
nthewest,dogsarethefaithfulfriendsforthemankindandth
elovablepetsinthefamily.Thereforetheidiomrelatedtodogs
usuallyhavethepositivemeaning,suchasaluckydog幸运儿；anol
ddog老手；Everydoghasitsday.凡人皆有得意日。Heworkslikeadog.他工作
很努力。Loveme,lovemydog.爱屋及乌。InChina,dogsareinsulting
languages,meaningbeingdespicableandhateful,sotheidiomsr
elatedtodogsusuallyhasnegativemeanings,suchas走狗，丧家犬，看门狗，
狗急跳墙，狗仗人势，狼心狗肺，鸡鸣狗盗，蝇营狗苟。OwlInEnglish:aswiseasanowl象猫头
鹰一样聪明InChinese:猫头鹰进宅,好事不来bearInEnglish:Heisabear
atmaths(他是个数学天才)InChinese:“瞧他那个熊样儿”、“真熊”。fishInChin
ese:年年有余(鱼)InEnglish:apoorfishaloosefishfishin
theair可怜虫生活放荡的女人水中捞月Pleasechoosetheproperanimalwor
dsforeachphrase.harehorsesnailmousebeemuleas
busyasa______asslowasa?______asstubbornasa______?
astimidasa_____?snailbeemulehareasstrongasa_____?
horseaspoorasachurch_____?mouseAdog’slife争吵不休，过
着不安宁的日子Gotothedogs每况愈下Dog-eat-dog狗咬狗的，损人利己的Doginthema
nger站着茅坑不拉屎Dogdays大热天Doggybag餐馆里的打包袋Betterbethehead
ofadogthanthetailofalion.drinklikeafishtreadupon
eggs宁为鸡头，不为凤尾。牛饮如履薄冰Chinese:胆小如鼠狐假虎威
瓮中之鳖English:astimidasarabbit/chicken-heartedanassinal
ion’sskinlikearatinaholeChinese:落汤鸡母老虎（比丈夫强的妻子）E
nglish:likeadrenchedchicken;likeadrownedratgreymareNumbersinEnglishandChineseInchina,Three,sixeightandnineareusuallyregardedtheauspiciousnumbers,andthesenumbersordatesareusuallyusedinourdailylife.Also,nineisthelargestoneinthetenArabicnumberswiththepartialtonewiththeChinesecharacter“久”meaningforever.Therefore,mostemperorsinChinaadmiredthisnumberwhichcanbereflectedinthearchitectureofthePalaceMuseum.AlsotherearesomeotheridiomsrelatednineinChineseNumbersinEnglishandChinesesuchas“九流，九泉，九族，九品，九连环，九牛二虎，九九重阳，九九艳阳天.However,fourandfivehavethepartialtonewiththeChinesecharacter“死”“无”.Therefore,thesenumbersareregardedunlucky.Inthewest,thirteenisregardedastheunluckynumberwhichisrelatedwiththestoryoftheJesusdeath.Ifitis13thonFriday,itiscalledtheBlackFriday,meaningthemostunfortunateday. |
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