分享

cat got your tongue,无言以对

 外语行天下 2020-08-13

还记得之前学过的关于 cat 的一个谚语 a cat may look at a king 所表达的意思吗?今天又来了一个关于 cat 的习语 cat got your tongue,不能翻译成“猫抓住了你的舌头”,它可以意为“哑口无言,无言以对”等,寓意:

used to refer a time when someone has nothing to say

用来指某人无话可说的时候

a situation in which someone is finding it hard to say anything in their defence

一种很难为自己辩护的情况


解析:feel, find, make, think 等动词后有不定式作宾语且又带宾补时,要用 it 作形式宾语代替真正的宾语:动词不定式。

trying to compel or urge someone to speak up when they are being unnecessarily quiet

试图强迫或催促某人在不该安静的时候大声说话

例如:

Speak up boy or cat got your tongue?

伙计,怎么不大声说了,还是你哑口无言了?

解析:短语动词 speak up 是不及物动词,意为“大声说话”,后面接 for sb/sth 意为“明确表态;(尤指为…)说好话,辩护”,例如:

She has often spoken up for the rights of working mothers.

她经常为职业母亲的权利辩护。

Amanda grew so quiet during the heated argument that I was forced to ask her "Cat got your tongue?"

在激烈的争论中,阿曼达变得沉默了,我被迫问她“无言以对了吧?”

解析:so … that 引导的结果状语从句。

The shy boy was afraid to speak up and his mates kept asking him "Cat got your tongue?"

这个害羞的男孩不敢开口说话,他的伙伴们一直问他:“无言以对了吧?”


Are you dumb or cat got your tongue?

你是哑巴了还是无言以对了?

With the way you are keeping silent, one would wonder if the cat got your tongue?

以你保持沉默的方式,人们会怀疑是不是你无言以对了?

解析:the way 作先行词,在定语从句中作状语,有三种引导方式:the way in which,the way that 和 the way.

    转藏 分享 献花(0

    0条评论

    发表

    请遵守用户 评论公约

    类似文章 更多