美语中有些字眼在中文里面似乎找不到可代换的字, 其中感情方面的字好象就占了不少。也许有一天你会跟老外交往, 也或许你只是有兴趣认识这些字, 这个单元是恋爱一族不可不看的喔!
1. have a crush on 迷恋某人
A: I’m having this huge crush on Ted. I’m going to try and see if I can ask him out this weekend.
A: 我最近好喜欢 Ted 喔! 我想看看能不能约他这个周末出来。
B: Well…But I heard that he is already seeing somebody.
B: 嗯….但是我听说他已经有了交往的对象了ㄝ!
美国人关于交友的用词和我们有些不同。这里的 “he is seeing somebody” 有可能指他刚正开始和某人交往, 也可能指他和对方已经交往了一阵子。
还有一个美国人常用来形容他们的「感情状况」的字是”relationship”。到目前为止, 我还不能找到一个很贴切的中文来代替它。不过, 如果例句中的”…But I heard that he is already seeing somebody.” 改成 “…But I heard that he is already is a serious relationship with somebody.” 就惨了。因为那表示这个叫Ted 的男生不但是「死会」了, 而且是「非常地死会」。 各位应该可以大致抓到它的意思吧。
2. play hard-to-get 欲擒故纵
A: So she stood you up last night.
A: 结果, 她昨晚放你鸽子啦?
B: Well, I guess she’s trying to play hard-to-get.
B: 嗯, 大概想跟我玩「欲擒故纵」的游戏吧!
“stand someone up” 是「放某人鸽子」的意思。
“play hard-to-get” 也可以说成 “play tough-to-get”。
3. hook up 介绍、送作堆
A: Hey, how come you’ve never told me you have a cute sister…
A: 嘿! 你为什么从来没告诉我你有一个这么漂亮可爱的妹妹?
B: What are you trying to say?
B: 你想说什么呢?
A: Well, you can hook me up, maybe?
A: 嗯..也许你可帮我介绍一下?
B: No way.
B: 休想!
“How come?” 是口语上经常被用来代替”why”的字, 是「为什么」的意思。但是”how come” 跟”why”的用法是不同的。 用”how come”时, 句子的构造很接近中文: 如: “How come you didn’t call me last night?” (你为什么昨晚没打电话给我呢?)。这句话如果换成用”why”就须要用一般的问句型式, 而成 “Why didn’t you call me last night?”了。
美国人对于亲属辈份关系的区分, 并不像我们那么清楚。这里的 “sister” 可能指「姊姊」, 也可能指「妹妹」; 须要另外问才清楚。
“hook up” 是”connection”的意思, 相当于中文里的「介绍、认识」之类的词, 并不单指男女之间的认识。比如某人正在找份工作, 他的朋友刚好认识比尔盖兹(Bill Gates)。他就可以跟这位朋友说”Hey! Since you’re a friend of Bill’s, why don’t you hook me up?” (嘿! 既然你是比尔的朋友, 帮我介绍一下吧!)
4. break up 分手
A: How are Bob and Pat doing?
A: Bob 和 Pat 近来如何?
B: They broke up last summer.
B: 他们去年夏天分开了。
“break up” 是「关系中止」的意思, 不限于男女之间的关系。”break-up” 是分手的名词形。如: “They had an ugly break-up.” (他们很不愉快地分手了。)
5. date (男女间的)约会; 约会对象
A: Dude, did you see that babe over there? I’m dating her.
A: 老兄!看见那边那个美女没有? 我正在跟她约会喔!
B: Man, you’re lucky.
B: 你真是运气好!
“babe” 是「令人垂涎」的美女或俊男。
「和某人约会」除了用 “date” , 还可以用 “romance”这个字。比如: “Beck and Ada have been dating for years.” 可以说成:”Beck and Ada have been romancing for years.”, 都是「Beck 跟 Ada 爱情长跑多年的意思」。
注意名词的” date” 和 “appointment” 不可混用?quot;appointment” 是男女以外的约会, 如医生、工作面谈的约。万一你跟你的医生说:”I’d like to have a date with you.”, 他可能会眼睛、嘴巴都张得很大。
英语小常识—-约会
When are you free? 您什么时候有空？
Are you free this Thursday afternoon? 您这个周四下午有空吗？
What time will you be in? 您什么时候在？
What time will you be able to see me? 您什么时候可以见我？
Would Wednesday morning be all right? 周三上午可以吗？
I’d like to make an appointment with Mr. Smith. 我想约见史密斯先生。
Shall I call for you or will you come for me? 我去找您还是您来找我？
I’ll call and see you if you like. 如果您愿意我想拜访一下您。
I shall be free this afternoon. 我今天下午有空。
I shall be here at half past six. 我六点半在这儿。
I’ll be very pleased to see you. 我将非常高兴见到您。
I’ll be so glad if you can come. 如果您能来我将很高兴。
I’m not quite sure if I’m free. 我不肯定是否有空。
Monday would be better for me. 星期一会好一点。
Well, I’m engaged at that time. 哦，那时我有个约会。
I can’t keep the appointment because I am sick. 因为生病所以我不能赴约。
相关词语：
appointment约会
to make an appointment 订约会
to confirm an appointment 确定约会
to change an appointment 改约会
to keep an appointment 守约会
to have an appointment with sb. 与某人有个约会
to cancel an appointment 取消约会
to reschedule an appointment 重新安排约会
to postpone/put off an appointment 推迟约会
to call on 拜访
to be engaged 约会
engagement约会，约定
9.Better late than never.
亡羊补牢，犹未为晚。或者说迟到比不到好，呵呵，我们大学里说的是，迟到不如不到，所以就不去上课了~~今天去听了一节本科生的课，the life beyond the Earth，发现美国的孩子上课好认真哦。迟到来的一个白发mm坐我边上，左手写字，右手拿勺子吃东西，太bt了——据说米国很多孩子都左手写字的还特快，今天算见识了……
另外，The Slackers乐队出的第一张专辑，也叫Better late than never——
Better Late Than Never is the debut full-length album by the ska/reggae band The Slackers, originally released in 1996 (see 1996 in music) on Moon Ska Records. It was later remastered and re-released with three additional tracks from the original recording sessions on March 19, 2002 (see 2002 in music) on Special Potato Records.
The album was a notable debut for the band, paving the way for their eventual signing to Hell-Cat Records. It was also a significant departure from the Two Tone and garage rock influences of the band’s early days, instead opting for a sound akin to the traditional ska acts of 1960s Jamaica. The album was produced by noted ska/reggae producer Victor Rice, who later collaborated with members of the band on projects by the Stubborn All-Stars and the Version City Rockers.
10.Better safe than sorry.
safe比sorry好，也就是小心为秒！呵呵，有备无患？做人要谨慎，呵呵~~变体：Better to be safe than sorry.
11.The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
个头越大，摔得越重！捧得越高，摔得越惨！Do not be discouraged by the size of your problem or the fame of your competitor. (the saying is traced to a boxer preparing to fight an opponent much larger than he was.) 也是自己给自己打气吧，不做评价……
12.A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
二鸟在林，不如一鸟在手，呵呵，据说来自伊索寓言。The proverb “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” is a metaphoric expression meaning that it is better to settle for what you have rather than risk losing everything by attempting to gain more.
This popular proverb is applied to a variety of situations in everyday life because it warns against the effects of greed. Another proverb similar in meaning is the saying, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence”, which means that what you do not have tends to look better than what you do have.
13.Birds of a feather flock together.
物以类聚，人以群分。呵呵，很早很早以前我最喜欢说的一句话了，英语居然是这么说的，:P
Birds of a feather中的“of a feather”也是一种很老的说法，意为“of a kind”或“of the same species”，因为鸟毛的颜色和形状是区分鸟群种类最明显的证据。莎士比亚大师在他1607年的剧作《雅典的狄蒙》中使用了feather的这种用法：I am not of that Feather, to shake off My Friend when he must need me.（我不是那种在朋友需要我时甩开他的人。）Birds of a feather虽然是中性词，不过在当代英语中指代“一丘之貉”的时候要多一些。来看下面的例句：You and I are birds of a feather.（你和我都是同一类人。）That loser Pam ran into my ex-boyfriend Charlie. Birds of a feather flock together, I guess.（那个失败者帕姆投奔到我的前男友查理那里去了，我看他们都是一丘之貉。）
14. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
这是来自圣经的Golden Rule哦，说一个人要别人如何待他，他也应该要求自己一样待别人。似乎和中文的己所不欲，勿施于人有点类似，不过描述的是相互对立的两个方面，意思差不多~~
The ethic of reciprocity or “The Golden Rule” is a fundamental moral principle found in virtually all major religions and cultures, which simply means “treat others as you would like to be treated.
圣经里还有很多类似意思的话：
* “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD.”
* “This is the sum of duty; do naught onto others what you would not have them do unto you.”
* “What you do not wish upon yourself, extend not to others.”
* “What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man.”
* “Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you.”
15.A dog is a man’s best friend.
A dog is more faithful than most other animals—and more faithful than many people.不要给小孩子就灌输这样的观念嘛，:P
best，最高级哦，sigh，可怜的人类！
关于狗的电影很多啦，有一部就叫man’s best friend——Man’s Best Friend is a 1993 fictional horror movie in which a genetically-engineered dog turns from man’s best friend into man’s worst nightmare as he attacks everything that moves. This movie is also known to be shown on the cult film Friday. Being watched by John Witherspoon’s character, the scene shown is of the mail man being chased by the genetically-engineered dog.讲述的是杰瑞特博士想通过ＤＮＡ的基因遗传改造，将狗主角麦斯变成更聪明、更灵活的护卫犬。可事与愿违，麦斯变得更具有攻击性，甚至变成更难对付的杀手……
其他一些关于dog的谚语：
几个含有“dog”的英语成语或表达：
Every dog has his day. 凡人皆有得意日(或风水轮流转)。
Love me, love my dog. 爱我，就得爱我的狗。爱屋及乌。
dog eat dog人之间残酷无情的竞争(注意eat为原形)
work like a dog 拼命工作
(as) sick as a dog 病得很厉害
……
16.Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
在鸡蛋还未孵化的时候，不要计算有多少只鸡。鸡蛋一天未孵化，一天都不知道它会不会孵化出来——对事情不要太早下定论，不要高兴得太早。
其它意思相近的句子还有：Don’t make assumptions. (别下定论) / Anything could happen. (任何事都会发生) / Don’t jump the gun. (别太早预测事情、太早行动)。
17.Don’t cry over spilt milk.
不要做无益的后悔。很多人就是在后悔后悔后悔中度过这一生的……
要善于总结，但是不要总在懊悔过去，好好对待你的现在，不要让你的将来cry over你的现在，呵呵~~
18.Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.
为了惩罚你的脸，把你的鼻子给割掉。呵呵，不会有人做这样的事情吧？不要和自己过不去。但是又有多少人是以这种方式来处理事情的呢，换个角度或者立场来看待一下问题，也许你会觉得很可笑，也许你会有新的发现……
Cutting off the nose to spite the face is an expression used to describe a needlessly spiteful or self-destructive overreaction to a problem. “Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face” is a warning not to act out of pique or pursue revenge in such a way as to damage yourself more than the object of your anger.
The phrase is believed to have originated from a (probably fictional) event that was said to have taken place in AD 867: Viking pirates from Sjaelland and Uppsala landed in Scotland and raided the monastery of Coldingham. When news of the raid reached Aebbe the Younger, the Mother Superior, she gathered her nuns together and urged them to disfigure themselves, that they might be unappealing to the Vikings. In this way, they hoped to protect their chastity. St. Aebbe accomplished this by cutting off her nose and upper lip. The nuns proceeded to do the same. The Viking raiders were so disgusted by the scene that they burned the entire building to the ground.
……
