发信人: roy_young(杨落伊)
整理人: roy_young(2001-06-04 14:22:25), 站内信件
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常用的格言和成語(上)/ 懷中
許多美國人，平時在演講、寫作或談話中，喜歡引用一些格言 (adage)、成語 (proverb) 或引語 (quotation) 等，使其內容更加「活潑」「生動」，有時還能收到「事半功倍」之效。學美語的人，有時不妨「模而仿之」。
值得一提的是：成語或格言，一般而言，都是照原文獨立使用。不過有時也可用在新的句子裡；有時也可用肯定句或否定句；有時動詞時態也可稍加改變；這要看使用時的情況而定。但無論如何，必須保持原文的完整性。在此，先以第一句為例，希望能收「舉一反三」之效。
(1) You can not teach an old dog new tricks ── 照字面意思是：你不能教老狗學新的把戲。也就是說：年老守舊的人，不易改變舊的作風，或接受新的事物和新思想。(Some people find it impossible to change their ways; or older people can not accept the changes or new ideas.） 雖然這句成語可以獨立使用，但只要能維持原文的完整性，也可「動些手腳」。例如：
Stop trying to teach an old dog new tricks; you are just wasting time.（別想教老狗新花樣，你只是白花時間。）
Are you trying to teach an old dog new tricks?
He is impossible. Don't try to teach an old dog new tricks.（impossible 是指頑固成性、墨守成規的人。）
I have tried teaching an old dog new tricks, but it doesn't work.（註：教狗不直接用 teach，要用 try to teach。）
(2) All that glitters is not gold. ── 字面的意思是：所有能閃閃發光的東西，未必都是黃金。換言之，就是許多外表漂亮的物品，未必都是真正的寶貝。因為也許是金玉其外，敗絮其中，或是中看不中用。(not every beautiful thing is valuable. ) 也有人說成：All is not gold that glitters. (glitter 是動詞，意思是閃閃發光或光彩奪目。) 也可用在句子裡：
I told my students that all that glitters is not gold.
還有一句相似的成語：
Don't judge a book by its cover. (意思是：不能以書皮的美醜，去判斷書的內容好壞。)
(3) Pepole (或 Those) who live in glass houses should not throw stones (或 rocks) ── 照字面的意思是：住在玻璃屋裡的人不可丟石頭。也就是說，世間沒有十全十美的人，每個人都有缺點，所以不要批評別人。即所謂「自身有短，勿批他人」。(Nobody is perfect, so we should not criticize others.) 類似的，還有：
Don't judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes. (除非你充分了解人家的立場，不可輕易作出評估。)
(judge = criticize; have walked a mile in his shoes = have understood his situation well enough)
另一句是：
Judge not lest ye be judged. (來自聖經)（意思是：不要批評別人，免得將來也被別人批評。）(ye 是古字 = you；lest 是連接詞，意思是唯恐或免得。）就是：
If you criticize others, you probably will be criticized ,too.
所以我們也可以說：
He told his children“Judge not lest ye be judged.”
(4) It is more blessed to give than to receive. ── 意思是：施比受更有福。也就是勸人多多行善，幫助他人。（blessed 是形容詞，意思是幸福的，受尊敬的。）這句話不但可獨立使用，也可用在不同的句子裡：
Especially during Christmas time, it's more blessed to give than to receive.（尤其在聖誕時更要助人）
The longer I live the more I realize that it is more blessed to give than to receive.（我活得愈久，愈體會到施比受更有福。)
(5) Every cloud has a silver lining. ── 照字面的意思是，每一個陰雲中，都有一點銀白的襯層。換句話就是，每一個不好的情況，也有好的一面。即所謂「黑暗中總有一線光明」。(Something good in every situation; or there is a positive side in everything.) (lining 是名詞，意思是內襯或環襯。）所以勸人不可悲觀，就可以說：
Don't be so grumpy and pessimistic because every cloud has a silver lining. (不要這麼暴躁和悲觀，事情也有好的一面。）
(6) A rolling stone gathers no moss. ── 這是一句老俗語，但還是很流行。照字面的意思是，轉動的石頭，是長不出苔蘚的。也就是說，常常在工作上變動的人，較難得到很好的資歷，也難受到別人的信任。即所謂「滾石不生苔，轉業不聚財」。(One who is always on the move or changes jobs often will not save or keep much money.) 所以我們可以勸年輕人不可見異思遷，到時一事無成：
Don't change your job too frequently because a rolling stone gathers no moss.
(7) You can lead a horse to water, but you can not make him drink. ── 意思是說，帶馬到河邊容易，但逼馬飲水倒很困難。換句話說，有好的建議，儘管可以提出，但不能逼人家做他不願做的事。因為人家不肯照著你的意思做，還是沒有辦法啊！ (You can encourage, but not force, someone to do something; or you may give someone an advice, but you can't force him /her to follow it.) 例如：
I can not force her to marry him. After all you can lead a horse to water, but you can not make him drink.（我不能逼她嫁給他。畢竟帶馬到河邊容易，逼馬飲水倒困難。）
(8) Don't put all your eggs in one basket. ── 照字面意思是：不要把全部雞蛋放在一個籃子裡。也就是勸人不可把一切希望寄託在一個計畫上，或集中全部的財力幹一件事。（don't risk everything you have on a single plan or idea; don't forcus or invest too much in one specific area）（註：只用 basket，而不用 box 或 bag，也許因為從前農夫把雞蛋拾起後，都放在籃子裡。) 所以可以說：
If you are spending all your money on that stock, you are putting all your eggs in one basket.（假如你把所有的錢投資在一種股票上，那就太冒險了。）
I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket.（我不想冒著孤注一擲的風險。）
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