美国俚语:意外打击使人哭笑不得

 　　今天要学的习惯用语是: laugh out of the other side¹ of your mouth。让我们看个例子来体会习惯用语laugh out of the other side of your mouth是什么意思。他说的是一钱如命的Bill²自作聪明地问一个人低价买进一辆汽车。

　　例句：Bill thought³ he got⁴ a real⁵ bargain⁶ because the car was⁷ half the normal⁸ price⁹. Now he's laughing out of the other side of his mouth. The police¹⁰ came¹¹ to tell him the car was stolen¹². So he loses¹³ both the car and the money.

　　原来Bill是杀到半价买进这辆车的。他当时真是高兴，以为自己占了大便宜，但是想不到警察来对他说这辆车是赃货。这一来Bill既没了车又丢了钱。

　　刚才说过Bill是一钱如命的家伙。起初买了便宜货想必得意扬扬，但是后来面临这种赔了夫人又折兵的局面，他必定会捶胸顿足、懊丧万分。可见laugh out of the other side of his mouth这个习惯用语是用来描绘这种乐极生悲的局面的。它的含义是意外打击使人哭笑不得、转喜为忧。

1 side   

n.边，旁边；面，侧面

参考例句：

• The shop is on the west side of the street.商店在街道的西边。
• There was a lot of people on every side. 到处都是人。

2 bill   

(Bill)比尔(男名)；n.帐单，钞票，票据，清单；议案，法案；广告；鸟嘴，喙；vt.开帐单，用海报宣传，把...列成表

参考例句：

• Bill is both a good swimmer and a good cook.比尔不仅是个游泳好手，而且是个烹调能手。
• It will save trouble if you pay the bill now.如果你现在付账就没事了。

3 thought   

n.想法，思想，思维，思潮，关心，挂念；v.vbl.think的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• It was just a thought.这仅仅是一个想法。
• She thought he had a cold.她认为他感冒了。

4 got   

v.(get的过去式)得到，猜到，明白

参考例句：

• I just got some bad news.我刚得到一些坏消息。
• I have got far too much work to do.我要做的事太多了。

5 real   

adj.真实的；非虚构的；真正的；非常的

参考例句：

• You know her real name?你知道她的真正名字？
• The real world does not look that way!现实世界不是这样的！

6 bargain   

n.买卖合同，成交条件，交易；廉价货，便宜货；vi.议价，成交

参考例句：

• In some shops you have to bargain.在一些商店中买东西要讲价。
• These shoes are a bargain.Smith is closing them out.这些鞋子系廉价商品，史密斯正在削价出售。

7 was   

v.(is,am的过去式)是，在

参考例句：

• He said he was right.他说他是正确的。
• He was cold and hungry.他又冷又饿。

8 normal   

adj.正常的，正规的，标准的；n.正规；常态

参考例句：

• He received four years of normal edication at college.他在大学受了四年正规教育。
• Everything is normal here.这里一切正常。

9 price   

n.价格，代价，价值；vt.定格，标价，比较价格

参考例句：

• The goods have gone up in price.这些商品的价格已经上涨。
• They are selling the bikes off the market price.他们按低于市价卖出自行车。

10 police   

n.警察，警察当局，治安，公安；vt.维持治安，警备，管辖

参考例句：

• They sent him over to the police.他们将他遣送警察局。
• It took the police only several days to break the case.警察只用了几天就破案了。

11 came   

v.动词come的过去式

参考例句：

• I was surprised why he came here so early.他为什么那么早到这里，我很惊奇。
• The doctor came in time to save his life.医生及时来抢救他的生命。

12 stolen   

v.偷( steal的过去分词 )；悄悄地做，悄悄地走

参考例句：

• A girl was killed yesterday in a crash involving a stolen car. 昨天有一女孩在一桩涉及窃车的撞车事故中丧生。
• The stolen car was returned to its rightful owner . 被盗的汽车还给了其合法的主人。

13 loses   

v.遗失，失去( lose的第三人称单数 )；（使）失去（所需要的东西，尤指钱）；（因事故、年老、死亡等）损失；浪费

参考例句：

• While climbing up the stairs the old man always loses his breath. 那老人上楼时总是气喘吁吁的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When a body is immersed in a fluid, it apparently loses weight. 身体浸入水中就会明显减轻重量。 来自《简明英汉词典》