My cup of tea

 　　My cup of tea refers to the sort of thing that pleases or appeals to me. The metaphor¹ is nearly always used negatively. The expression came into use between the First and Second World Wars. In the Victorian age the consumption of tea by all classes had not yet, especially among men, become common. A more likely metaphor then, derived² from food or drink for something not to one"s taste, would have been, say, "not my pot of beer", or among the well-to-do classes "not my glass of wine". Later the increasing employment of women in offices led to the introduction there of afternoon tea, in which gradually the male members of a staff would join. Later, tea would come to be regarded as a universal social drink. Individual taste, however, often varied³: for China or India tea; weak or strong; with or without milk; with or without sugar; with lemon. This variation would naturally lend itself to the expression "That is not my cup of tea", and then by extension in general reference to other things that did not suit one"s taste: e.g. an entertainment at a theatre, a book, etc., with the meaning "Whatever others may like, that is not the sort of thing to appeal to me".

　　My cup of tea 比喻令我愉悦或吸引我的某种事物。这一词组几乎都是用在否定句中。它产生于第一次和第二次世界大战期间在维多利亚时代，饮茶还没有在各个阶层,特别是在男人中广为普及。那时,表示不合某人胃口的比喻说法多半源于食物或饮料，比如可能是"not my pot of beer"(不是我想喝的那罐啤酒),或富人阶层可能说"not my glass of wine"(不是我喜欢喝的那杯葡萄酒)。后来, 办公室女性雇员不断增加，她们把下午茶带到办公室。男职员也逐渐加入喝下午茶的行列。于是茶被认为是一种大众饮料。不过，个人品茶的口味却不尽相同;有人喜欢中国茶,有人喜欢印度茶;有人喜欢淡茶,有人则偏爱浓茶;有人愿意在茶中加奶，有人却不愿意有人爱加糖，有人却不爱加糖;还有人愿意加柠檬。这种口味的各异自然就会引出"That"s not my cup of tea"这一表达法，延伸开来就泛指其他不合口味的事还必须：比如说剧院一出戏的演出，或一本书等等：其意义就是“不管别人可能会多喜欢,那不是吸引我的东西”。

1 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

2 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。