迎猴年:一起来学习和猴子相关的短语啦~~(在线收听

   马上就是猴年了。在中国,猴子多被视为聪明伶俐的动物。因为有了《西游记》的长久影响,人们看到猴子总是难免会想起神通广大的齐天大圣。而在英语中,monkey则多与搞怪、模仿、闲散的形象有关。本着文化互通的精神,我们今天就为大家介绍中文和英文中与猴子相关的一些短语表达,个中的文化内涵,留给大家自己体会吧。

  Monkey Idioms in English
  英语中与猴子相关的短语表达
  1. Make a monkey out of (someone)
  让某人出丑、难堪
  例句:He made a monkey out of me by calling me names in front of my girlfriend.
  他当着我女朋友的面辱骂我,让我很难堪。
  2. Monkey around with somebody or something
  瞎捣鼓,闲晃
  例句:You must stop monkeying around with that old computer if you want to finish the work on time.
  你要是想按时完成工作就别捣鼓那台旧电脑了。
  3. Monkey business
  非法活动,骗人的把戏
  例句:You must stop the monkey business if you don’t want to get into trouble.
  你要是不想惹麻烦,就不要干那些非法的事。
  4. A monkey on one's back
  阻止某人成功的严重问题,历史问题
  例句:He was afraid that his past would always be a monkey on his back.
  他担心他过去的问题将会永远成为他的包袱。
  5. Monkey see, monkey do
  有样学样
  例句:It is a case of monkey see, monkey do. She does everything that her cousin does.
  她就是东施效颦,她表姐做什么,她就做什么。
  6. More fun than a barrel of monkeys
  非常有趣
  例句:He is quite popular with his friends because he is more fun than a barrel of monkeys.
  他在朋友当中很有欢迎,因为他是个特别有趣的人。
  7. Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle.
  表示特别惊讶,不敢相信
  例句:Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle. I never thought Bill would remarry.
  天啊!我从来都没想过比尔会再婚。
  8. Monkey suit
  制服,礼服
  例句:I hate going to weddings and wearing a monkey suit.
  我很讨厌参加婚礼,也讨厌穿礼服。
  中文里有关猴子的短语表达英译
  Monkey Idioms in Chinese
  1. 杀鸡骇猴
  Beat the dog before the lion
  杀鸡骇猴本意是杀鸡给猴子看。比喻用惩罚一个人的办法来警告别的人。
  2. 猴年马月
  Donkey's years
  猴年马月是一个民间谚语,指期盼的某件事情遥遥无期,要等很长很长的时间。据说,这里的years其实是来自ears,因为驴的耳朵长,所以dankey's ears就指代很长时间,后来演变成dankey's years意思不变,也是因为驴的寿命普遍较长。
  例句:我猴年马月才能买上房啊!
  It will be donkey's years before I can afford a house of my own.
  3. 沐猴而冠
  A monkey with a hat on
  沐猴,指猕猴。猴子戴帽子,比喻外表装得像个人物,却是人面兽心。也常用以讥讽依附权贵窃取名位之人。
  例句:自从他上任后,他身边那些小人也一个个沐猴而冠,成了主管。
  Since he took office, those flunkies were all promoted to head of section, just like monkeys with hats on.
  4. 树倒猢狲散
  Rats leave a sinking ship
  树一倒,依附在树上的猴子一哄而散。比喻为首的人一下台,依附他的人也即随之而散。
  5. 山中无老虎,猴子称大王
  When the cat is away,the mice will play; Among the blind, the one-eyed man is the king.
  食物链顶端的大王不在,处于次级的猴子们就开始发号施令了。
  6. 五马六猴
  Undisciplined person
  形容不守规矩、不受管束的人。
  例句:我们要对这些五马六猴严加管理。
  We shoule be very strict with these undisciplined people.
  从上面这几个中文短语的英语表述中,我们可以看到,虽然两种语言中使用的动物不同,但表达的意思却是极其相近的。如果为了文字一一对应而强行把 Beat the dog before the lion 译为“狮子面前打狗”,就会让中文读者有些摸不着头脑了。由此可见,在翻译时找到双方语言中对等的恰当表达非常重要。
  原文地址:http://www.tingroom.com/listen/essay/343312.html