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新浪首页 > 教育天地 > 《英语学习》2002年7期 > 英语知多少

English?…
http://www.sina.com.cn 2002/08/13 09:57  《英语学习》

  英语里有许多怪异有趣的语言现象,你是否留意过?

  By Clair Froster

  -易文选注

  Let's face it—English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant<注1> nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple.<注2> English muffins<注3> weren't invented in England or French fries<注4> in France. Sweetmeats<注5> are candies while sweetbreads,<注6> which aren't sweet, are meat.

  We take English for granted.<注7> But if we explore its paradox<注8>, we find that quicksand<注9> can work slowly, boxing rings<注10> are square and a guinea pig<注11> is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

  And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce<注12> and hammers don't ham? <注13> If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth<注14> beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, <注15> 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends<注16> but not one amend, that you comb through annals<注17> of history but not a single annal? If you have a bunch of odds and ends<注18> and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

  If teachers taught, why didn't preacher praught?<注19> If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?<注20> If you wrote a letter, perhaps you bote your tongue?<注21>

  Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbal insanity.<注22> In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?<注23> Ship<注24> by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?<注25> Park on driveways and drive on parkways?<注26>

  How can a slim chance and a fat chance<注27> be the same, while a wise man and wise guy<注28> are opposites? How can overlook and oversee<注29> be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few<注30> are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell<注31> one day and cold as hell another?

  Have you noticed that we talk about certain things only when they are absent?<注32> Have you ever seen a horseful carriage or a strapful gown? Met a sung hero or experienced requited love?

  You have to marvel at<注33> the unique lunacy<注34> of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down,<注35> in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm clock goes off by going on.<注36>

  English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race (which, of course, isn't a race<注37> at all). That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out,<注38> they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up<注39> this essay, I end it? -




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《英语学习》2002年7期 专题
 相关链接
毕业(2002/08/13/ 09:43)
美国经济发展纵览(1)(2002/08/12/ 10:42)
童话般的世界--纯净的新西兰(2002/08/12/ 09:48)
约翰·纳什的美丽境界(2002/08/09/ 09:25)
旷工的理由(2002/08/09/ 09:22)

Annotation

1. eggplant:茄子。

2. pine:松树; pineapple:菠萝。

3. English muffins:英式松饼。

4. French fries:炸土豆条。

5. sweetmeats:果脯,蜜饯。

6. sweetbreads:杂碎。

7.我们总爱想当然地去理解英文。

8. paradox:有明显的矛盾特点的事物。

9. quicksand:流沙。

10. boxing ring:拳击台,摔跤台。

11. guinea pig:豚鼠,或供实验有用的实验品。

12. fing和groce是作者按write和writer之间的规律。杜撰的两个词。

13. ham:过火地表演,夸张做作地表演。

14. booth:货摊,摊位,(复)booths。

15. moose:麋,驼鹿, (复)moose。

16. amends:[复]赔罪,赔偿。

17. annals:[复]编年史。

18. odds and ends:零星东西,琐碎事。

19. preach(讲道,布道)的过去式是preached,并非praught。

20.若照此类推,humanitarian(人道主义者)应该以human(人类)为食了。

21. bote one誷tongue:因write的过去式为wrote,照此类推bite的过去式应是bote(而实际上其过去式是bit)。bite one's tongue:保持缄默。22.有时我想所有讲英语的人都得因为语言错乱症被关进精神病院。commit sb to:把某人关进(精神病院或监狱);asylum/2#sai;l2m/:精神病院。insanity:精神错乱,精神病。

23. recite at a play and play at a recital:前一个play是名词,指戏剧,后一个play是动词,指演奏。recital:独奏会,独唱会。英语中的许多词既为名词又为动词,如:play, record, present等。

24. ship by truck:这里的ship用作动词,指运送。

25.常见的搭配应该是feet that run , noses that smell,但两个动词互换后,意思就不同了,这里的run指流鼻涕,smell指脚臭难闻。

26.driveway:车行道;parkway:(以小客车交通为主的)风景区干道,公园大路。

27. a slim chance = a fat chance:都指机会渺茫,而slim (苗条的)则刚好与fat(肥胖的)意思相反。

28. a wise man:哲人,聪明人;a wise guy:自作聪明的人,自命不凡的人。

29. overlook:忽视;oversee:监视。

30. quite a few:相当多。

31. as hell:很,非常。按字面理解是,既像hell(地狱)一样热,又像地狱一样冷。到底hell是热还是冷?

32.你是否注意到英语中所指有些事往往不出现在字面上。作者举例说:“马拉的马车”“有吊带的吊带睡衣”“被称颂的英雄"“没白付出的爱”都属于画蛇添足的说法。

33. marvel at:对……感到惊讶。

34. unique lunacy:绝无仅有的荒谬。

35. burn up:烧掉,焚毁;burn down:全部焚毁。

36. fill in与fill out都是“填写”的意思;go off:发出闹铃,这里指闹钟因为不停走动(go on)到点闹铃才会响。

37. race指竞赛。

38. stars are out指星星出现,而lights are out指灯熄灭。

39. wind up a watch:给钟表上紧发条;wind up an essay:结束一篇文章。


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