作者：湖北师范学院 舒晓兰 宋丽

　　That’s all Greek to me. 源自莎士比亚的《裘力斯·凯撒》。

　　含义：我对此一窍不通。

　　例句：He tried to explain how a calculating machine worked, but it was all Greek to me.

　　他试图向我说明计算机的工作原理，可是我一窍不通。

　　Two may keep counsel when the third’s away. 源自莎士比亚的《泰特斯·安德洛尼克斯》。

　　含义：没有不泄露的秘密，没有不透风的墙。

　　例句：You’d better tell the truth. You know, two may keep counsel when the third’s away.

　　你最好说实话。要知道，没有不透风的墙。

　　in the arms of Morpheus 出自希腊神话，Morpheus是睡神和梦神Hypnos之子，在古典造型艺术中，是个生着翅膀的老人。

　　含义：入梦乡，在酣睡中。

　　“Morpheus”(吗啡)一词源于此。

　　例句：I’d be in the arms of Morpheus about as soon as I turn out the light.

　　我一熄灯就会入梦乡。

　　a Penelope’s web 据荷马(Homer)著《奥德赛》(Odyssey)卷2，求婚者趁Penelope的丈夫Ulysses征途尚未归来，因而生死未卜的情况下苦苦纠缠Penelope。Penelope答应等她为公公织完一匹布料后，选择其中的一位。她每天夜晚把白天织好的拆掉，重新开始，直到丈夫归来。

　　含义：永远做不完的工作；缓兵之计。

　　例句：Mr. Jones made a long speech at the meeting. Everyone else thought it a Penelope’s web.

　　琼斯先生在会上作了长篇发言，大家都认为这是故意拖延的策略。

　　Cast pearls before swine 出自《圣经·马太福音》第7章 “Give not that which is holy unto dogs , neither cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”

　　含义：对不懂道理的人讲道理，白费口舌。也常用来讥笑说话不看对象。

　　例句：I do a thankless thing, and cast pearls before swine!

　　我在做一件吃力不讨好的事，简直是对牛弹琴。

　　pass by on the other side 出自《圣经·路加福音》。

　　含义：不帮助，不同情。

　　例句：She’s been very kind to me in the past, and if I ever learned that she was in difficulties it would be quite wrong of me to pass by on the other side.

　　过去她对我一向很好，如果我知道她有困难而不帮助，那是非常不对的。

　　burn one’s boat 公元前49 年，凯撒大帝率部渡过卢比根河时，下令焚舟，表达其不获胜毋宁死的决心。

　　含义：下定决心，破釜沉舟。

　　例句：Now the thing was done. He had burned his boats and he could not stop to commiserate with himself. Now was the time for coolness and courage. Well, he told himself he had them both.

　　事已至此，他已自断后路，停下来自我哀怜已是毫无用处。现在需要的是冷静和勇气。他对自己说这两样他都有。

　　The walls have ears.据说凯瑟琳女王在位时，在卢浮宫建造了一些特殊的墙，在一个房间的说话声可以在另一个房间里清楚地听到。

　　含义：隔墙有耳。

　　例句：“She’s told me. She’s very particular.”—He looked around to see if the walls had ears.

　　“她告诉我了。她是很仔细的。”———他向四周望望看是否有人窃听。

　　have the ball at one’s feet 出自足球运动用语，原指一个足球运动员已经控制了球，随时可射门得分，隐喻为“大有成功的机会”。

　　含义：稳操胜券。

　　例句：You have the ball at your feet, don’t miss the chance.

　　你稳操胜券，不要错过这个机会。

　　hit below the belt 原指拳击比赛时打对方腰带以下部位的犯规行为，转义为在比赛中或与人打交道时，用不正当的手段去伤害对方。

　　含义：暗箭伤人。

　　例句：It was hitting below the belt for Mr. Jones’ rival to tell people about a crime that Mr. Jones committed when he was a young boy.

　　琼斯先生的对手把琼斯年幼时犯的罪行张扬出去，这种做法太卑鄙了。

　　keep the ball rolling 来自足球比赛，一旦开球后，球就不停地滚动。

　　含义：不中断，继续下去。

　　例句：He inquired whether we had known Powell...Then there was a pause...To keep the ball rolling I asked if this Powell was remarkable in any way.

　　他问我们是否认识保尔……接着一阵静寂……为了使谈话不中断，我问保尔先生有哪些不平凡的地方。

　　lay an egg 出自英国古时人们玩的板球游戏，把没有得分的人说是make a duck’s egg，因为零分“0”的形状像一个鸭蛋，所以后来干脆就叫lay an egg。

　　含义：没有成功。

　　例句：Sometimes he is a successful speaker, but sometimes he lays an egg.

　　有时他演说很成功，但有时并不成功。