趣味英语:一“字”之差 谬以千里(图)

http://www.sina.com.cn 2008年04月23日 09:58   新浪教育

趣味英语:一“字”之差谬以千里(图)
on the cloud与in the cloud意思相去甚远哦

  英文里的介词有时会让我们感觉很混乱,它们在句子里虽然不显眼,但是作用却很关键,用错一个介词意思可能会完全不同。今天我们就来看看on a cloud, under a cloud 以及in the clouds的意思有多大的差别。

  1 on a cloud

  On a cloud是很高兴的意思,高兴得走路轻飘飘,好像腾云驾雾一样。

  例如:I've been on a cloud all day long--I heard this morning that I got an A on my final biochemistry exam.

  我今天一天都很高兴,因为我早上听说,我生化期末考试得了一个A。

  又如:My wife has been on a cloud since I told her the other day I would spend my year-end bonus at the office to take us to Hawaii to celebrate our twentieth wedding anniversary. And to tell you the truth, I'm really looking forward to it myself.

  我那天告诉我的妻子,我要把办公室发给我的年终奖金用来和她一起去夏威夷旅行,以庆祝我们结婚二十周年。自从那天起,我太太一直很高兴。说实话,我自己也非常想去。

  2 under a cloud

  任何人under a cloud是绝不会高兴的,因为他不是丢尽了面子,就是被怀疑做了什么坏事。Under a cloud是丢面子、被怀疑的意思。

  下面是一个人在讲另外一个被逮捕的人,这人被指控和贩毒有关:

  The judge had to let him go because there wasn't enough evidence against him. But he's going around under a cloud because most people think he's guilty.

  法官由于没有足够的证据来定罪,所以只好放了他。但是,他到哪儿都受怀疑,因为大多数人都认为他是有罪的。

  又如:See that man sitting at the table by himself? He's supposed to be a very smart lawyer, but he's been under a cloud ever since he was mixed up in a scandal involving a company that was run by a mobster.

  瞧那个桌子边独自坐着的人,看见吗?他本来是一个很能干的律师,但是自从他和一个公司的丑闻有牵连以来,他一直被人怀疑,而那个公司是由流氓集团经营的。

  3 in the clouds

  我们每个人恐怕都有白日做梦的时候。有的时候,我们一边走路,一边在想心事,或者是一边做什么事,一边在想其他事情,身边发生什么事全然没有注意到。美国人把这叫做:in the clouds。In the clouds可以解释为:心不在焉,思想开小差。

  例如:Sally is my best friend but she walked right past me today, and didn't even say hello. Her head certainly was in the clouds--she looked like her mind was a thousand miles away.

  沙莉是我最好的朋友,可是,她今天在我身旁走过,连招呼都没有跟我打。她肯定在白日做梦,看起来她的心思好像在一千哩以外的地方。

  又如:I was really embarrassed--the teacher asked me a question and I didn't even hear him; I was daydreaming and my head was in the clouds.

  我当时真是非常难堪。老师问我问题,我根本没有听见。那时,我刚好在做白日梦,思想在开小差。

本文选自《北外网院》的博客,点击查看博客原文

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