成语的小知识英汉

a bad apple， 金玉其外，败絮其中

a gay dog， 欢喜坨（我们那的方言）

a hard nut， 硬骨头

a hen-pecked husband， 妻管严

fat cat， 朱门大户

bosom friends， 心腹之交

con artist,,

fat chance， 绝佳机会

a storm in a teacup， 大惊小怪

the last straw， 救命稻草

under age,

rat race， 你死我活的竞争

keep somebody at arm"s length， 形影不离

be on one"s back， 卧病在床

make somebody"s blood boil， 热血沸腾

sad dog， 苦瓜脸

work addict， 工作狂

give it to somebody straight,

have head like a sieve， 健忘者

in one"s heart of hearts， 在内心深处

cool one"s heels， 空等

have a big nose,

have a sweet tooth， 爱吃甜食

twist one"s arm,

rude awakening， 幻灭

Die in one"s boots， 暴卒

Keep one"s shirt on， 忍辱负重

I am so flattered.

it slipped my mind. 使我一时想不起

butterflies in my stomach， 战抖

It gives me the creeps.

Shout something from the rooftops ， 登高而呼

Burn a hole in one"s

英语故事：破镜重圆 A Broken Mirror Joined Together This set phrase metaphorically means the reunion of husband and wife after an enforced separation or a rupture. At the end of Southern Dynasties,when the Chen Dynasty was about to be overthrown. Xú Déyán felt very worried.He foreknew that his wife Princess Lè Chāng was destined to separate from him. His wife is the last Emperor Chén Shūbǎo"s younger sister. Hence he broke a round bronze mirror into halves. One half is given to the Princess,the other half left with himself. The couple agreed on it that the wife would pretend to sell the broked mirror in the street of Cháng"ān,the capital of the Suí Dynasty,on the Lantern Festival. After the fall of Chén Dynasty,Princess Lè Chāng was captured and sent to Chang"an and forced to be a concubine-servant in the mansion of Yáng Sù. Xú Déyán missed his wife very much and went to the captial to look for her. On the 15th day of the first lunar month,he found a man selling half the mirror. After asking the man,he knew that his wife had been a concubine-servant of Yáng Sù. Thinking that he could not see her again,he sighed a great sorrow. Having known the matter,Yáng Sù felt much sympathy for the couple.He sent for Xú Déyán and told him to take wife away.Thus the husband and the wife were reunited into a happy couple. 自相矛盾 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- His Spear Against His Shield (Zi Xiang Maodun) A man of the state of Chu had a spear and a shield for sale. He was loud in praises of his shield."My shield is so strong that nothing can pierce it through." He also sang praises of his spear."My spear is so strong that it can pierce through anything.""What would happen," he was asked, "if your spear is used to pierce your shield?" It is impossible for an impenetrable shield to coexist with a spear that finds nothing impenetrable. 刻舟求剑 Making His Mark (Ke Zhou Qiu Jian) A man from the state of Chu was crossing a river. In the boat, his sword fell into the water. Immediately he made a mark on the boat."This is where my sword fell off," he said.When the boat stopped moving, he went into the water to look for his sword at the place where he had marked the boat.The boat had moved but the sword had not. Is this not a very foolish way to look for a sword？ 井底之蛙 The Frog in the Shallow Well (Jing Di Zhi Wa) Have you not heard of the frog that lived in a shallow well? It said to a turtle that lived in the East Sea, "I am so happy! When I go out, I jump about on the railing beside the mouth of the well. When I come home, I rest in the holes on the broken wall of the well. If I jump into the water, it comes up to my armpits and holds up my cheeks. If I walk in the mud, it covers up my feet. I look around at the wriggly worms, crabs and tadpoles, and none of them can compare with me. Moreover, I am lord of this trough of water and I stand up tall in this shallow well. My happiness is full. My dear sir, why don"t you come often and look around my place?" Before the turtle from the East Sea could get its left foot in the well, its right knee got stuck. It hesitated and retreated. The turtle told the frog about the East Sea."Even a distance of a thousand li cannot give you an idea of the sea"s width; even a height of a thousand ren cannot give you an idea of its depth. In the time of King Yu of the Xia dynasty, there were floods nine years out of ten, but the waters in the sea did not increase. ln the time of King Tang of the Shang dynasty there were droughts seven years out of eight, but the waters in the sea did not decrease. The sea does not change along with the passage of time and its level does not rise or fall according to the amount of rain that falls. The greatest happiness is to live in the East Sea." After listening to these words, the frog of the shallow well was shocked into realization of his own insignificance and became very ill at ease.。

英语小知识（1）:

英语的起源

英语的起源要追溯到公元5世纪的古英语，它是其最早的雏形。一向到15世纪才有了标点符号。我们仍然在使用的“城镇”（town），是延续至今的最古老的古英语单词。

英语小知识（2）:

同一个单词，不一样的意思

你可能明白“电臀舞”（twerk）这个单词是指一种很流行的摇摆舞蹈。但在16世纪时，“twirk”（当时中间字母的拼写为i而不是e）是指“急促扭转的一种动作”。提到“电臀舞”，有一些与之相关的现代词汇和俚语，你就应有所了解。

英语小知识（3）:

字典里的新词

每两个小时就会有一个新词被收入字典之中。其中包括“nerdjacking”（用很详细的解释来引导谈话）、“undorse”（扭转政策局面）和“Mx”（代替先生（Mr。）或女士（Ms。）的一种中性称谓）。

英语小知识（4）:

OK的来历

Okay可能是除了Yes,No以外在世界上流传最广的英语单词了。但是，它从何而来呢？历来，语言学家们各执一词。

有人说，okay是印第安人发明的。有这样一个印第安部落叫Chocktaw，居住在富饶的密西西比山谷中，以种植和捕鱼为生。

每当有问题发生，Chocktaw的领导人们就和部落首领围坐一圈，共同商议，如果有人同意其他人的意见，就点头示意，然后说“Okeh”，意思为“就是这样”。

欧洲人初到美洲时，听到了超多的印第安语，并将之发展为英语词汇。此刻美国的许多城市、河流、山脉，其名称都源于印第安语。

另外还有一种颇具可信度的说法：Okay这个词是在19世纪由一个政治团体发明的。

有一个人叫Martin Van Buren，准备参加总统竞选，他的拥护者成立了一个俱乐部为他做宣传，俱乐部的名称就叫“Okay Club”，据说O和K两个字母取自于Van Buren的故乡，纽约州的Old Kinderhook，那是他出生的地方。

对一个如此popular的词汇，自然每个人都可能有自我的故事，但是，有一点，相信全世界都会同意：okay是一个纯粹的美语词汇，它是词汇跨越不一样语言的优秀典范。

只是还有需要小小提醒一下的地方：okay通常用于口语，在书面语中，我们能够用agree,assent,approve,conform等等词汇来代替，使之更为正式化。

愚公移山

[yú gōng yí shān]

the Foolish Old Man, who removed the mountains.

刻舟求剑

[kè zhōu qiú jiàn]

Carve on gunwale of a moving boat.

互相矛盾contradict each other

孟母三迁Mencius" mother moves her home three times to better her son"s education.

铁杵磨成针

perseverance will prevail ;

司马光砸缸Sima Guang hit the tank

水漫金山Water overflows golden hill

精忠报国

[jīng zhōng bào guó]

repay the country with supreme loyalty -- patriotism ;

黄袍加身

[huáng páo jiā shēn]

be draped with the imperial yellow robe by one"s supporters;

望梅止渴

[wàng méi zhǐ kě]

quench one"s thirst by thinking of plums -- console oneself with false hopes;

独守长板桥Only keep long slab

郑人买履（A man from the State of Zheng bought shoes）Once upon a time , a man in the State of Zheng went to the market to buy a pair of shoes. Before he left for the market, he had measured his feet with a piece me straw. However , he couldn"t find the measurement because he had left it at home . So he had to say sorry to the owner that he had to go home for it, which confused the owner why he didn"t try the shoes on with his own feet . The man smiled to the owner , " I would rather believe in the measuremens than my own feet."。

sick and tired:i am sick and tired of doing all the housework myself.i need some help.

to have a 10t of nerve:emma has a lot of nerve. she got a pay raise threemonths ago. now she"s asking for another one.

to take pains:if you take pains to do something well, it will often be asuccess. and you won"t have to take time to do it over,because it will be fight the first time.

to give someone ataste oi his/her own medicine:if linda keeps on shouting at people and getting angry,someone will give her a taste of her own medicine andshout back at her.

其实我看不懂什么意思，错了别怪我哈。

天衣无缝

one summer night, when the moon was very bright he suddenly saw a girl descending（下降） slowly from the sky. he observed the girl closely, and found that the dress she was wearing was seamless（无缝的） . he was puzzled, and asked why. the girl answered,"heavenly clothes are not sewn with needle and thread."

传说古代太原人郭翰在夏夜里乘凉，见一个仙女从天上下来，她身穿白衣，美丽绝伦。她告诉他她名叫织女。郭翰仔细欣赏织女的衣裳浑然一体，竟看不出一丝线缝，好奇问织女。织女答道：“天衣本非针线为也。”

this idiom is used metaphorically to indicate the flawless handling of things. it can also be used to indicate a perfectly written poem or other literary article.

神话传说，仙女的衣服没有衣缝。比喻事物周密完善，找不出什么毛病。

对牛弹琴

Gong Mingyi was a famous musician in ancient times, who played the lute very well.

公明仪是古代一位很有名的音乐家，弹得一手好琴。

One day, while playing the lute indoors, Gong Mingyi saw a cow eating grass leisurely outside the window. He had a sudden whim to play some melodies for the cow. He first played the "Exercise of Qing Jiao", but the cow still kept on eating grass with head lowered. He seemed to realize that the melody was too highbrow for the cow to understand.

有一天，他在室内弹琴，看见一头牛在窗外悠闲地吃着草。他忽然想弹几曲给牛听听。他先弹了一曲“清角之操”。可是，牛还是跟刚才一样，只顾低着头吃草。他似乎意识到，这支曲子太高雅了，牛没有听懂。

So he played several other melodies, imitating the buzzing sounds of swarms of flying mosquitoes, and the bleats of a calf looking for its companions. At this, to his surprise, the cow stopped eating grass, but raised its head, pricked up its ears, wagged its tail and, pacing up and down in small steps, began to listen attentively.

于是，他弹了另外几支曲子，模拟蚊子成群结队飞来飞去的嗡嗡声；模拟小牛犊寻找伙伴的眸眸叫唤声。这样一来，这头牛竟然不吃草了，抬起头，竖着耳朵，甩着尾巴，迈着小步，留心地倾听起来。

掩耳盗铃Plugging One"s Ears While Stealing a Bell 春秋时侯，晋国贵族智伯灭掉了范氏。

有人趁机跑到范氏家里想偷点东西，看见院子里吊着一口大钟。钟是用上等青铜铸成的，造型和图案都很精美。

小偷心里高兴极了，想把这口精美的大钟背回自已家去。可是钟又大又重，怎么也挪不动。

他想来想去，只有一个办法，那就是把钟敲碎，然后再分别搬回家。 小偷找来一把大大锤，拼命朝钟砸去，咣的一声巨响，把他吓了一大跳。

小偷着慌，心想这下糟了，这种声不就等于是告诉人们我正在这里偷钟吗？他心里一急，身子一下子扑到了钟上，张开双臂想捂住钟声，可钟声又怎么捂得住呢！钟声依然悠悠地传向远方。 他越听越害怕，不同自由地抽回双手，使劲捂住自已的耳朵。

“咦，钟声变小了，听不见了！”小偷高兴起来，“妙极了！把耳朵捂住不住就听不进钟声了吗！”他立刻找来两个布团，把耳朵塞住，心想，这下谁也听不见钟声了。于是就放手砸起钟来，一下一下，钟声响亮地传到很远的地方。

人们听到钟声蜂拥而至把小偷捉住了。 故事出自《吕氏春秋·自知》“掩耳盗钟”被说成“掩耳盗铃”，比喻愚蠢自欺的掩饰行为。

Plugging One"s Ears While Stealing a Bell During the Spring and Autumn period,Zhi Bo of the State of Jin destroyed Fan"s family.Taking advantage of this occasion,a man went to Fan"s house and tried to steal something.As soon as the man entered the gate,he saw that there hung a big bell in the courtyard.The bell was cast in high-quality bronza,and was beautiful in design and shape.The theif was very glad,and decided to carry this beautiful bell back home.But no matter how hard he tried,he could not move the bell,because the bell was both big and heavy.He thought and thought again,and believed there was only one way to solve the problem.He had to break the bell to pieces before he was able to carry them back to his home separately. The thief found a big iron hammer,with which he struck the bell with all his might.The striking produced an enormous crashing sound,which might.The striking produced an enormous crashing sound,which made the thief terribly frightened.The thief got flurried,thinking that it was too bad to have produced the crashiing sound which would himself on the bell,trying to muffle the crashing sound with his arms.But how could the crashing sound of the bell be muffled?The crashing sound still kept drifting melodiously to distant places.The more he listened to the sound,the more frightened hw became.He xubconsciously shrank back,and covered his ears hard with his hands."Hey,the sound becomes fainter,inaudible,"the thief became cheerful at once," wonderful!The sound of the bell can not be heard when the ears are covered."He immediately got some odd bits of cloth,made two rolls with them,and had his ears plugged with the two cloth rolls.He thought that in this way nobody could hear the sound of the bell.Feeling relieved,he began striking the bell,one blow after another.The resounding sound of the bell was heard at distant places,and finally people caught the thief by gracing the sound. This story comes from"Knowing Yourself" in The Annals by Buwei,written just before the Qin Dynasty(221-207 B.C.)was founded.Allegedly,when Li Yuan,Emperor Gao Zu of the Tang Dynasty(618-907),read this story,he felt it simply ridiculous and said,"This is what is called plugging one"s ears while stealing a bell." Later,people have used the set phrase "plugging one"s ears while stealing a bell" to refer to the ignorance and foolishness of the person who deceives himself as well as others.。

1、According to a research project at Cambridge Uiversity, it doesn"t matter what order the letters in a word are, the only important thing is that the first and last letter be in the right place. This is because the human mind does not read every letter。

剑桥大学的研究表明：单词中字母的顺序如何不重要，重要的是第一个和最后一个字母的位置。这是因为大脑在阅读时不会读到所有字母。

2、"WAS IT A CAR OR A CAT I SAW". This is the only English sentence which even if we read in reverse, it"ll give the same sentence。 （我看到的是一辆车还是一只猫）这是英语中唯一一句反过来念还是一样的句子。

3、"Goodbye" came from "God bye" which came from "God be with you"。 英语单词“Goodbye”来自于“God bye”，原意是“上帝与你同在”。

4、The sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog."uses every letter of the alphabet！ （这只敏捷的棕色狐狸跳过了一只懒狗）这句话用到了字母表中的所有字母！ 5、"Go", is the shortest complete sentence in the English language。 “Go”是英语中最短的完整句子。

6、The onion is named after the Latin word "unio" meaning large pearl。 单词“onion”（洋葱）来自于拉丁词“unio”，意思是大珍珠。

7、The word Tips is actually an acronym standing for "To Insure Prompt Service"。 单词“tips”（小费）实际上是“To Insure Prompt Service”（保障快捷的服务）的首字母缩写！ 8、The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from and old English law which stated that you couldn"t beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb。

词组“rule of thumb”（经验法则），是从一条古老的英国法律中来的，即：不能用超过大拇指粗细的东西打老婆。 9、The longest word in the English language ！ 英语中最长的单词是“”（硅酸盐沉着病）！ 10、More people in China speak English than in the United States。

会说英语的中国人比会说英语的美国人还多。 11、The word "listen" contains the same letters as"silent"。

单词“listen”（听）和“silent”（安静的）用到了一样的字母。 12、Hoover vacuum cleaners were so popular in the UK that many people now refer to vacuuming as hoovering。

胡佛真空吸尘器在英国曾经非常流行，到现在很多人还把“vacuuming”（吸尘）说成“hoovering”（胡佛ing…）。 13、Stressed is Desserts spelled backwards。

“Stressed”（压力）倒过来拼就是“Desserts”（点心）。 14、The most used letter in the English alphabet is "E", and"Q" is the least used！ 英语中使用最多的字母是“E”，用得最少的是“Q”。

15、Ernest Vincent Wright wrote a novel, "Gadsby", whichcontains over 50,000 words -- none of them with the letter E!。