Curiosity Killed the Cat好奇害死貓

“好奇害死貓”來自于英語諺語“Curiosity killed the cat”，這條諺語常用于提醒人們不要因一些不必要的調(diào)查或者實驗而來帶來什么意外或傷害。如果你對一些不該感興趣的事情抱有過度的興趣的話，那么很有可能這些興趣會給你帶來一些意外的麻煩喔！想要滿足你的好奇心去尋求一些本不需要明白的問題的答案嗎？那可要加倍小心嘍！千萬別給自己帶來不必要的麻煩！

這條諺語最初的形式是 “Care killed the cat”，不過現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)很少用它了！在這里，“care”的意思是“worry”或“sorrow”。關(guān)于這條諺語最早的出處是在英國戲劇作家Ben Jonson 1598年的戲劇作品Every Man in His Humour中出現(xiàn)的，原文如下：“Helter skelter， hang sorrow， care will kill a cat， up-tails all， and a pox on the hangman”。莎士比亞1599年在他的戲劇Much Ado About Nothing中也用到了類似的表達：“What， courage man! what though care killed a cat， thou hast mettle enough in thee to kill care.”。在1898年之前，人們都一直使用“Care killed the cat”， Ebenezer Cobham Brewer還把這條諺語收錄在了他的作品Dictionary of Phrase and Fable 之中，他是這么記載的：It is said that “a cat has nine lives， yet care would wear them all out.”

到1873年，“好奇害死貓”的形式逐漸發(fā)生了變化，從一開始的“Care killed the cat” 演變而成了“Curiosity killed the cat”。對于這一新形式的使用，最早出現(xiàn)于James Allan Mair的作品A handbook of proverbs: English， Scottish， Irish， American， Shakesperean， and scriptural; and family mottoes 中，作為一條愛爾蘭諺語，“Curiosity killed the cat”被列在這本書的第34頁。此外，在Proverbs: Maxims and Phrases（by John Hendricks Bechtel）1902年的版次中，在“Curiosity”的詞條下（第100頁），也列出了這條諺語。

英國短篇小說家O. Henry在其短篇小說“Schools and Schools” （1909年）中也用到了這條諺語，并對這條諺語的意思做了一些說明：“Curiosity can do more things than kill a cat; and if emotions， well recognized as feminine， are inimical to feline life， then jealousy would soon leave the whole world catless.”

除了這些早期的用法之外，這條諺語被美國戲劇作家Eugene O’Neill廣泛地在其戲劇作品中使用，例如：“BENNY—(with a wink) Curiosity killed a cat! Ask me no questions and I''ll tell you no lies.”

好了！講了這么多關(guān)于“Curiosity killed the cat”來歷的問題，讀者們都了解了嗎？接下來讓我們將這條諺語放在具體的情景中，進一步了解它是怎么使用的吧！

例如：

Tom 和 Steve 正在沿著一間被遺棄的就房子走著，房子的窗戶破舊不堪，大門上著一把生銹了的鎖，房子周圍雜草叢生，在風中飄搖。突然，他倆聽見屋子里似乎有什么聲音，Tom說: “I''m going to see what that noise is!” Steve提醒到 “You''d better not， Curiosity killed the cat， you know. It might be very dangerous. Let''s just go home instead.”

同學們明白它的用法了嗎？讓我們再舉兩個例句吧！

A cat has nine lives， but curiosity killed the cat.

貓有九條命，但好奇害死貓。

You had better not ask Betty about her husband. You know， curiosity killed the cat.

你最好別過問貝蒂有關(guān)她先生的事。你知道好奇心足以致命。

“Curiosity killed the cat” is a proverb used to warn of the dangers of unnecessary investigation or experimentation. If you are too interested in things you should not be interested in， you could be in danger. You may be causing yourself problems by trying to find out things you don''t need to know.

The original form of the proverb， now little used， was \"Care killed the cat\". In this instance， \"care\" was defined as \"worry\" or \"sorrow.\" The earliest printed reference to the original proverb is attributed to the British playwright Ben Jonson in his 1598 play， Every Man in His Humour: “Helter skelter， hang sorrow， care will kill a cat， up-tails all， and a pox on the hangman” which was performed first by William Shakespeare.

Shakespeare used a similar quote in his play around 1599， Much Ado About Nothing: “What， courage man! what though care killed a cat， thou hast mettle enough in thee to kill care.” The proverb remained the same until at least 1898. Ebenezer Cobham Brewer included this definition in his Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: “Care killed the Cat”. It is said that “a cat has nine lives， yet care would wear them all out.”

The origin of the modern variation is unknown. The earliest known printed reference to the actual phrase “Curiosity killed the cat” is in James Allan Mair’s 1873 compendium A handbook of proverbs: English， Scottish， Irish， American， Shakesperean， and scriptural; and family mottoes， where it is listed as an Irish proverb on page 34.

In the 1902 edition of Proverbs: Maxims and Phrases， by John Hendricks Bechtel， the phrase “Curiosity killed the cat” is the lone entry under the topic “Curiosity” on page 100.

O. Henry’s 1909 short story “Schools and Schools” includes a mention that suggests knowledge of the proverb had become widespread by that time: “Curiosity can do more things than kill a cat; and if emotions， well recognized as feminine， are inimical to feline life， then jealousy would soon leave the whole world catless.”

Despite these earlier appearances， the proverb has been widely attributed to Eugene O’Neill， who included the variation， “Curiosity killed a cat!” in his play Diff''rent from 1920: “BENNY—(with a wink) Curiosity killed a cat! Ask me no questions and I''ll tell you no lies.”

The author Stephen King has used an extended variation of this idiom in several of his novellas: \"Curiosity killed the cat， satisfaction brought him back\".

Example:

Tom and Steve are walking down the street when they see a building that has been abandoned. There is wood over the windows and locks on the doors. There are weeds everywhere， and the garbage has been blown in by the wind. There is also a fence around the building to keep people out. The two boys hear a noise inside the building.

\"I''m going to see what that noise is，\" says Tom.

\"You''d better not，\" warns Steve， \"Curiosity killed the cat， you know. It might be very dangerous. Let''s just go home instead.\"