與Hold有關(guān)的詞匯

李雨婕

“Cant hold a candle to” is a popular expression1. It is from the time before electricity, when people used candles for light. Someone who lived in a big house would have a servant2 light his way by holding a candle. The expression meant that the person who cannot hold a candle to you is not fit even to be your servant. Now, it means such a person cannot compare or compete. For example, “As for singing, Cindy cant hold a candle to her sister.”

“cant hold a candle to”是一個很流行的表達(dá)，它起源于電還沒有被發(fā)明的時期，當(dāng)時人們都用蠟燭照明。住在大房子里的人通常會讓仆人拿著一根蠟燭在前面照明引路。這一表達(dá)的原意是指不能拿著蠟燭給你帶路的人不配當(dāng)你的仆人?，F(xiàn)在，它的意思是“遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)比不上……”。比如，“辛迪唱歌遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)比不上她的姐姐。”

Another expression is “hold your tongue”. It means to be still and not talk. “Hold your tongue” is not something you would tell a friend. But a parent or teacher might use the expression to quiet a noisy child.

另外一個表達(dá)是“hold your tongue”。意思是“靜下來，不要說話”。不過不要對你的朋友說這樣的話，因為這是家長或老師訓(xùn)斥一個吵鬧的小孩使他安靜時所用的表達(dá)。

“Hold out” is an expression one hears often in sports reports and labor news. It means to refuse to play or work. Professional3 football and baseball players “hold out” if their team refuses to pay them what they think they are worth. Members of labor unions “hold out” and refuse to work until they get the work agreement they want.

我們在體育報道或勞工新聞中聽到“hold out”一詞，它的意思是“罷賽”或“罷工”。如果職業(yè)足球運動員或籃球運動員的球隊拿到的薪酬沒有達(dá)到他們的理想值，他們就會“hold out (罷賽)”。如果工會成員在工作方面的要求沒有得到同意，他們便會一直“hold out (罷工)”。

The expression “hold up” has several different meanings. One is a robbery4. A man with a gun may say, “This is a hold up. Give me your money.” Another meaning is to delay5. A driver late for work may tell his boss, “I was held up by heavy traffic.” Someone who was robbed on the way to work might say, “Sorry, boss, I was held up by a hold up.”

“hold up”這個短語有幾個不同的含義。一個含義是“搶劫”。比如，一個拿著槍的男人說：“打劫了！把錢交出來！”另外它還有“耽擱”的含義。比如，一個司機因為上班遲到而向他的老板解釋：“我是因為堵車而耽誤了時間?！比绻袀€人因為在路上遭遇搶劫而遲到，他可以說：“對不起，老板，我因為被“hold up (搶劫)”而“hold up (耽誤)”了。

Still another meaning of the expression is for a story to be considered true after an investigation6. The same driver late for work could say, “My boss did not believe a hold up held me up. But the police confirmed7 what I said, so my story held up.”

這個表達(dá)還有一個意思就是“經(jīng)過調(diào)查后證明某件事屬實”。比如那個司機可能會說“我的老板不相信我因為遭遇搶劫而耽誤了時間，但是警察證實了我所說的，所以我的理由“hold up (屬實)?！?/p>

“Hold on” is another expression. Often it means wait or stop. As you leave for school, your brother may say, “Hold on, you forgot your book.”

“hold on”是另外一個表達(dá)，它的意思通常是“等一等”或“停一下”。你出門去上學(xué)的時候，你的哥哥可能會說：“Hold on (等一下)，你的書忘帶了?！?/p>

Our final expression is “hold the line”. That means to keep a problem or situation from getting worse—to hold steady8. For example, the president may say he will “hold the line on taxes.” He means there will be no increase in taxes.

我們要學(xué)的最后一個表達(dá)是“hold the line”，它的意思是掌控一個問題或一種形勢，從而使之保持穩(wěn)定而不會變得更糟。比如，總統(tǒng)可能會說他將“hold the line (掌控)稅收形勢”，意思是稅收不會繼續(xù)增長了。

[1] expression n. 表現(xiàn)，表達(dá)，說法 [2] servant n. 仆人，傭人

[3] professional adj. 專業(yè)的；職業(yè)的 [4] robbery n. 搶劫，盜竊

[5] delay vi. 延期；耽擱 [6] investigation n. 調(diào)查

[7] confirm vt. 確認(rèn)；確定；證實 [8] steady adj. 穩(wěn)定的；不變的