“貓”的故事

Today， lets start with the word “cat”. Cats are the most popular pets among Americans. So it is not surprising that there are many expressions about cats.

今天我們就來說一說“貓”這個詞。貓是最受美國人喜愛的寵物之一，所以有很多關(guān)于貓的表達(dá)一點兒也不奇怪。

Some cats like to catch small birds， such as canaries （金絲雀）. If someone looks very proud or satisfied with himself， we say he “l(fā)ooks like the cat that ate the canary”.

有一些貓喜歡捕捉小鳥，比如說金絲雀。如果有誰看起來非常傲慢或者自滿，我們會說他看上去就像吃了金絲雀的貓。

Sometimes， a cat likes to play with a small animal it catches. So if you “play cat and mouse” with someone， you change between different kinds of behavior when dealing with another person. For example， a child might offer something sweet to her little brother and then take it away when he reaches for it.

有時候，貓喜歡逗弄自己抓到的小動物。所以如果說你和某人玩貓抓老鼠的游戲，那就是說在和別人相處的時候，你的行為總是讓人捉摸不透。比如說，一個小孩可能會給她的弟弟一些糖果，但是，當(dāng)?shù)艿苌焓譁?zhǔn)備拿的時候，她又把糖果拿走了。

A cat will often catch small animals and present them to its owner. If it “l(fā)ooks like something the cat dragged in （將……拖/拉進(jìn)去）”， it must be something in bad condition.

貓總是會抓一些小動物并把它們放到主人面前。如果說什么東西看上去就像貓拖來的東西，那么這個東西肯定是一團糟。

Two old and funny expressions describe something that is the best or finest. Americans might say that something is “the cats meow （貓叫聲）” and “the cats pajamas （睡衣褲）”.

有兩個古老而有趣的表達(dá)方式用來形容某樣?xùn)|西是最好的或最精致的。美國人可能會說某樣?xùn)|西是“貓叫聲”和“貓的睡衣褲”。

Children might call a child who is easily frightened a “fraidy-cat” or a “scaredy-cat”. A “copycat” is someone who acts just like someone else or copies another persons work.

孩子們可能會管一個很容易被嚇到的小孩叫做膽小鬼。山寨貓則是指模仿別人或抄襲他人作品的人。

A “fat cat” is a person with a lot of money. Look at that cool guy， hes got everything！That guy is a real fat cat. All the girls stick to him like bees on honey.

肥貓指的是有錢人?？茨莻€家伙，他真是個有錢人。女人像叮著蜂蜜的蜜蜂一樣叮著他。

You may have known that cats spend most of their time sleeping. Sometimes people sleep for a short time during the day. This is called a “cat nap （小睡；打盹）”.

你也許知道貓大部分的時間都在睡覺。有時候人們會在白天短暫地睡一會兒，這就叫做 打個盹兒。

If you tell about something that was supposed to be a secret， we say you “l(fā)et the cat out of the bag”. If you are not able to speak out or answer a question someone might ask if “the cat has got your tongue”.

如果你說出本該保密的事，我們會說你“把貓從口袋里放出來了”。如果你不能說出來或者給予回答，也許有人會問“貓把你的舌頭叼去了嗎？”

Have you ever watched children in a classroom when their teacher leaves for a few minutes？ “When the cats away， the mice will play” means people sometimes misbehave （行為不端；胡作非為） when there is no supervision （監(jiān)督；監(jiān)管）.

你曾觀察過當(dāng)老師離開幾分鐘時待在教室里的孩子們嗎？“貓兒不在，鼠兒成精”意思就是人們在沒有監(jiān)管的情況下，有時候會胡作非為。

You may have heard this expression “curiosity （好奇心） killed the cat”. This means being too concerned about （關(guān)心……） things that are not your business might cause problems.

你可能聽過“好奇心殺死貓”這個說法。它的意思是過分關(guān)心與你無關(guān)的事可能會招惹麻煩。

If your home is very small， you might say “there is not enough room to swing （搖擺；懸掛） a cat”. But you probably should not try this at home！

如果你家很小，你可能會說空間還不夠晃蕩一只貓。但或許你不該在家做此嘗試！

If you ever had cats as pets， you must know it is difficult to train them or to get them to do something. Cats are not like sheep or cows that can be moved in a group. So we say a difficult or impossible job “is like herding （放牧；使……成群移動） cats”.

如果你曾經(jīng)養(yǎng)過貓當(dāng)寵物，那么你肯定知道訓(xùn)練它們或者讓它們做什么是非常困難的。貓不像綿羊或奶牛那樣可以成群地被驅(qū)趕。所以我們會說很難或者不可能完成的任務(wù)像把貓趕到一起那樣難。