2015考研英語復(fù)習(xí):源自莎士比亞作品的10個(gè)常用短語
Green-Eyed Monster
嫉妒
The evil Iago plants doubts in Othello`s mind about his wife`s faithfulness, while advising him, "O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! / It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock / The meat it feeds on." (Othello, Act 3, Scene 3)
邪惡的伊阿古讓奧賽羅對妻子的忠心起了疑心,提醒他說,“噢,大人,要小心嫉妒之心!那可是一只綠眼的妖魔,它慣于耍弄爪下的獵物?!?《奧賽羅》,第3幕第3場)
In a Pickle
處于困境
In The Tempest, King Alonso asks his jester, Trinculo, "How camest thou in this pickle?" And the drunk Trinculo – who has indeed gotten into trouble – responds "I have been in such a pickle since I saw you last ..." (Act 5, Scene 1)
在《暴風(fēng)雨》中,那不勒斯國王阿朗索問他的弄臣特林鳩羅,“你怎么讓自己到這般境地了?”的確深陷困境且已爛醉的特林鳩羅回答說:“我自從上次參見過您之后就一直處于這般境地了…”(第5幕第1場)
One theory has it that the phrase in a pickle entered English from an old Dutch expression that translates as something like "sit in the pickle".
有一種說法認(rèn)為in a pickle這個(gè)短語來源于一個(gè)古代的荷蘭語表達(dá),類似于“坐在咸菜缸”里這樣一個(gè)說法。
Love Is Blind
愛是盲目的
This phrase has more than one meaning: we overlook flaws in those we love (that`s good), but love can blind us to serious issues (that`s bad).
這個(gè)短語的意思是:我們會忽略我們愛的人身上的缺點(diǎn)(這點(diǎn)不錯(cuò));愛會讓我們忽視一些嚴(yán)重的問題(這就不好了)。
In The Merchant of Venice, Jessica is shy about her beloved Lorenzo seeing her disguised as a boy, but recognizes that it won`t affect his love for her, saying, "But love is blind and lovers cannot see / The pretty follies that themselves commit ..." (Act 2, Scene 6)
在《威尼斯商人》中,杰西卡不好意思讓深愛的羅倫佐看到她偽裝成一個(gè)男孩,不過也意識到這并不妨礙他愛她,她說,“可愛情是盲目的,愛侶們看不到他們自己犯下的那些美麗又愚蠢的錯(cuò)誤…”(第2幕,第6場)
Salad Days
一個(gè)人的青春年少時(shí)光
In Antony and Cleopatra, Cleopatra recalls her relationship with Julius Caesar that occurred during, "My salad days, / When I was green in judgment...." (Act 1, Scene 5)
在《安東尼與克莉奧佩特拉》中,克莉奧佩特拉回憶起她與凱撒的那一段感情在“我青春年少的時(shí)光,我還不太會看人的時(shí)候…”(第1幕第5場)
Originally, English speakers used salad days with Cleopatra`s meaning: a time of youthful inexperience or indiscretion. These days, however, it usually means "an early flourishing period" – in other words, a heyday.
最初,英語使用者只用salad days表示克莉奧佩特拉所說的“青春、稚嫩的時(shí)光”。不過現(xiàn)在,這個(gè)短語通常表示“鼎盛時(shí)期”。
Wear My Heart on My Sleeve
公開表達(dá)感情
Discussing his planned betrayal of Othello, the villain Iago says, "But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve / For daws to peck at: I am not what I am." (Othello, Act 1, Scene 1)
在說到對奧賽羅的背叛計(jì)劃時(shí),邪惡的伊阿古說,“可是我會敞開心扉,讓鳥兒隨意翻啄:我并不是你們看到的我?!?《奧賽羅》,第1幕第1場)
There`s the Rub
這就是問題所在
In Hamlet`s famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy, "ay, there`s the rub" is the tormented prince`s acknowledgement that death may not end his difficulties because the dead may perhaps still be troubled by dreams. (Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1)
在《哈姆雷特》那句著名的“生存或者死亡”獨(dú)白中,“唉,這就是問題所在”表示飽受折磨的王子認(rèn)識到,死亡并不能結(jié)束他的痛苦,因?yàn)樗廊丝赡苋匀粫粔艟忱_。(《哈姆雷特》,第3幕第1場)
Cruel to Be Kind
要想善良,必先殘忍;忠言逆耳
"I must be cruel only to be kind; / Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind," says the tormented Hamlet. He has just mistakenly killed Polonius, and it`s clear that he doesn`t know how bad things are going to get. (Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 4)
飽受折磨的哈姆雷特說:“要想善良,必先殘忍,壞事開了頭,更糟糕的還在后面?!彼麆倓傉`殺了波洛尼厄斯,而且很明顯他根本不知道事情會糟糕到什么程度。(《哈姆雷特》,第3幕第4場)
Wild Goose Chase
復(fù)雜又無果的追尋或搜索;徒勞無果
In Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio likens the rapid exchange of jokes between Romeo and himself to the cross-country horse race of Shakespeare`s time, known as the wild goose chase, in which any number of riders tried to keep up with and accurately follow the lead rider`s course:
在《羅密歐與朱麗葉》中,馬庫修將他和羅密歐之間機(jī)智的笑話比拼比做莎士比亞時(shí)期的跨境賽馬,即“追野鵝”,比賽中所有騎手都要盡力追上并精準(zhǔn)跟隨在騎手領(lǐng)袖的陣型中:
"Nay, if our wits run the wild-goose chase, I am done; for thou / hast more of the wild goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I / have in my whole five." (Act 2, Scene 4)
“不行啊,如果咱們倆的智商比拼像追野鵝那樣的話,我就完蛋了,因?yàn)槟闳魏我粋€(gè)智慧陣型中的野鵝都比我全部5個(gè)陣型里的多?!?第2幕第4場)
Dogs of War
戰(zhàn)爭的恐懼之處
In Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 1, a grief-stricken Mark Antony predicts that the instability following Caesar`s murder will result in civil war: "Cry `havoc!` And let slip the dogs of war!" ("Cry havoc" was the military order for soldiers to seize plunder from an enemy.)
在《凱撒大帝》第3幕第1場中,悲傷過度的馬克?安東尼預(yù)言稱,凱撒大帝被謀殺后的不穩(wěn)定局勢會導(dǎo)致內(nèi)戰(zhàn):“下令搶劫!讓戰(zhàn)爭的恐懼溜走吧!”(Cry havoc是軍隊(duì)中的命令用語,指下令讓士兵從敵人手中搶掠。)
Strange Bedfellows
不可能結(jié)盟的兩個(gè)人;同床異夢
When Trinculo seeks shelter from a storm under the cloak of a creature he`s very unsure about – he wonders if it`s a man or a fish – he comments "misery acquaints a man with strange bed-fellows." (The Tempest, Act 2, Scene 2)
特林鳩羅在一個(gè)他不知為何物的生物的斗篷下躲避暴風(fēng)雨時(shí),他不知道那是個(gè)人還是條魚,他說:“處于悲慘境地,人可以跟任何東西結(jié)成聯(lián)盟。”(《暴風(fēng)雨》,第2幕第2場)