舞動肢體來學:Body idioms
說英文難……有時候它也挺簡單的,因為有些片語句就從你的快、腳、頭、臉而來!本篇就帶你「從頭到尾」檢視一下吧!
撰 文 ◎ Fish
Vocabulary & Phrase
1. head for 前往、朝某個方向去。
例: I think we'd better head for the station. 我想我們最好動身前往車站。
2. to be all ears 專心傾聽。將耳朵張開聽人說話,即是指「專心傾聽」。
例: The professor is explaining the assignment now so you'd better to be all ears. 教授正在解釋這次的作業,你最好仔細聽。
3. to be nosy 小心某人。我們常說「嗅出端倪」,表示鼻子作為嗅覺器官可以察覺事情的蛛絲馬跡,用在人身上便可指「小心某人對自己做出不利的行為」。
例:You should be nosy with these people, in my opinion, they are untrustworthy. 你應該小心這些人,在我看來他們都不值得信任。
4. to keep a stiff upper lip 嚴肅、面無表情。人在很嚴肅時往往會扳著一張臉,把嘴形壓得扁扁的,有人甚至會咬著上嘴唇。英文即用「stiff」(僵硬)來形容這個表情。
例: What happen to Miguel? Why does he keep a stiff upper lip? 米蓋怎麼了?為什麼他這麼嚴肅?
5. to stick one's neck out 冒著危險。脖子是連接腦袋和身體的重要部位,因此當你把脖子伸出去時也就代表將頭伸出去,這可是很危險的行為。
例: Even though my colleague told me not to put all the eggs in the same basket, I am still willing to stick my neck out. 即使我的同事叫我不要孤注一擲,我還是願意冒這個險。
6. to shoulder 承擔、擔負責任。中國人說「肩負重任」,即肩膀是承載重量與壓力的地方,所以用這個部位來表示「負責」是再適合不過了。
例:As the man of the house, John shoulders all the responsibilities. 身為一家之主,約翰擔負起一切責任。
7. to back someone's up 支持。一個人勢單力薄,但當身後多站了幾個人時,就顯得自信有力量,所以此片語即表示在背後支持某人。
例: I am not afraid of you anymore because I have my family and friends to back me up. 我不再怕你了,因為我有家人和朋友為我撐腰。
8. to elbow 反擊、對抗。在人多的場合裡若想要占有一席之地或往前走去,勢必要用手肘推開或阻擋別人的推擠;英文直接用elbow表示此一動作。
例:Eva had to elbow her way through the crowd of people. 艾娃必須在人群中殺出一條血路。
9. to thumb one's way 搭便車。此片語源於外國人常會在路邊豎起大姆指表示想搭便車,若經過的駕駛人願意載他一程,即可省下交通費到達目的地,只是通常得轉好幾次車。
例:They decided to thumb their way across Europe because hitch-hiking was the cheapest way to go. 他們決定以搭便車的方式旅遊歐洲,因為這是最便宜的方法。
10 .to butt in 插隊。butt是口語化的「屁股」,當一群人在排隊時某人將他的大屁股擠進來,不正是插隊的意思?
例:Everyone hates it when someone butts in a lineup of people. 每個人都很討厭插隊的人。
11. to get cold feet 緊張。有些人緊張時會手腳冰冷、「皮皮挫」,英文即抓住這個特徵發展為一個片語。
例:Every time Mary thinks about standing on the stage to give a lecture, she gets cold feet. 每次瑪麗想到要上台演講,就緊張到不行。
12 .to put one's foot down 堅決、意志堅定。大家是否看過小孩子在要不到東西時會跺腳表示生氣、非要不可?因此片語「把一隻腳放下來」便用來形容「意志堅定」。
例:No matter what you say this time, I put my foot down. 這次不論你說什麼,我都堅持我的立場。
Tea Time
A man phoned his doctor saying his wife appeared to have appendicitis.
"That's impossible," the physician replied. "She had an appendectomy last year. Have you ever seen anybody with a second appendix?"
"No," the husband replied. "Have you ever seen anybody with a second wife?"
* appendicitis 盲腸炎、appendectomy 盲腸切除手術、appendix 盲腸