连美国人都不知道的英语秘密
下面是最近在美国流传很广的一篇文章,介绍了许多连美国人都不知道的英语秘密。翻译完拿来和大家一起分享:
SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW EVERYTHING?
你以为你什么都知道吗?
"Stewardesses" is the longest word typed with only the left hand and "lollipop" with your right.
Stewardesses(空中小姐)是仅用左手即可在键盘输入全部字母的最长的英文单词,"lollipop"(棒棒糖)是右手中最长的。
No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.
英语中没有与 month, orange, silver, 或 purple 押韵的单词。
"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".
"Dreamt" 是英语中唯一以 "mt" 作为结尾的单词。
The sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter of the alphabet.
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. 是能够用齐英语中的全部26个字母的句子。
The words 'racecar,' 'kayak' and 'level' are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes).
单词 "racecar," "kayak" 和 "level" 无论从左拼还是从右拼都一样。(回文)
There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.
英语中仅有四个单词是以 "dous" 结尾的:tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous。
There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: "abstemious" and "facetious."
英语中仅有两个单词里面包含的元音字母是按顺序写出的:"abstemious" 和 "facetious"。
TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.
TYPEWRITER 是仅用键盘的一行就可以输入的最长的单词。
Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.
Maine(缅因州)是美国唯一一个只有一个音节的州。
All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill.
5美元钞票背面的林肯纪念堂图案上列出了所有50个州的名字。
A dime has 118 ridges around the edge.
一角硬币边缘共有118个齿纹。
There are more chickens than people in the world.
地球上鸡比人还要多。
A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.
猫的每只耳朵有32块肌肉。
A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.
金鱼的记忆广度有三秒钟之多。
A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.
鲨鱼是唯一可以双眼眨眼的鱼。
A snail can sleep for three years.
蜗牛一次睡眠可以长达三年。
An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
鸵鸟的眼睛比自己的脑袋还要大。
Almonds are a member of the peach family.
杏仁按植物分类学不是杏,而是桃属中扁桃亚属的植物。
Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.
婴儿出生时没有膝盖骨,到2至6岁时才长出来。
February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.
1865年的2月份是历史记载中唯一没有满月的一个月。
The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid.
1932年的冬天冷到尼亚加拉瀑布都完成冻冰。
In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.
最近的4000年里没有新动物再被驯化过。
If the population of China walked past you, 8 abreast, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.
如果让所有的中国人按8个一排并肩从你身边经过,你将永远不会看到尽头,因为他们的生长率会使人数连绵不绝。
If you are an average American, in your whole life, you will spend an average of 6 months waiting at red lights.
如果你是个普通美国人,你一生中将有6个月时间是在等待红灯中度过的。
Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.
达芬奇发明了剪刀。
Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.
黑社会大亨阿尔卡邦(Al Capone)名片上写的是旧家具商。
On a Canadian two dollar bill, the flag flying over the Parliament building is an American flag.
加拿大的2元钞票上,国会大楼上飘扬的旗是美国国旗。
Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite!
花生是的成分之一。
Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.
橡胶带冷却时会更耐用。
The cruise liner, QE2, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.
伊丽莎白2号游船消耗一加仑柴油才能前进6英寸。
A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.
"jiffy"(瞬间)是一个的确被使用的时间单位,表示1%秒。
The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
微波是一位科学家在经过电波探测管时发现口袋中的巧克力溶化后发现的。
The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.
一般人在打字时左手会承担56%的工作量。
Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.
丘吉尔出生在一个舞会的女厕所里。
Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
我们的眼睛与出生时是同样大小的,而鼻子却从出生开始就不断长大。
Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
女人眨眼是男人的两倍。
Now you know everything!
现在你全知道了