英语巴士网

地道美语表达——我惹不起还躲不起吗?

分类: 实用英语 

我们常说一句口头禅叫“我惹不起还躲不起吗?”这让我想起英文中一个很实用的表达:ward off, 它的意思是“避开某人某物”。

Some people use insect repellents to ward off mosquitoes in summer.

(译文:在夏天,许多人用杀虫剂来避蚊子。)

片语ward off something中的ward本来意思是“保护、防守”,从字面上看,这个片语意思是指“因为离开(off)而起来保护作用”,所以含有避开某物而得到保护,使之不受伤害的意思,我们常直译为:“避开某物或某人。”To ward off something means to do something to try to protect yourself from something bad, such as illness, danger, or attack. 大家都知道,手是最容易滋生细菌的地方,医生常告诉我们要常洗手,从而避开疾病的侵袭,看看下面的句子是如何说的:

Many doctors advised washing my hands often to ward off many types of illness.

(译文:许多医生建议我多洗手来避开多种疾病。)

棒球运动是一项很有观赏价值的运动项目,人们常常为选手打出了一支全垒打而欢呼雀跃。这又让我想起了英文中的另一个片语hit a home run, 它的意思就是“打出了一支全垒打。”比如:

I like to play baseball game at the park! I always hit a home run!

(译文:我喜欢打棒球,我总是打出一去全垒打!)

在棒球比赛中,我们常常听到解说员大声说hit a home run这个片语,它指a long hit in baseball which allows the player who hits the ball to run around all the bases and get a point. 但在某些时候,人们也常用它来表示某人做事做得很出色。If people say that you hit a home run, it means you did a good job in the kinds of fields. For example:

You hit a home run with your idea to merge a small company. Our boss really appreciated it.

(译文:你做得非常好,我们的老板很欣赏你提出的合并一家小公司的主意。)

结束语:今天我们学习了两个片语:第一个是ward off something, 它的意思是“避开某事”,暗含有因为避开而使自己得到保护的意思。第二个片语来自棒球运动,hit a home run的意思是“打出了一支全垒打”,比喻做事做得很出色,也写作hit a homer or have a home run.

猜你喜欢

推荐栏目