每日五句（大本营） 大本营

Sylvia_scj

2008年3月25日

Don't bite off more than you can chew.
贪多嚼不烂。

His behavior left a bad taste in my mouth.
他的行为给我留下了很糟糕的印象。

Let sleeping dogs lie.
别自找麻烦。

Keep your chin up!
鼓起勇气来，别放弃！

It's all the rage these days.
如今这个很风行。

Sylvia_scj

Variety is the spice of life.
多彩的生活才有情趣。

That worker's not worth his salt.
那个工人不称职。
He must be a terrible worker. We usually say that if somebody is not pulling his own weight. 'Worth his salt' actually comes from the ancient Roman times or maybe even before that when people used salt like money. If you were a worker and worked as a miner or something, they would pay you in salt and you could buy other things through salt. So if you are not worth your salt, you are not worth the money they are paying you. You are not earning your keep. So that means you are not working hard enough or you are not doing your job. If somebody is doing his job or maybe even going the extra mile, you might say he is worth his weight in gold. And that's the opposite.

I feel like a million dollars.
我感觉棒极了。
You might also hear: I feel like a million bucks. Either one can mean you feel great. Of course a million dollars doesn't have any feelings. But, if you had a million dollars or somebody gave you a million dollars, you certainly would feel great. That's what this expression comes from. And you might also hear: you look like a million dollars. That might mean you are wearing a fantastic suit or very elegant dress. And it also might mean you look very healthy; you look vibrant; your skin is glowing; and you look like the perfect picture of health.

This problem is a real monkey on my back.
这个问题真让我头疼。

That really fits the bill.
那正合我意。
You found something exactly what you had in mind. It's perfectly suitable for whatever you are doing. For example, on a Friday night, if you had a long week at work, maybe you don't want to go out and drink or party or go dancing. Now, someone suggests, "Hey, let's have a quiet dinner, a nice movie and go home for sleep." You would say, "Oh! That fits the bill." Or, you are looking for a cellphone, a new cellphone that does everything you want it to do. It not only sends voice messages, but also sends text messages, or even sends pictures, you would say: The new cellphone really fits the bill. It does exactly what I needed it to do.

Sylvia_scj

It has stood the test of time.
它经受住了时间的考验。
This is the sentence you could say about Notre Dame de Paris, because it has already stood for 750 years. It has seen two World Wars and the French Revolution. It's not destroyed. And over the years, it still remains as the symbol not only of French and European history and culture, but of the special place you want to go, even there are many taller and more splendid churches around the world today. Another example: In western schools, people still learn Shakespeare. Many people still read Shakespeare, still love Shakespeare. They make movies out of his plays; they put on his plays: we can say Shakespeare's works have stood the test of time.


Fortune favors the brave.
好运眷顾勇者。
If you are brave enough to pursue what you want, to pursue your dreams, your hopes and your wishes, maybe you will be rewarded in the end. At least, people who try to go for their dreams will be rewarded more so than people who are too timid or think hard to do so. Originally, fortune was Fortuna, the goddess of fortune. She will favor you if you are brave. People who are timid will not earn the favor of fortune.

He was at his wits' end.
他已经黔驴技穷了。(不知所措)
Sometimes we also hear that someone is at the end of his rope. He doesn't know what to do; he doesn't know what's going on. Your wits are your keen sense of judgement, your smarts, your ability to think and to react – those are your wits. And suddenly you don't know how to think anymore: you are at your wits' end. If you are at your wits' end about learning English, you'd better join tingroom.com, because she can certainly help you out.

That did the trick.
那很管用噢！
We are not talking about a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat. We are talking about something that really works well for a particular situation. It's exactly what you needed in that circumstance. Maybe you have an engine trouble with your car, you could spend a lot of money on fixing it, or maybe you just need a little solution, a five dollar solution for fixing your car, and if it works, you can say: that did the trick. And it could even be simple as you sitting in an uneven chair, what you could do is to take a piece of paper, fold it ten times, and put it under one of the chair legs, then suddenly your chair is stable. So, that did the trick.

He's swimming against the stream.
他并不随波逐流。
While you do that, you are gonna have a hard time. It sounds like a salmon. Why do salmons swim against the stream? Well, when salmons are out in the sea, they feel the call of nature to go back to the place where they were born, the very birth place, the pond of water where they are originated. To get there, they have to swim against the stream, they can't swim with the flow of water, and that's usually a long and arduous journey. We are not talking of salmon here, but the feelings are kind of the same. We have another expression in English: we say 'go with the stream', which means to do what everyone is doing. And if you don't want to do that, if that goes against everything you believe, you will be a person who swims against the stream: you have your own ideas.

Sylvia_scj

She set him straight.
她纠正了他的言/行.

She was sawing logs all night.
她整晚都在打呼噜。

Talk is cheap.
说得倒轻巧。/别光说不练。

He gave her a snow job.
他花言巧语地欺骗了她。

It was a labor of love.
那是心甘情愿做的事。


[ 本帖最后由 Sylvia_scj 于 2008-3-30 12:27 PM 编辑 ]

Sylvia_scj

He was wet behind the ears.
他太“嫩”了 。

Ignorance is bliss.
难得糊涂。

He's not afraid to speak his mind.
他总是直言不讳。

What are you driving at?
你到底想要说什么/是什么意思？

He showed his true colors.
他露出了真面目。

Sylvia_scj

The first step is the hardest.
万事开头难。

Her enthusiasm rubbed off on him.
她的热情感染了他。

They played it just for kicks.
他们那样做只是为了刺激/好玩。

He took it with a grain of salt.
他对此持保留态度。

Don't spread yourself too thin.
别让过多的事情分散了你的精力。

DZ

I only want to say "thank you,dear"

Sylvia_scj

Thank you for your support.

Sylvia_scj

A sucker is born every minute.
总有傻瓜会去上这样的当。

The company blazed a trail in designing software.
这个公司是软件设计业的开路先锋。

They couldn't make head or tail of it.
他们搞不清楚那到底是怎么一回事。

He's fishing for an invitation.
他拐弯抹角地想让别人主动邀请他。
Sylvia put on a new outfit and said to DZ, "Oh, I look fat."
DZ said,"No, you don't look fat; you look fantastic."
See, this was how Sylvia fished for compliment.

He made short work of his opponent.
他干净利落地把对手给解决了。
There is another meaning of "make short work of" which is "finish sth. in very short time."
For example: The girl made short work of the book Jane Eyre.
Oh, that's definitely not me. I think it would take several months for me to finish that book.

Sylvia_scj

He signed his own death warrant.
他这是在找死。

Shape up or ship out.
要么好好干，要么走人。

She couldn't tear herself away(from sth./sb.).
她无法割舍/舍弃...

He wasn't sure how the news would go over.
他不知道人家听了这消息会有什么反应。

Some like it hot.
有些人就是喜欢来点刺激的。

Sylvia_scj

The project never got off the ground.
那项计划根本就没有能够得以实施。

She put her best foot forward.
她一开始就全力以赴。

You are what you eat.
你吃什么就像什么。

He made a big stink about it.
他小题大做/无事生非。

Do it on your own time.
用你自己的时间去做/别占用别人的时间。

Sylvia_scj

His ship has come in.
他发了。

He has a (very) sharp tongue.
他反应敏捷、言词犀利。

We should give them a dose of their own medicine.
对于他们，我们应该以牙还牙。

It did a fat lot of good.
那一点好处都没有。

They made little of their achievements.
对待自身的成就他们非常谦虚。

Sylvia_scj

We really took a bath on that one.
我们在那上面损失惨重。

They're off the hook.
他们从麻烦/困境中脱身了。

There's light at the end of the tunnel.
历尽艰辛后总是能够看到希望的。

Home is where the heart is.
家是心之所向。

She married without the knowledge of her parents.
她没告诉父母就私下结婚了。

Sylvia_scj

We heard it from Mr. such and such.
我们是从某某先生那儿听到的。

I heard a strange sound in the dead of night.
我在半夜三更听到一个奇怪的声音。

He has risen to the present position by leaps and bounds.
他很快地晋升到现在的位置。

He studied hard with an eye to passing the examination.
为了通过那次考试，他学习很用功。

The rising generation has different ideas.
年轻人有不同的想法。

Sylvia_scj

He often played hooky from school.
他经常逃学。

He offered me some money in token of gratitude.
他给了我一些钱以示感激。

You must turn over a new leaf and work as hard as possible.
你必须洗心革面，竭尽全力地努力工作。

I'll never do anything by halves.
我做任何事决不半途而废。

I drink to your health.
祝你健康。

Sylvia_scj

He built castles in the air all day and did nothing else.
他整天不干别的，只是空想。

He is on the point of starting out for Canada.
他正要动身去加拿大。

He is well-known both at home and abroad.
他享誉国内外。

I have enjoyed myself to the max.
我过得十分快乐。

I shall be only too glad to come.
我非常乐意参加。

Sylvia_scj

He turned a deaf ear to my advice.
他不听我的忠告。

That leaves no room for doubt.
那是毋庸质疑的。

Your plan leaves nothing to be desired.
你的计划是完美无缺的。

When reading the letter, he read between the lines.
看信时，他读出了言外之意。

You must not impose on his good nature from time to time.
你不应时不时地利用他的好脾气。

DZ

这些资料都是原创吗?

Sylvia_scj

I copied them down from some books.

[ 本帖最后由 Sylvia_scj 于 2008-4-9 10:27 AM 编辑 ]

Sylvia_scj

Reading is to the mind as food is to the body.
读书之于心灵如同食物之于身体。

I can make nothing of what you say.
我不明白你所说的。

She took to drinking beer.
她喝啤酒上瘾了。

He takes after his father in appearance.
他长得象他父亲。

Diligence pays in the long run.
勤勉最终一定会得到回报。