词汇典故 dog.doc

Words and Their Stories:Dog Talk 词汇典故：和狗相关的词汇 Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. 这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故节目。Americans use many expressions with the word dog. People in the United States love their dogs and treat them well. They take their dogs for walks, let them play outside and give them good food and medical care. However, dogs without owners to care for them lead a different kind of life. The expression, to lead a dogs life, describes a person who has an unhappy existence. 美国人使用很多和狗相关的词汇。在美国，人们喜欢狗，也善待它们。他们带狗散步，让它们到户外活动，并给它们提供优质食物与医疗。然而，无人照顾的流浪狗生活就大不一样了。to lead a dogs life就描述了生活不尽如意的一类人。不要看现在的宠物狗娇宠高贵，但还是有为数众多无人照看的流浪狗过着极其悲惨的生活。这一现象也衍生出短语“to lead a dog’s life”，形容人过着贫困潦倒、惨不忍睹的生活。例如：Tom’s been leading a dog’s life since he got divorced. （汤姆自离婚后一直过着混沌潦倒的日子。）Live from hand to mouth家无隔宿粮，现赚现吃” lead a double /simple /healthy/happy/life Some people say we live in a dog-eat-dog world. That means many people are competing for the same things, like good jobs. They say宣称that to be successful, a person has to work like a dog. This means they have to work very, very hard. Such hard work can make people dog-tired. And, the situation would be even worse if they became sick as a dog. 有人说，我们生活在一个竞争激烈的世界（dog-eat-dog world）。很多人竞争同一样东西，例如好工作。他们称，一个人想要成功就得拼命工作（work like a dog）。如此坚辛的工作使人疲惫不堪（dog-tired）。形容累的表达有很多比：. Im dead tired. 我累死了. Im exhausted. 我很累。Im worn out. 我已经筋疲力尽了。.同时 ，如果他们病得厉害（sick as a dog），情况会更糟。狗向来被认为是温顺友好的动物。正因为如此，“dog eat dog”才显得更加残酷。一个能让 “狗吃狗”的世界，可想而知是一个竞争多么激烈、残酷无情的世界。“dog-eat-dog world”就是形容冷酷无情的竞争世界。 汉语中形容一个人努力工作，多数用牛、马来比喻，英文则用狗来表示。短语“work like a dog”指一个人努力、卖命地工作。 “dog-tired”这个词相当形象地把筋疲力尽、累到快要趴下的神态勾勒了出来。想象一下狗在疲劳的时候伸舌头、趴瘫在地上的可爱模样，“dog-tired”形容的情景跃然纸上。 养狗的朋友都知道，狗一旦吃错了东西，反应是很激烈的。短语“sick as a dog” (病得十分严重 )正是从这个典故发展而来，表示病得很严重。这里所指的“病”，倾向于进食引起的病症，如胃痛、呕吐等等。 Still, people say every dog has its day. This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life. To be successful, people often have to learn new skills. Yet, some pe