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16/11/2006 Everyweek idioms1. One day, I met a friend of mine and asked him, " Have you done your homework of Computation?" He answered, " No no. You know that I'm the kind of a guy who is always under the wire." This idiom means doing things in the last minute or just befor the deadline. We can say "down to the wire" too.
2. "button-down" is usually used to describe a person who is too formal or conservative, especially dressing up very well. Let me show you an example. "Professor Bush is a button-down guy. I know he is nice, but I always feel a kind of distance between us."
3. In this Monday's class, when the professor made a transition from a easier part to a harder part, he said, "Next we're going to discuss some more abstract concepts. Please put up your ears and follow me firmly. " This idiom has the same meaning with pay attention to.
4. "Oh, yesterday was really my bad hair day! " Sophie complained, "First, my cars suddently stopped in the middle of the road and couldn't move any longer. It was very dangeous, you know, I had to call somebody to tow it away." She drank out the left wine in her goblet, "And even worse, after I came home, turned on my computer, accessed the internet, I found that my computer was out of control! When I realized that there must be viruses on my computer, it was late. All the files in My Documents had been ruined!"She said sadly,"My final project was gone. Now I'm back to square one and wondering whether I'm able to finish it before the deadline."a bad hair day means some day on which we have very bad luck, and back to square one means to (have to) redo something all from the start point. 09/11/2006 Everyweek idioms1. Somebody told me that he received complains about his advisor from an undergradute student, "I think the professor doesn't know what to emphasize. He was sort of preaching to the converted that he spent so much time on those simple facts." "preach" means to persuade people to believe in God, and "choir" is a group of people who are singing in the church and who have surely already believed in God. So the idiom "preach to the converted(choir)" means to persuade people to believe things they already believe. 2. Among all the first-year computer science graduate students, one is very very smart! He knows all the basic knowledge in computer science inside out! The idiom "know something inside out" or "know something forwards and backwards" means to have a whole understand or grasp on something. 3. Yesterday I attended the Defensive Driving course. The lecturer first talked about some simple traffic rules and then focused on driving when having a bad mood. She told us one of her stories. One night, upset with her daytime work, she drove home. At a merging crossing, she had to wait for the green light. Just when the light was turning green, a car was approaching on the left-hand lane. She cursed that car to herself, "Dare you get into my road!" But the car totally ignored her priority and got into the bypath without slowdown. She was very angry at that time, and made a lot of noise by pressing the horn ceaselessly. She said, "In this way, I let off my steam. But sometimes this will even promote our emotions and make things worse." "steam" means vapor, "let of steam" means to get rid of strong feelings or energy. 4. Before I came to here, I knew how much I would be paid for my TA job. The payment seemed reasonable, though not high enough :) So I thought I would be rich. But somebody told me at that time, "Don't count the chickens before they are hatched. Taxes are very heavy in US!" Now I have to admit he was right. This proverb advises us not to be too optimistic about our predictions before the real results come out. "count" can be substituted by "catch" in this proverb. 5. "Hand waving" means insubstantial words or actions intended to convince or impress others. So a successful elocutionist often uses proper hand waving. But too much hand waving may probably disperse the attention of audiences and imply lacking of confidence. 26/10/2006 Everyweek idioms1. One of my friends complained to me one day, "Why does he (our teacher of the course Theory of Computation) keep rattling on and on and on and never notice our confusion!". This idiom means to say something nonsense. This course is really very hard, I have to think very very fast so that to just follow the teacher in class but have no time to think more!
2. One major jobs for us TAs are to do the grading. When we found two pieces of homework look very similar to each other, we would say, "Wo wo, something fishy is going on!". So if we say something is fishy, we mean that thing inspires doubts or suspicions.
3. One night, the teacher of CSE110 called us four TAs together to grade the mid-term papers. But before we started to work, we talked gossip for a little while. Then some guy said, "OK, let's stop horsing around and start to work." So the idiom means to indulge in frivolous activities and has strong relations with the word "horseplay". I guess they both sterm from circus performances.
4. In today's English class, my teacher asked each of us to read one paragraph of some material in order to correct our intonations. After I finished my parts and got some suggestion, the teacher wanted to move on to the next one. And he said jokingly, "Well, let's see whom I'll pick on." He smiled by himself but didn't get any responses he expected. So he told us that "pick" and "pick on" are different. "Pick" just means to select, but "pick on" means to tease to bully someone. When I got the meaning of the idiom, I smiled too :) 19/10/2006 Everyweek idioms1. Analysis of Algotithm is one of the most difficult theory course. Fortunately, I don't take it this semester. But I knew that the midterm exam held last week was very hard. A friend of mine who takes the course said to me just before the midterm: "I have a very bad vibe for this midterm because I didn't have enough time to review!". "Bad vibe" means "bad feeling" or "bad omen". "Vibe" is related to "viberation", because several decades ago, many people in US believed that there existed some kind of "brain viberation" which could be used for nonverbal communication.
2. Almost every student in China knows that there are some "funny frictions" between Tsinghua and Beijing University. For example, several student from Tsinghua are on a trip to a place of interest. If one of them lets a piece of tissue fall down on the ground by incaution, others will blame him jokingly:"Don't litter here! Don't paint black us students from Beijing University!" Haha...As we know, Harvard and Standford also depreciate each other. Not only between two colleges, you can find the similar phenomenons in different cultures. For example, after an American says a swearword, he/she may say "excuse my French" to plead for him/herself. And the more interesting thing is that more and more Americans will say this idiom before they say the swearwords.
3. In one class, the teacher asked a student a hard problem. The student seemed embarrassed and was just opening his mouth but didn't know what to say. At that time, the bell rang. Then the teacher said,"OK, you are off the hook." So this idiom means to escape from embarrassed situations or be exempted from blame or a vexatious obligation.
4. When I was a kid, I was very fat. And I got some unpleasant monickers. If I spoke English at that time, then I would say to those guys who were making fun of me, "Don't bust my chops. I'm sick of your calling me like that." See? This idiom means to insult or harass somebody, especially by words. 10/10/2006 Everyweek idioms1. I select two difficult courses this semester. One is Theory of Computation, the other is Advanced Computer Graphics(which will cover the main ideas and conclusions in differential geometry). A guy from Peru also takes these courses. One day I discussed homework 1 of computation with him for such a while. After that, I said, "Let's move on to the homework of graphics." He stopped me at once. "No no no. Please don't rub it in! I've already been very confused and tired!" So I guess this idiom means making the situation become worse. But my English teacher said this was not a good situation for the Peru guy to use this idiom. He gave us a typical situation for the idiom: You know your friend was failed in the exam, and you are still talking about this exam in her face, then you're rubbing it in! Another idiom with similar meaning is "add salt to a wound". I bet every Chinese will wear a smile when reading this idiom, because we have exactly the same expression in Chinese!
2. Yankee is a very famous and stronge baseball team in US. But several days ago, it lost a game. The commentator said on TV, "Heads are gonna roll!" I don't know exactly the meaning of this idiom. The following is cited from a free online dictionary--"something that you say which means people will lose their jobs as punishment for making serious mistakes"
3. "Goose bumps" is a funny idiom. In Chinese, we have a similar expression. But in Chinese, we only feel goose bumps when we are cold or when we are very scared of something. But in English, you can also use it to express your exitement, thought not very often. Can you guess what's it meaning?
4. You may think "teach fish to swim" is a great idiom. Somebody told me that she heard this phrase in TOEFL test. But my English teacher said that he never heard about this idiom. So I think the more native idiom with the same meaning is "teach your grandmother to suck eggs". 04/10/2006 Everyweek idioms1. "We're going to New York City this sunday. Will you join us?" "Yeah, I'm game!" This idiom is pretty easy, meaning "I'm ready" or "I'll do it."
2. I read these sentences from my database textbook: "...We cannot let the tail to wag the dog. It is a little stringent to remove the whole department just because its manager is fired." "wag" means "shake", and very often we see dogs wag their tails. But it is very funny to imagine that the tail wags the dog. So this idiom means that the least important part of a situation has too much influence over the most important part. In Chinese, there are several idioms having the similar meaning, like "本末倒置" and "喧宾夺主". And we can also use it as the following: "in the case of the tail wagging the dog", "This tail can wag the dog."
3. One day I talked with the Indian guy in my apartment. I said, "I haven't been to the New York City. What about you?" He said, "Me neither. But I think all of my friends have been there at least once. The guy coming here to find me last night told me that they had a ball in NYC!" "to have a ball" means to have great fun.
26/09/2006 Everyweek idioms1. Yesterday I happened to hear several Americans sudents talking on the street. One of them said:"The price of gasoline is getting down. You will get more bang from your bucks." "buck" means "dollars", so this idiom means getting more things with less money.
2. One of my friends who journeyed to New Jersey two weeks ago told me a story during the trip. She was at the Jeff Port waiting for the ferry. Then she saw a woman jumping out of the dock and fell into the water. Someone standing beside my friend saw that too and cried out:"She is buck wild!" Here "buck" means "male deer", so this idiom means wild as a male deer.
3. Those who is very good at math or numbers are nicknamed "number crunchers". "crunch" means "chew". This idiom is very vivid, isn't it?
4. "big head" is a commonly used idiom which implies someone who believes that they are very clever or very good at an activity and who thinks that other people should admire them. Americans often say:"She has a big head." or "She is really big-headed.", but not "She is a big head."
5. I'm looking forward to visiting the beaches of long island. It is said that they are beautiful and we can fish crabs there. But it's getting cold. So maybe my wish is just pie in the sky. "pie in the sky" means something good that is unlikely to happen.
6. At the end of today's English class, my teacher said to us:"Those who've got their scores can get out of my face." This idiom means "go away" or "leave right now" and is often used to show angers or impatience. But just as my teacher did, we can use it with gentle intonation to mitigate its aggresiveness. 27/07/2005 Proverbs and Sayings about Dogs (zz)He is a lucky dog. 他是个幸运儿。
lead a dog"s life 过穷困潦倒的日子
not have a dog"s chance 毫无机会
top dog 当权派；头儿
treat sb. like a dog 不把某人当人看
a hunting dog 猎犬
a lazy dog 懒汉
a gay dog 一个快乐的人
a dirty dog 下流坯
dog-days n.[pl.]三伏天, 大热天; 无所作为的时期, 无精打彩的日子
A good dog deserves a good bone.[谚]好狗应该啃好骨头, 有功者受赏。
A living dog is better than a dead lion.[谚]死狮不如活狗。
A staff [stick] is quickly [soon] found to beat a dog with.[谚]欲加之罪, 何患无辞。
An old dog barks not in vain.[谚]老狗不乱吠; 老狗 一吠, 就得小心。
An old dog will learn no new tricks. (=You cannot teach old dogs new tricks.)[谚]老狗学不了新把戏; 老年人很难适应新事物。
as [like] a dog with two tails 非常开心[高兴]
Barking dogs seldom bite.[谚]爱叫的狗 不咬人; 咬人的狗不露齿。
be (old) dog at (a thing) 对...有经验; 对...很内行
Beware of a silent dog and still water.[谚]提防不吠的狗, 小心静止的水。
come like a dog at a whistle 一呼即来
Every dog has his day.[谚]凡人皆有得意日。
Every dog is a lion at home. (Every dog is valiant at his own door.)[谚]狗是百步王, 只在门前凶。
Fight dog, fight bear.[谚]打个青红皂白, 一决雌雄。
Give a dog a bad (an ill) name(and hang him).[谚]一旦给人加一个坏名声, 他就永远洗刷不掉; 人言可畏。
It is ill to waken sleeping dogs. (let sleeping dogs lie; don't wake a sleeping dog.)别多事, 别惹麻烦。
lead a dog's life 过着牛马不如的生活
love me, love my dog.[谚]你若把我当朋友, 也要把我的朋友当朋友; 爱屋及乌。
Scornful(Hungry) dogs will eat dirty puddings.[谚]人到危急时, 平时所不屑做的也要做; 急不暇择, 饥不择食。
teach an old dog new tricks 使守旧的人接受新事物
teach the dog to bark 教狗怎么叫(意指多此一举)
The dog returns to his vomit.狗回头吃自己吐出来的东西; 重犯旧日罪恶 21/07/2005 超烂的英语口语和听力！ Steven教授虽然之前曾来过两次北京，但都没有得到很好的招待。这次来老板说要让他好好玩玩，于是派我领他去颐和园和圆明园。我虽然尽力了，但无奈口语和听力都烂，又让Steven教授失望了，唉~
在长廊本来想给他讲讲西游记的，但是后来发现自己实在没有那个实力，于是就干脆简单说成：“A master with three apprentices went west to fetch Buddhist scripts.”回来一查，发现“经文”应该用lection这个词。之后试着讲了一下“叶公好龙”的故事，似乎表达得还算清楚。看见有人用水在地上写字练书法，我想不起“书法”这个词了，只好说“Handwriting is a particular art in China.”辞不达意，本来对中国书法的自豪感也没传达出来。其实这句话应该这样说：“Chinese calligraphy is a unique art form in the world.”到了石舫，Steven问我这船是用来干嘛的？我说：“Empress Dowager Cixi wants people know her merit, and the marble boat is built to celebrate.”一说起来，时态、不定式、动名词什么的就全乱了，唉，惭愧呀！Steven又紧接着问：“How?”我本来想说，石舫象征庄严(grandeur)、平和(tranquility)、国泰民安，但这几个词的英文全想不起来，只好说“The Marble Boat stands for some kind of spirits.”我估计Steven又晕了~
吃饭的时候，Steven想要pinch juice，我竟然没有反应过来。回来后才想起pinch这个词。单词白背了！
到圆明园Steven的话稍多了些。我指着荷花说“Beautiful lotus!”他说“Today I know what lotus really is.”我就问“Is there no lotus in England?”他说“I'm not sure whether it is lotus. We call it waterlily.Like that.”边说边指了指一朵白色的叶子比较多比较尖的荷花，“I'm just familiar with the word lotus.”然后他开始说Iliad和Odyssey里面的故事，我没听太清楚，大概是这样吧——“...Those guys went to an island on which there was lotus everywhere. They ate the fruits of lotus and they felt very happy and didn't want to leave this island. So in western culture, lotus sort of stands for traps....”听完我才明白，怪不得lotus land有“安乐乡”的意思呢！不知道“乐不思蜀”可不可以翻译成“find out lotus”.
后来在西洋楼景观区，不记得怎么提到欧盟了。Steven似乎对这个话题比较感兴趣。他说：“About two thousand years ago, the Europe got united by war. And then it split into many countries. Today the Europe has been getting united again, firstly through financel or trade.(我赶紧插一句“Peacefully”)I'm happy to see that.”后来又说了一些，我就听不懂，晕菜了。
这次游玩愈发坚定了我的决心，要加紧练口语和听力！嘿哟！ 19/07/2005 圆明园和颐和园相关的英文翻译重点文物保护单位：Key Cultural Relics Protection Site
联合国教科文组织：United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
三山五园 ——
万寿山：Longevity Hill
玉泉山：Jade Spring Hill
香山：Fragrant Hill
清漪园、长春园、圆明园
静明园：Garden of Tranquility and Brightness
静宜园：Garden of Tranquility and Pleasure
圆明园：Garden of Perfection and Brightness (Perfect Splendor)
万春园：Garden of Ten Thousand Springtimes (我自己翻译成Garden of Springs Everywhere，觉得更贴切)
绮春园（长春园）：Garden of Everlasting Spring
万园之园：garden of gardens
英法联军：Anglo-French Allied Armies
八国联军：Eight-Power Allied Forces
四库全书：the Complete Library in the Four Branches of Literature
方壶胜境：the Vista of the Square Teapot
接秀山房：the Green Mountain Hut
廓然大公：Magnanimity of the Seas and Hills
大水法：the Western-Style Builidings (这个最郁闷，翻译得一点特色没有)
颐和园：the Summer Palace (Garden of Nurtured Harmony)
清漪园（颐和园原名）：Garden of Clear Ripples
慈禧太后：Empress Dowager Cixi
佛香阁：Tower of Buddhist Incense
排云殿：Hall of Dispelling Clouds
智慧海：Hall of the Sea of Wisdom
德辉殿：Hall of Moral Glory
谐趣园：Garden of Harmonious Interest
仁寿殿：Hall of Benevolence and Longevity
玉澜堂（光绪住所）：Hall of Jade Ripples
乐寿堂（慈禧住所）：Hall of Joyful Longevity
德和园（戏楼）：Hall of Virtue and Harmony
十七孔桥：Seventeen-Arch Bridge
西堤：Western Banks
石舫：Marble Boat
涵虚馆：Hall of Modesty
长廊：Long Gallery (728m,273 rooms) 11/07/2005 The Arrow And The Song(zz)The Arrow And The Song
by H. W. Longfellow
I shot an arrow in the air, 我向空中射了一箭， It fell to earth, I knew not where; 它已落到地面，我不知道其去向； For so swiftly it flew, the sight 因它飞得如此地快速 Could not follow it in its flight. 视力无法跟得上它的飞驰。 I breathed a song into the air, 我向空中轻歌一曲， Long, long afterward, in an oak 很久，很久以后，在一棵橡树上， 01/06/2005 InterestingAoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltter be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig! |
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