零碎的小摆设
1. odds and ends 零星杂物
这个习惯用语的意思是各色各样的小东西的组合。你不必费神去个别的定个名字,它是一个集合名称。这个习惯用语的形成大约已经有五百年的历史了,最初只是odds和ends这两个字,当时指的是做衣服剩下来的零碎布料和布条。后来大约到了1750年的时候,这两个字中间多了一个连接词and,于是就变成今天我们习惯使用的odds and ends。我们来举个例子说明这个习惯用语是怎么用的。
汤姆的爷爷最近不幸去世了。汤姆整理他爷爷生前保存多年的箱子时发现了许许多多零星杂物。汤姆说:
例句-1:I have never seen so many odds and ends, faded photos of men in World War I unifroms, young women in long dresses, and old automobiles dated 1910. All sorts of odds and ends that told our family history for almost a 100 years.
我从来没有看过那么多的零星杂物。有穿着第一次世界大战时军服的军人照片、有穿着长可拖地服装的妇女照片、还有1910年出厂汽车的照片。这些各色各样的零星杂物叙述了我们家族近百年来的历史。
2. knick knack 小摆设;装饰品
这个习惯用语也有五百年历史了。它也是指一些小东西,主要是指摆在桌子上展示的装饰品。汤姆这又为我们举了个例子来说明这个习惯用语的用法。汤姆上个月回到波士顿去探望他的姑妈。他在姑妈的房子里看到了好些东西。他说:
例句-2:Aunt Alice had more knick knacks around her home than I have ever seen before, things like a little model of the Statute of Liberty from her first visit to New York and a 1960 button saying Kennedy for President.
我从来还没有看见过像Alice姑妈家里那么多的小摆设,像她头一次逛纽约时买的小自由女神塑象,还有1960年肯尼迪竞选总统的时候,人们为他助选别在身上印着选肯尼迪当总统几个字的小徽章等等。
3. bric-a-brac 小摆设;小古董
前面两个习惯用语都有五百年的历史了,也都是源于英语。这个bric-a-brac是来自法语。它原来的意思是指精神不正常或者是精神错乱。不过它今天已经演变成和前面那个knick knack的意思相近。Bric-a-brac是专指摆在家里具有纪念性、特别有感情价值的小装饰品。在下面这个句子里我们就可以了解汤姆为什么把一把旧的银色小刀摆在最心爱的椅子旁边的桌子上展示。
例句-3:That piece of bric-a-brac is a knife that belonged to my dad. He carried it for sixity years. I keep it to remember all the good times that we had together when I was a boy, (times that) he took me fishing and camping and taught me how to play baseball.
那个小摆设原来是属于我爸爸的小刀,他带在身上六十年,我留着它就是让我回想起我们父子共同度过的美好时光。我小的时候他带我去钓鱼、露营、教我打棒球。
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