汉语里有势利眼的说法,指那些只知道巴结有钱有势的人,对那些无用的人则不屑一顾的人。英文中也有对应词,叫snob或形容词snobbish,这两个词大家都不陌生。英语里还有一个更加形象的说法,就是fair-weather friend。
Fair-weather 原指好天气,比喻某人正当走运之时。只有在天气晴朗时(别人走运之时)才和人作朋友,天气一变就不再理人家,这样的人不是势利眼又是什么呢?我们来看个例子:
When Joe was rich, everybody in town was his best friend. But after he lost his money, most of them turned out to be fair-weather friends who pretended they didnt even know him. 在Joe富有的时候,镇上的人都是他的亲朋好友,但是好多人一到他穷了就都装作不认识他了。这些人原来都是酒肉朋友。
下面一句话里也用了这个表达法,不过意思有些不同,请看:
They are not fair-weather bikers because they ride their bikes every day cone hell or high water.
其中fair-weather bike 是由fair-weather friend 引申出来的,意即只在天气好时才骑车的人,句中用了否定形式,就是说他们并非那种天气一不好就不敢骑车的人。因此全句译成:他们并不是天气好才骑车,因为无论刮风下雨,他们天天都骑。
句子结尾的come hell or high water 也是一个十分有意思的比喻说法,英文的解释是no matter what happens。既然连地狱和洪水都不怕,世上还有什么可怕的呢?我们来看个例子:Grandfather said he would go to the fair, come hell or high water. 爷爷说无论怎么样,他一定得去集市。
类似这一说法的还有 rain or shine,它类似汉语的天上下刀子也要,例如: The parade will start promptly, rain or shine。不管天气好坏,游行马上就开始。
会毁掉你的谈话的坏习惯
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