7、一丝不苟
英文直译: to be meticulous; to attend to every detail
对应英文习语: Dot the i's and cross the t's.
老师常常会叮嘱学生,写字要一笔一划,不得马虎,i上的一点和t上的一横,都要清楚地写上。
之后,dot the i's and cross the t's 就演变为“一丝不苟,细致认真”了。
栗子: Before taking the project to the CEO,
在把项目拿给大boss看之前,
let's make sure we dot the i's and cross the t's.
我们一定要认真仔细,一丝不苟。
8、半途而废
英文直译:to give up halfway; to leave something unfinished
对应英文习语: to throw the towel in
在拳击比赛中,如果教练将毛巾投入赛场内,则表示投降、认输。
Throw the towel in就是主动放弃、认输的意思,和半途而废意义接近。
栗子:After failing to find a job, Susan wanted to throw in the towel,
苏珊没找到工作后,她曾想过放弃,
but she knew she had to keep trying.
但是她知道自己只能不断努力。
9、画蛇添足
英文解释: to ruin the effect by adding something superfluous
对应英文习语: to gild the lily
中文里画蛇添足的成语来自《战国策•齐策二》中一则比赛画蛇的故事。
“把纯金镀上金箔,替纯洁的百合花涂抹粉彩,给紫罗兰的花瓣上浇洒人工的香水,研磨光滑的冰块,或是替彩虹添上一道颜色,
或是企图用微弱的烛火增加那灿烂的太阳的光辉,实在是浪费而可笑的事。”
栗子: For such a beautiful girl to use make-up would be to gild the lily.(对一个这样漂亮的女孩来说,化妆有些画蛇添足。)
10、塞翁失马,焉知非福
英文解释:A setback may turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
对应英文习语: a blessing in disguise; every cloud has a silver lining
“塞翁失马,焉知非福”讲的是祸与福相互转化的故事,它告诉我们要辩证统一地看待事物。
它与英文中a blessing in disguise(隐藏的福气)和every cloud has a silver lining(每片乌云都有一道亮光)意思接近。
栗子:It turned out that losing his job was a blessing in disguise,
他丢了工作但是却因祸得福
because it forced him to start his own company and it was successful.
因为这迫使他自己创业最后取得了成功。
11、对牛弹琴
英文解释: to address the wrong listener
对应英文习语: to cast pearls before swine
各国人民对猪的误解都是惊人的相似。口语中swine多含贬义,可指“遭人鄙视、令人讨厌的人或事物”。
英语俗语cast pearls before swine,意为“对牛弹琴、将珍贵的东西送给不识货者”,此语出自《圣经马太福音》。
栗子:Trying to talk sense to an irrational person is like casting pearls before swine.(跟一个不讲道理的人讲道理无异于对牛弹琴。)