盤點(diǎn)與“喵星人”有關(guān)的英文慣用語

1. Cats hide their claws.

“貓藏利爪而不露”，意思是，告誡那些與人交往毫無戒備之心的人，意思與“知人知面不知心”差不多。

2. The cat shuts its eyes when stealing cream.

這一句是嘲笑那些掩耳盜鈴者。(貓咪喜歡偷奶油嗎?這好像是老鼠喜歡做的事情哦。)

3. The cat did it.

做錯了事情，用“這是貓干的”來推卸責(zé)任。可能是因?yàn)樨堖湎矚g到處亂跑吧，難免會造成一點(diǎn)小亂子啦!

4. When the cat's away, the mice will play.

貓是老鼠的天敵。沒有貓，老鼠就會肆意妄為。在中世紀(jì)的歐洲，基督教徒曾認(rèn)定貓是魔鬼附身的動物，數(shù)以萬計(jì)的貓因此被處死。不料，貓的厄運(yùn)招致老鼠的猖獗。很快，鼠害成災(zāi)，黑死病一波接一波的橫掃歐洲大陸。這段慘痛的歷史教訓(xùn)充分證明“貍貓不在，老鼠鬧債”——When the cat's away, the mice will play.

類似諺語也出現(xiàn)在其他歐洲語言中。在法國，人們說“只要貓上了房，老鼠就在地上忙”——When the cat runs on the roofs, the mice dance on the floors.

德國人則說“家里沒了貓，老鼠伸懶腰”——Cat outside the house, response for the mouse。

5. A cat may look at a king.

“貓也可以傲視國王”，意思是，“既然貓都可以傲視國王，那么人人平等更是理所當(dāng)然，小小老百姓也應(yīng)該有說話的權(quán)利。”這一成語來源于德國。據(jù)說16世紀(jì)巴伐利亞國王馬克西米利安一世曾造訪一家木雕作坊。作坊主的貓一直懶洋洋地臥在桌上看著這個國王，臉上滿是猜疑的神情。這只貓能肯定想不到，一句諺語會因它而生——“貓也能傲視皇帝”(Darf doch die Katze den Kaiser ansehen. "Even a cat may look at an Emperor.")。到了法國，這句話成了“狗也能傲視主教”(Un chien regarde bien un eveque. "Even a dog may look at a bishop.")

6. A cat has nine lives.

英語國家的人相信，貓這種動物命大，福大，造化大。2001年，美洲動物醫(yī)療協(xié)會雜志刊登過一份研究報告，研究人員調(diào)查了132起貓從高空墜地的事件，墜地的平均高度是六層樓，結(jié)果百分之九十的貓墜地后都存活下來了。它們在空中靈活地翻轉(zhuǎn)身體，四肢著地，爪子上的肉墊大大緩解了墜地時的沖力。古人對此肯定也有所了解，認(rèn)為“貓有九條命”(A cat has nine lives。)。下面這段故事講一條名叫“船長”的小獵狗如何命大，就以“貓有九條命”做對照：

Mischief was Captain's middle name. One time, I remember he decided to take a look at the roof of the conservatory. Portly little Captain found his way out on to the roof much to Mr Woolley's dismay. He then followed in the Captain's foot-step, or should I say paw prints, in order to rescue his poor hound. Unfortunately Mr Woolley slipped and spent the next a few days unconscious in hospital. But Captain was fine. Talk about a cat's nine lives!

7. He's like a cat; fling him which way you will. He'll light on his legs.

貓之所以摔不死，是因?yàn)樗鼈兏叱闹乇绢I(lǐng)。過去形容一個人大難不死或逢兇化吉，就說“他像一只貓，不管怎么扔，都會以腿著地”(He's like a cat; fling him which way you will. He'll light on his legs。)。

8. There are more ways of killing a cat than by choking it with cream.

“殺貓的方法很多，不必非用奶油嗆死它”，有點(diǎn)類似于中國的“不要非在一棵樹上吊死”。