VOA慢速英語(yǔ):Don't Take a Cat Nap! This Story's the Cat's Meow!

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

Cats are the most popular pets among Americans. So it is not surprising that there are many expressions about cats. Some cats like to catch small birds, like canaries. If someone looks very proud or satisfied with himself, we say he looks like the cat that ate the canary.

● 中文形容一個(gè)人因?yàn)檫_(dá)到某種心愿而有點(diǎn)臭美、心滿意足的樣子,可以用“偷腥的貓”這個(gè)表達(dá)。英語(yǔ)也有類似的說(shuō)法，即“like the cat that ate the canary”。這個(gè)短語(yǔ)形象描繪了貓打開(kāi)鳥籠子，掏出里面的金絲雀吃了之后滿足的樣子。這個(gè)短語(yǔ)調(diào)侃意味較濃，較常運(yùn)用于口語(yǔ)之中。

Sometimes, a cat likes to play with a small animal it catches.

So if you play cat and mouse with someone, you change between different kinds of behavior when dealing with another person. For example, a child might offer something sweet to her little brother and then take it away when he reaches for it.

● 不知大家是否見(jiàn)過(guò)貓玩弄老鼠的情形?通常來(lái)說(shuō),，不會(huì)馬上把老鼠弄死，而是抓了又放放了又抓,不，斷地玩弄它。因此,短語(yǔ)“play cat and mouse with someone”就表示捉弄某人、對(duì)某人欲擒故縱的意思。例如:I know what you are up to. Don’t play cat and mouse with me!(我知道你會(huì)這么做的,別再捉弄我了!)

A cat will often catch a small animal and present it to its owner. The saying that looks like something the cat dragged in describes something in bad condition.

● 貓通常會(huì)叼些破爛或抓些小動(dòng)物回來(lái)，因此that looks like something the cat dragged in 是指處于糟糕狀況的事物。當(dāng)有人說(shuō)你“look like something the cat dragged in”，即是指你外表凌亂，骯臟不堪。如:You can’t possibly go to school like that—you look like something the cat dragged in!(你不能這個(gè)樣子去上學(xué)——你看你全身邋里邋遢的。)

Two old and funny expressions describe something that is the best or finest. Americans might say that something is the cat’s meow and the cat’s pajamas.

● “the cat’s meow”和“the cat’s pajamas”都表示不同凡響的、極好的人或物，兩者都大有典故。一般來(lái)說(shuō)，當(dāng)貓很高興或看到好東西的時(shí)候，它都會(huì)喵喵叫，因此“the cat’s meow”不難理解。而“the cat’s pajamas”便不是直譯過(guò)來(lái)的“貓的睡袍”的意思了。其實(shí)這個(gè)短語(yǔ)起源于20世紀(jì)20年代，那個(gè)時(shí)候pajamas(睡袍)是相當(dāng)時(shí)尚的東西，因此愛(ài)貓的英美人就用“the cat’s pajamas”來(lái)形容那些緊跟潮流、與眾不同的事物。

Children might call a child who is easily frightened a fraidy cat or a scaredy cat. A copycat is someone who acts just like someone else or copies another person’s work. A fat catis a person with a lot of money.

● 很多短語(yǔ)都用貓來(lái)形容某一類人：比如：“a fraidy cat”和“a scaredy cat”表示膽小鬼;“a copycat”表示模仿者，抄襲者;而“a fat cat”則指大亨、闊佬， 一般都帶有一些貶低的意味。

You may have known that cats spend most of their time sleeping. Sometimes people sleep for a short time during the day. This is called a cat nap.

● 我們常看到貓?jiān)诎滋炖飸醒笱笈恐X(jué)貓嗜睡是出了名的。因此,“，a cat nap”就是指日間小憩，午睡。

If you tell about something that was supposed to be a secret, we say you let the cat out of the bag. If you are not able to speak or answer a question someone might ask if the cat has got your tongue.

● to let the cat out of the bag。從字面上來(lái)解釋，to let the cat out of the bag的意思是：讓那只貓從口袋里出來(lái)。但是，它的實(shí)際意思是：在不小心的情況下瀉露了秘密。這個(gè)短語(yǔ)傾向于指秘密是無(wú)意中被泄露的，而這個(gè)秘密往往是重要而關(guān)鍵的。 “The cat has got your tongue.”直譯成“貓咬了你的舌頭”似乎有些莫名其妙,它其實(shí)表示“瞬間說(shuō)不出話來(lái),不知道說(shuō)什么好”的意思。這個(gè)短語(yǔ)如今被廣泛地使用,但關(guān)于它的出處卻沒(méi)有一個(gè)統(tǒng)一的說(shuō)法。有一個(gè)說(shuō)法是,在中東,作為一種懲罰的方式,人們會(huì)把說(shuō)謊者的舌頭割掉去喂貓;而另外一個(gè)比較靠譜的說(shuō)法則是,中世紀(jì)時(shí),巫師這一職業(yè)被視為邪惡的象征,通常會(huì)被處死。所以,如果一個(gè)巫師被人發(fā)現(xiàn),他就會(huì)派他的貓出去咬斷這個(gè)人的舌頭,讓他不能說(shuō)話。

Have you ever watched children in a classroom when their teacher leaves for a few minutes? When the cat’s away, the mice will play means people sometimes misbehave when there is no supervision.

● “When the cat’s away, the mice will play.”貓兒不在,老鼠成精(大王外出, 小鬼跳粱)。 意指在人們?cè)谌狈ΡO(jiān)督時(shí)，有時(shí)會(huì)行為不當(dāng)，胡作非為。

You may have heard this expression: curiosity killed the cat. This means being too concerned about things that are not your business might cause problems.

● 說(shuō)起“好奇殺死貓”,許多讀者應(yīng)該馬上就聯(lián)想到劉嘉玲、胡軍聯(lián)袂出演的同名電影。其實(shí)這句話來(lái)源于1912年尤金·奧尼爾所寫劇本中的一句臺(tái)詞:Curiosity killed the cat. Satisfaction brought him back. 傳說(shuō)中有九條命的貓都會(huì)因?yàn)楹闷嫘亩?更何況人呢?這句話實(shí)際上是告誡人們應(yīng)該適可而止,不應(yīng)該過(guò)分好奇。

If your home is very small, you might say there is not enough room to swing a cat. But you probably should not try this at home!

● “There is not enough room to swing a cat.”的意思不難理解,連貓都難以行走,說(shuō)明空間之狹小,根本沒(méi)有轉(zhuǎn)身的余地。

If you ever had cats as pets, you know it is difficult to train them or to get them to do something. Cats are not like sheep or cows that can be moved in a group. So we say a difficult or impossible job is like herding cats.

● 貓是以喜歡自由出名的，向來(lái)不喜歡被馴服，因此要馴服一只貓絕非易事。如果做什么事情“like herding cats”，那說(shuō)明這件事有極大難度，很難做到。比如說(shuō)，南加州大學(xué)的校長(zhǎng)就曾說(shuō)過(guò)這句話：Managing people is like herding cats.(管理人簡(jiǎn)直難于登天。)

We leave you with a song from the musical play, "Cats."

(MUSIC)

This VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES was written by Shelley Gollust. I’m Faith Lapidus.