英文谚语和西方文化一起学
(5) There is no smoke without fire.
无风不起浪，有水才行船。任何事情的发生都是有前兆的，
“
流言
”
的兴起有时也不完全是无中生有。虽然说是
“
坐得船头稳，不怕浪来颠
”(
相似的西谚是
"Do right and fear no man")
但风起于青萍之末，一只蝴蝶扇动翅膀就可能引起大洋彼岸的一场大风暴。做人、谋事，谨慎为佳。
e.g. "No smoke without fire, "sad the detective.
"Smoke signals can be misread," countered Sloan.
(6) Every dog has its day.
这里的
day
是指
opportunities
，即成功的机会；而
dog
则泛指那些地位低下、似乎没有出息的人。
“
士别三日，当刮目相看
”
，落魄的人若发奋图强，总会有出头之日。
(
又作
All dogs have their days)
e.g. You must not look down upon him.Though poor and gloomy. He could turn out to be outstanding one day. As the saying goes, every dog has its day.
(7) If you lie down with dogs, you win get up with fIeas.
这是一句很经典的谚语，也就是我们中文里说的
“
近朱者赤，近墨者黑
”
。在这条英文谚语中体现出来的只是
“
近墨者黑
”
的一面。虽然中文里还有成语
“
出污泥而不染
”
一说，但环境对于人的影响仍然不可小觑。
e.g. Harry! How come you're back so late? Where have you been?
--Just to a friend's.
--To a friend. Just for a glass of liquor, huh? You're going to be drowned in 1iquor. I'd say! If you lie down with dogs, you'll get up to End yourself with millions of fleas!
(8) It is easy to find a stick to beat a dog.
人非圣贤，孰能无过。人们总会犯一些错误，也许做者无心但观者有意。有些小人，自己抱残守缺，不干实事，却挖空心思，找别人的缺点和麻烦。欲加之罪，何患无辞？
e.g.
--Did you know that Jeff's been fired?
--No. What for?
--Jeff sometimes had ideas different from our boss's.
--Yeah, but Jeff hasn't done anything wrong, has he?
--Well, boss is boss. It is always easy to find a stick to beat a dog.
(9) You can't teach old dogs new tricks.
这句谚语说的是：人老了思想容易僵化，对新生事物很难接受。
e.g. Don't forget Wang is already 80.At his age, you can't expect him to learn the tap dance. You can't teach old dogs new tricks, you Mow.
从以上的几则谚语我们可以观察到中西文化的一个有趣的区别。西方人经常用狗来比喻人，如， lucky dog( 幸运儿 ) ，因为他们并不歧视狗。而在汉语中，有不少涉及狗的谚语和成语都是贬义的，如 “ 狗改不了吃屎 ” 、 “ 挂羊头卖狗肉 ” 、 “ 狗仗人势 ” 、 “ 狗嘴里吐不出象牙 ” 等。当然，英文中 dog 一词有时也带有贬义，但往往含义与中文不尽相同，我们使用时切忌望文生义。如 It is a dog's life Chris is leading. 某位教授认为 “a dog's life” 的意思是 “ 悲惨的生活 ” ，因而在一篇论及中英文化差别的文章中将其译成 “ 过着牛马不如的生活
责任编辑:joyyy
