“馬”的故事

何苗

There are many expressions with the word “horse”. In the past， many people depended on horses for transportation， farming and other kinds of work. A lot of people still like to ride horses. And， horse racing is also popular. So it is not surprising that Americans still use expressions about the horse. So today， lets start with the word “horse”.

語言中有很多表達(dá)包含“馬”這個(gè)詞。過去，人們依靠馬作為交通、農(nóng)耕等的工具?，F(xiàn)在很多人也很喜歡騎馬。賽馬同樣也很流行。所以美國人現(xiàn)在還在用關(guān)于馬的短語一點(diǎn)也不奇怪。今天我們就來說一說“馬”這個(gè)詞。

Long ago， people who were rich or important rode horses that were very tall. Today， if a girl acts like she is better than everyone else， you might say she should get off her high horse.

很久以前，非富即貴的人總騎著高頭大馬?，F(xiàn)在，如果一個(gè)女孩表現(xiàn)出認(rèn)為自己比別人都強(qiáng)的樣子，你會(huì)說她不應(yīng)該趾高氣昂，藐視他人。

Yesterday my children wanted me to take them to the playground. But I had to finish my work， so I told them to hold their horses， and wait until I finish what I am doing. My two boys like to compete against each other and play in a violent （暴力的） way. I always tell them to stop horsing around or someone could get hurt or get a charley horse.

昨天我的孩子想讓我?guī)麄內(nèi)ビ螛穲?。但我必須完成工作，所以我就告訴他們?nèi)棠鸵幌?，等我做完了工作就去。我的兩個(gè)兒子喜歡相互競爭，總是玩暴力的游戲。我總是叫他們停止胡鬧，不然會(huì)受傷或者肌肉抽筋。

We live in a small town. It does not have any exciting activities to offer visitors. My children call it a one-horse town. But thanks to the pony （小馬） express， people can get more information from the world outside.

我們住在一個(gè)鄉(xiāng)村小鎮(zhèn)上，那沒有供游客可玩的刺激游戲。孩子們管它叫落后的小鎮(zhèn)。但是多虧了郵遞服務(wù)，人們可以從外面的世界得知更多的消息。

Last night， I got a telephone call while I was watching my favorite television show. I decided not to answer it because wild horses could not drag （拖拽） me away from the television. There was nobody that could stop me from doing what I wanted to do.

昨天晚上我正在看最喜歡的電視節(jié)目時(shí)電話響了。我決定不接，因?yàn)槭裁匆沧柚共涣宋铱措娨?。誰也不可以阻止我做我想做的事。

Sometimes you get information straight from the horses mouth. It comes directly from the person who knows most about the subject and is the best source. Let us say your teacher tells you there is going to be a test tomorrow. You could say you got the information straight from the horses mouth. However， you would not want to call your teacher a horse！

有時(shí)，你會(huì)說消息絕對可靠。它直接來自于最了解事情的那個(gè)人，是最可靠的。比如你的老師告訴你明天會(huì)有個(gè)考試，你可以說這個(gè)消息絕對可靠。但無論如何你都不會(huì)想把自己的老師稱作一匹馬。

You may have heard this expression： You can lead a horse to water， but you cannot make him drink. That means you can give someone advice but you cannot force him to do something he does not want to do.

你也許聽到過這種表達(dá)：牽馬到河易，逼馬飲水難。這是指你可以給他人建議，但你不能強(qiáng)迫他人做他不想做的事。

Sometimes a person fights a battle that has been decided or keeps arguing a question that has been settled. We say this is like beating a dead horse.

有時(shí)一個(gè)人無謂地打架或是為已經(jīng)解決的問題辯論，我們可以說這是在炒冷飯，白費(fèi)精力。

In politics， a dark-horse candidate （候選人） is someone who is not well known to the public. Sometimes， a dark horse unexpectedly wins an election （選舉） so that you pick the wrong horse.

政治上，說候選人是一匹黑馬是指候選人是一個(gè)很少被公眾熟知的人。有時(shí)，黑馬會(huì)意外地贏得選舉，而你支持的一方?jīng)]有獲勝。

Another piece of advice is， do not change horses in midstream. You would not want to get off one horse and on to another in the middle of a river. Or make major changes in an activity that has already begun. In the past， this expression was used as an argument to re-elect （改選） a president， especially during a time when the country was at war.

另外有一個(gè)建議是，不要臨陣換將。你不會(huì)想在過河的途中下馬換另外一匹馬吧，或者在活動(dòng)已經(jīng)開始的中途做大的變動(dòng)。過去，這個(gè)表達(dá)用在改選總統(tǒng)的辯論中，特別是在國家有戰(zhàn)事的時(shí)候。

Now， its your turn to guess the meanings of the expressions using the word “horse”！

下面，你來猜一猜文中含有“馬”這個(gè)詞的表達(dá)方式的意思吧！

參考釋義：

1. get off ones high horse 放下架子；不要趾高氣昂

引申：get on / ride ones high horse 傲慢無禮，目中無人

2. hold ones horses 忍耐；鎮(zhèn)靜；別沖動(dòng)

3. horse around 胡鬧；嬉鬧

4. get a charley horse 肌肉抽筋；肌肉酸疼

5. a one-horse town 鄉(xiāng)村小鎮(zhèn)；落后的小鎮(zhèn)

6. pony express 郵遞服務(wù)

7. wild horses could not drag sb. away 野馬都拉不走某人；什么也阻止不了某人做……

8. get information straight from the horses mouth 從可靠的方面獲得消息；消息絕對可靠

9. You can lead a horse to water， but you cannot make him drink. 牽馬到河易，逼馬飲水難。/不能強(qiáng)迫他人做他不想做的事。

10. beating a dead horse 浪費(fèi)精力；白費(fèi)口舌

11. a dark-horse 一匹黑馬；意外的得勝者

12. pick the wrong horse 看錯(cuò)人了；下錯(cuò)賭注；支持的一方?jīng)]有獲勝

13. change horses in midstream 臨陣換將