八、习语与文学作品.doc

Chapter eight Idioms Concerning Literature I. Idioms concerning William Shakespeare works 威廉·莎士比亚（William Shakespeare）是英国文艺复兴时期伟大的戏剧家和诗人，也是世界文坛上最著名的作家之一。他的语言丰富广博，灵活有力，生动优美，有不少晶莹如玉的佳句成为英国语言的精华，经常被人引用。莎士比亚是对英语习语影响最大的文学家。 1. Green-eyed monster 绿眼妖魔 This expression was coined by Shakespeare in Othello (3:3), where Iago says: O! beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on. It is thought to allude to cats, often green-eyed, who tease their prey. Jealousy, as in Bella knew that her husband sometimes succumbed to the green-eyed monster. 这条习语出自莎士比亚剧本《奥赛罗》（Othello）第三幕第三场伊阿古（Iago）的话：（啊，主帅，你要留心嫉妒啊；那是一个绿眼的妖魔，谁做了他的牺牲品，就要受他的玩弄……），现喻指嫉妒别人的人。 2. Salad days 指年轻无阅历的时期(最佳时期)。 The phrase was coined in Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra in 1606. In the speech at the end of Act One in which Cleopatra is regretting her youthful dalliances with Julius Caesar she says: ...My salad days, / When I was green in judgment, cold in blood... 来自莎翁的《安东尼与克莉奥佩特拉》(Anthony and Cleopatra)中埃及艳后克莉奥佩特拉的话Salad days is an idiomatic expression, referring to a youthful time, accompanied by the inexperience, enthusiasm, idealism, innocence, or indiscretion that one associates with a young person. More modern use, especially in the United States, refers to a persons heyday when somebody was at the peak of his/her abilities—not necessarily in that persons youth. The phrase became popular only from the middle of the 19th century, coming to mean “a period of youthful inexperience or indiscretion. The metaphor comes from Cleopatras use of the word green — presumably meaning someone youthful, inexperienced, or immature 3. A Cleopatra 指绝代佳人，亦出自莎士比亚戏剧《安东尼和克里奥佩特拉》中埃及艳后克莉奥佩特拉。 4. A fool’s paradise 南柯一梦 出自《罗密欧与朱丽叶》(Romeo and Juliet)，Shakespeare used it in Romeo and Juliet, 1592. 小说中乳媪说“…but first let me tell you, if you should lead her into a fool’s paradise ,as they say, it were a very gross kind of behaviour, as they say…” Meaning: A state of happiness based on false h