地道美語表達(dá)【99】顏色不同,意思不同

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英文中有許多使用了不同顏色的單詞而構(gòu)成的片語,他們所代表的意義各不相同,比如今天我們要給大家介紹的兩個。一個是in the red,他的意思是“欠債的,負(fù)債的”。另一個是have a green thumb, 它的意思是“某人很會種花、種菜”。
    首先我們來看一看第一個片語in the red. 這個片語來自于20世紀(jì)初期。當(dāng)人們撰寫財務(wù)報表的時候,如果公司處于盈利狀態(tài)的話,他們就用黑色來表示最后的資金額度,相反如果處于虧損狀態(tài),他們就用紅色來表示虧損的資金額度.So, when someone is in the red, then he was in debt. For example:
    I can't pay for your dinner as I was in the red for half a year. Perhaps, it will be my treat next time.
    (因為欠債半年了,所以不能為你付午餐費,也許下次我請客。)
    從上面的背景介紹不難看出,與in the red意思相反的片語是:in the black, 美國“九一一”事件過后,民航業(yè)曾一度處于虧損狀態(tài),但近一年來,他們逐漸開始盈利起來。看看下面這個句子是怎么描述的。
    After the 10th September affair, the airline once was in the red, but recent years, they have tried their best to run and they are in the black now.
    (九一一事件后,航空公司曾經(jīng)處于虧損狀態(tài),但近年來,在他們的努力下,現(xiàn)在已處于盈利的狀態(tài)。)
    接下來,我們來看看第二個片語have a green thumb. 在美國,許多家庭都擁有一個花園,主人?;ㄒ恍r間照料花草等,當(dāng)他們的拇指被綠色植物染成了綠色后,說明他們花在上面的時間很多,把花草照料得很好,所以這個片語的意思就是“某人把花草照料得很好?!盩he idiom refers to the fact that good gardeners have spend a lot of time on their gardens and get their hand stained green become of touching plants and finally, their gardens look really beautiful. For example:
    Tom has a green thumb. He is very proud of his beautiful garden, and he always tells everyone that it's worth spending lots of time on it.
    (譯文:Tom把花草照料得很好,他為自己漂亮的花園而感到很自豪,他常告訴別人花許多時間在花園里是值得的。)
    但有些人雖然花了很多時間在花草上,由于方法不當(dāng),花草生長得并不好,這時他們就不得不向別人請教經(jīng)歷了??纯聪旅孢@句話是怎么說的:
    Tom told Susan who didn't have a green thumb that he just watered his plants every day.
    (譯文:Susan不能很好的照料好自己的花草,Tom告訴她,他只是給花草每天澆一次水而已。)
    結(jié)束語:要想成為一個很會照料花草的人(have a green thumb),除了要花很多時間外,還需要不少的資金,如果你已經(jīng)欠了債(be in the red), 可能就不能照料出一個好的花園了。