和“鳥巢”的“巢”相關的習慣用語
(2008-09-03 13:30:43)
作為2008年奧運會一座獨特的歷史性的標志性建筑，這里真正成為了一個用樹枝般的鋼網把10萬人的體育場編織而成的溫馨“鳥巢”！“鳥巢”的英文名字是Bird's Nest stadium，今天我們就來講講和孕育與呵護生命、并且寄托人類對未來希望的“巢”nest相關的幾個習慣用語。
Nest這個詞有許多不同的解釋，最常用的意思是鳥窩。蟲子、魚兒、烏龜、兔子之類的動物生殖繁衍、哺育兒女或者歇息安身、遮風避雨的地方，也都可以稱為nest。Nest這個詞甚至也可以指竊賊等犯罪分子的巢穴。
1 empty nest
照字面意思來看empty nest就是空巢。鳥兒筑巢下蛋孵出一窩吱吱喳喳的小鳥。在鳥爸鳥媽的精心哺育下小鳥羽翼豐滿就離開父母紛紛飛去獨立生活，留下老爸老媽獨守空巢，因而就有了empty nest的說法。這個習慣用語常常用來比喻人的生活，用來形容子女長大成人離開老家后父母的落寞感受。
例如下面這段話是一個人在跟他的鄰居談孩子離開家去上大學后自己孤獨冷清的感受：
Your only boy is leaving home pretty soon for college, isn't he? It's going to be tough for the first couple of months once you're left alone in an empty nest, I tell you. It was certainly hard for me!
你的獨生兒子不久要離開家去上大學了是嗎？告訴你吧，在你孤零零守在空蕩蕩家里的時侯頭幾個月你可不會好受。我親身體會到那段日子確實很難熬。
習慣用語empty nest加上后綴-er，成了empty-nester。這是什么意思呢? 讓我們邊學習下面的例子邊仔細推敲。
這是一個房屋經紀人在推銷他分套出售的新公寓大樓：
We get a lot of empty-nesters moving into this area. They sell their big houses they don't need after their children leave and come here. Warm weather, clean air, nice people, no crime, everything! The perfect place for you!
我們這個地區(qū)來了好多兒女不在身邊的老人。孩子離家后，他們賣了已經多余的大房子，來到這里。這兒氣候溫和、空氣新鮮、民風純樸、罪行絕跡，俱備一切令人向往的東西，是你最理想的居住地點。
2 feather your own nest
Feather這個詞作動詞的時候可以解釋為鋪墊羽毛。那么feather your own nest就是在自己的窩里鋪羽毛了。想象一下墊上松軟羽毛的小窩該是多么舒服啊。當然我們不能只看這個習慣用語的字面意義，它的實際意思就是，中飽私囊，謀求個人利益。
例句：I thought security at CIA was good and tight. How come this guy could spy for Russia for so long and feather his own nest with millions of dollars for Moscow? It's really hard to believe.
我本以為中央情報局的安全防衛(wèi)措施一定既完善又嚴密?？赡莻€中央情報局官員怎么有機會長年累月地為莫斯科提供機密情報，并得到幾百萬美元的報酬中飽私囊呢? 這簡直令人難以置信。
又如：In his will Mr. Green told this lawyer to use his money after he died to build a hospital for the poor. But the lawyer feathered his own nest by using the money to buy two apartment buildings for himself.
Green先生在遺囑中要這個律師在他身后用他的錢為貧民造一所醫(yī)院，但是律師卻拿這筆資金營私，為自己買了兩棟公寓大樓。
3 foul your own nest
Foul這個詞可以解釋為“玷污，弄臟”。所以foul your own nest從字面上來看就是指把自己的安樂窩弄得烏七八糟。想象一下，如果你把自己的安樂窩搞得臟亂不堪、臭氣沖天，那你是在跟自己過不去，讓自己不得安寧了。所以，foul your own nest這個比喻說法的實際含義就是：毀壞自己的名譽，拆自己人的臺。
例句：The mayor could have been elected forever. But he's finished now and may end up in jail. It was discovered that he'd been fouling his own nest by taking bribes and giving city contracts in return.
那個市長原來可能一直會當選，但是他現在可完蛋了，甚至還可能坐牢。人們發(fā)現他一向收受賄賂，拿承包市內工程的合同來作交易。這一下他真把自己搞得聲名狼籍。
又如：Senator White is lucky to have a wife like Sally, a lovely and smart woman with a good job. When she learned that he had affairs with cheap women, she didn't foul their own nest but still supported her husband to run for senator.
White參議員有Sally這樣一位好太太真是運氣。Sally才貌雙全又有一份好工作。當Sally聽說丈夫和不三不四的女人糾纏不清的時候，她不但沒把家丑外揚，而且仍然支持她丈夫競選參議員。
4 stir up a hornet's nest
Hornet是黃蜂、胡蜂或者馬蜂。如果一個人不明智地捅馬蜂窩，必然遭到大群馬蜂的叮刺圍攻。所以，Stir up a hornet's nest的含義就是：捅了馬蜂窩，惹人說辭或者招來批評的意思to provoke the attack of a swarm of spiteful enemies or spirited critics。
例句：Why are you trying to stir up a hornet's nest? Our office has been managed this way for the last twenty years. Don't waste time complaining about it; you'll just get in a lot of trouble.
你為什么要去捅馬蜂窩呢？我們的辦公室這二十年來一向按照這個方式管理。你別浪費時間去提意見了；你會給自己招惹麻煩的。
又如：The case has stirred up a hornet's nest among the press and the congress. Everyone wants to know how this senior officer got away with stealing all those secrets for eight years before he got caught.
這件案子遭到新聞界和國會的強烈責難，使大家震驚的是這個高級官員怎么會竊取秘密情報長達八年之久才被發(fā)現。
(2008-09-03 13:30:43)
作為2008年奧運會一座獨特的歷史性的標志性建筑，這里真正成為了一個用樹枝般的鋼網把10萬人的體育場編織而成的溫馨“鳥巢”！“鳥巢”的英文名字是Bird's Nest stadium，今天我們就來講講和孕育與呵護生命、并且寄托人類對未來希望的“巢”nest相關的幾個習慣用語。
Nest這個詞有許多不同的解釋，最常用的意思是鳥窩。蟲子、魚兒、烏龜、兔子之類的動物生殖繁衍、哺育兒女或者歇息安身、遮風避雨的地方，也都可以稱為nest。Nest這個詞甚至也可以指竊賊等犯罪分子的巢穴。
1 empty nest
照字面意思來看empty nest就是空巢。鳥兒筑巢下蛋孵出一窩吱吱喳喳的小鳥。在鳥爸鳥媽的精心哺育下小鳥羽翼豐滿就離開父母紛紛飛去獨立生活，留下老爸老媽獨守空巢，因而就有了empty nest的說法。這個習慣用語常常用來比喻人的生活，用來形容子女長大成人離開老家后父母的落寞感受。
例如下面這段話是一個人在跟他的鄰居談孩子離開家去上大學后自己孤獨冷清的感受：
Your only boy is leaving home pretty soon for college, isn't he? It's going to be tough for the first couple of months once you're left alone in an empty nest, I tell you. It was certainly hard for me!
你的獨生兒子不久要離開家去上大學了是嗎？告訴你吧，在你孤零零守在空蕩蕩家里的時侯頭幾個月你可不會好受。我親身體會到那段日子確實很難熬。
習慣用語empty nest加上后綴-er，成了empty-nester。這是什么意思呢? 讓我們邊學習下面的例子邊仔細推敲。
這是一個房屋經紀人在推銷他分套出售的新公寓大樓：
We get a lot of empty-nesters moving into this area. They sell their big houses they don't need after their children leave and come here. Warm weather, clean air, nice people, no crime, everything! The perfect place for you!
我們這個地區(qū)來了好多兒女不在身邊的老人。孩子離家后，他們賣了已經多余的大房子，來到這里。這兒氣候溫和、空氣新鮮、民風純樸、罪行絕跡，俱備一切令人向往的東西，是你最理想的居住地點。
2 feather your own nest
Feather這個詞作動詞的時候可以解釋為鋪墊羽毛。那么feather your own nest就是在自己的窩里鋪羽毛了。想象一下墊上松軟羽毛的小窩該是多么舒服啊。當然我們不能只看這個習慣用語的字面意義，它的實際意思就是，中飽私囊，謀求個人利益。
例句：I thought security at CIA was good and tight. How come this guy could spy for Russia for so long and feather his own nest with millions of dollars for Moscow? It's really hard to believe.
我本以為中央情報局的安全防衛(wèi)措施一定既完善又嚴密?？赡莻€中央情報局官員怎么有機會長年累月地為莫斯科提供機密情報，并得到幾百萬美元的報酬中飽私囊呢? 這簡直令人難以置信。
又如：In his will Mr. Green told this lawyer to use his money after he died to build a hospital for the poor. But the lawyer feathered his own nest by using the money to buy two apartment buildings for himself.
Green先生在遺囑中要這個律師在他身后用他的錢為貧民造一所醫(yī)院，但是律師卻拿這筆資金營私，為自己買了兩棟公寓大樓。
3 foul your own nest
Foul這個詞可以解釋為“玷污，弄臟”。所以foul your own nest從字面上來看就是指把自己的安樂窩弄得烏七八糟。想象一下，如果你把自己的安樂窩搞得臟亂不堪、臭氣沖天，那你是在跟自己過不去，讓自己不得安寧了。所以，foul your own nest這個比喻說法的實際含義就是：毀壞自己的名譽，拆自己人的臺。
例句：The mayor could have been elected forever. But he's finished now and may end up in jail. It was discovered that he'd been fouling his own nest by taking bribes and giving city contracts in return.
那個市長原來可能一直會當選，但是他現在可完蛋了，甚至還可能坐牢。人們發(fā)現他一向收受賄賂，拿承包市內工程的合同來作交易。這一下他真把自己搞得聲名狼籍。
又如：Senator White is lucky to have a wife like Sally, a lovely and smart woman with a good job. When she learned that he had affairs with cheap women, she didn't foul their own nest but still supported her husband to run for senator.
White參議員有Sally這樣一位好太太真是運氣。Sally才貌雙全又有一份好工作。當Sally聽說丈夫和不三不四的女人糾纏不清的時候，她不但沒把家丑外揚，而且仍然支持她丈夫競選參議員。
4 stir up a hornet's nest
Hornet是黃蜂、胡蜂或者馬蜂。如果一個人不明智地捅馬蜂窩，必然遭到大群馬蜂的叮刺圍攻。所以，Stir up a hornet's nest的含義就是：捅了馬蜂窩，惹人說辭或者招來批評的意思to provoke the attack of a swarm of spiteful enemies or spirited critics。
例句：Why are you trying to stir up a hornet's nest? Our office has been managed this way for the last twenty years. Don't waste time complaining about it; you'll just get in a lot of trouble.
你為什么要去捅馬蜂窩呢？我們的辦公室這二十年來一向按照這個方式管理。你別浪費時間去提意見了；你會給自己招惹麻煩的。
又如：The case has stirred up a hornet's nest among the press and the congress. Everyone wants to know how this senior officer got away with stealing all those secrets for eight years before he got caught.
這件案子遭到新聞界和國會的強烈責難，使大家震驚的是這個高級官員怎么會竊取秘密情報長達八年之久才被發(fā)現。