在前面幾講,我們向朋友們介紹了有關人類肢體名稱的一些片語,如twist someone’s arm(勉強某人),have the upper hand(占上風), be up in arms(生氣的), drag one’s heels(拖延)等等。今天我們繼續(xù)來看兩個這樣的片語,一個是hand it to someone, 另一個是 give one’s right arm.
首先我們來看一看下面的例句:
We have to hand it to you. You did a good job in the English exam.
(譯文:我們不得不佩服你,你在英語考試中考得非常好。)
在這里,片語hand it to someone的意思是“佩服某人,承認某人的長處。” 在使用時,為了加強語氣,人們習慣在前面加上have to. If you have to hand it to someone, usually, you tell him or her that you admire him or her. 特別是當別人做了一件非常成功的事情之后,為了稱贊他們,我們常使用這個片語。
He really made a great success this time. I’ll hand it to him.
(譯文:這次他真的取得了很大成功,我佩服!)
下面我們來看一看今天要學習的第二個片語:give one’s right arm, 像以往一樣,先來看一個例句:
Nowadays, our parents always give their right arms to get their kids into a prestigious school.
(譯文:如今,我們的父母總是原意付出任何代價送他們的子女到聲望很高的學校。)
片語give one’s right arm的意思是“付出任何代價都愿意。”大家都知道,大部分的人做事情都喜歡用右手,所以一個人的右臂是非常有用的(它控制著人們如何使用右手)。從字面上來看,如果有人為了做某事而付出了右臂,可以認為他什么代價都愿意付出,這不正是give one’s right arm的意思嗎?The idiom, to give one’s right arm, used to say that someone would be willing to do anything to get or do something because they want it very much. For example:
One of my friends who lived in America told me in his letter that he would give his right arm to live china, which is attractive to him.
(譯文:我的一位美國朋友在信中告訴我他愿意付出任何代價來中國居住,中國對他來說太有吸引力了。)
結束語: 為了愛情,許多人愿意付出任何代價(give one’s right arm), 而這些人的勇敢付出,又不得不令我們佩服(hand it to someone)。