會話學(xué)習(xí)語:冬去春來種花忙
春天來了,潘妮(Penny)和小倩(Xiao Qian,簡稱XQ)正商量著在花盆里種點花花草草,點綴下房間。她們打算種些什么呢?一起來看!
情景一:
XQ: 潘妮,終于等到春天了,咱們種點花花草草吧!
Penny: Oh, sounds great. I love flowers so much, so you are clearly the one after my own heart. But, you know, I'm not well up in planting.
XQ: 你說自己對養(yǎng)花不在行,是嗎?沒關(guān)系,種花的訣竅就是把花兒當(dāng)作寵物來養(yǎng)。
Penny: Come on, Xiao Qian. Raising pets is completely different from planting flowers. You're comparing apples to oranges!
XQ: Compare apples to oranges?咱們不是在說種花嗎?怎么又出來蘋果和桔子了?
Penny: Actually, when you say someone is comparing apples to oranges, it means he is trying to compare two things that are totally different.
XQ: 哦,原來它表示拿兩種完全不同的東西相提并論。我明白了。
[點津]
one's own heart
意為“和某人愛好相同”,相當(dāng)于漢語的“志趣相投”。
well up in sth.
be well up in sth.常用于口語中,意為“精通某事”,和be good at sth.意思相似。
例:My brother is well up in English literature.我哥哥精通英國文學(xué)。
e apples to oranges
這個習(xí)語用來表示將兩種完全不同的事物進行比較,與漢語中的“風(fēng)馬牛不相及;天壤之別”意義相近。
例:Comparing the average wages of workers and managers is like trying to compare apples to oranges.工人的平均工資跟經(jīng)理的平均工資簡直有天壤之別。
情景二:
Penny: Let me think what I will plant in the pot. You know much about flowers. Please give me some suggestions.
XQ: 哈哈,對于養(yǎng)花嘛,就要出于真心的喜愛,才能養(yǎng)好花。要不你先從仙人掌開始吧!
Penny: Er... Let me think twice about it. I am a green hand at planting, so probably cactus is the best choice.
XQ: 仙人掌生命力頑強,適合培養(yǎng)你的自信心哦!瞧瞧我家的花花草草,它們長勢正好呢!
Penny: Wow, they are really beautiful. Xiao Qian, you are far and away an excellent gardener.
XQ: 哈哈,過獎啦!我相信無論做什么事,只要出于真心喜愛,就一定能做好。
Penny: Agree!I am going home and have a crack at planting cactus first.
[點津]
twice about sth.
字面意思是“考慮兩遍”,引申為“仔細(xì)考慮”.
hand
意為“生手;沒經(jīng)驗的人”.
and away
它可不是“很遠(yuǎn)”的意思,而是表示“無疑地”.
例:This is far and away the best book on how to play table tennis.這本書無疑是關(guān)于如何打乒乓球的最好的書。
a crack at sth./doing sth.
該短語意為“企圖/嘗試(做)某事”.
例:Have another crack at solving the problem.再試一試,把這個難題給解決了吧。