English Sentences Noted (011--020)

---- The following English Sentences are noted by Warren Sevander in English and Jerry Liang in Chinese, which have been put onto the website of St. James' Language Institute.

11.  Your deciding not to go with me is a real about face from what we discussed.


‘About face’ is an expression used in the American military. It literally means to face the opposite direction. In this sentence the words ‘about face’ mean that one person changed their mind and decided not to go with the other person.

你決定不跟我一道去，實在違背了我們當初的約定。

About face 是美國軍隊中的用語：「向後轉」。本句指二人已講好一同前往某地方，不料其中一人改變心意，決定不跟另一位同行了。



12.  The earthquake was an act of God.

In America, an ‘act of God’ refers to a natural disaster like a flood, hurricane, earthquake, typhoon, tornado, hail storm, or cyclone. These are things which cannot be controlled by people.

那地震，天災也。

美語中 act of God 指天然災害，例如洪水、颶風、地震、颱風、龍捲風、冰雹…等等。這些災害，人類「無能為力、莫可奈何」，只好視之為 act of God.



13.  It added insult to injury.

This figure of speech describes something said or done that does not help a problem. For example, if someone falls and hurts themselves and another person says to the first person, ‘You are clumsy’, that is adding insult to injury.

那是傷害之餘，又加羞辱！

有點像中文「傷口灑鹽」「落井下石」「幸災樂禍」「火上加油」之類的成語；明知對方受傷了，還當面說些風涼話，叫人很難堪；也是很不道德的行為。



14.  I like arriving at a concert, or movie ahead of time.

This expression is used to say that the person likes arriving early to these events, usually so that they can become comfortable and relaxed before the event begins.

看電影、聽音樂會，我喜歡提早到場。

Ahead of time（提前、提早）作副詞片語，修飾句中的動詞。提早到達電影院、或音樂會場，可免除遲到所帶來的損失與尷尬。



15.  They are like 2 peas in a pod.

This figure of speech is used to describe persons (or, even, a child and his or her pet) who are alike in many ways and are inseparable.

他們長得一模一樣，而且形影不離。

如同一個豆莢裡的兩顆豆子(2 peas in a pod) 距離多麼接近，長相多麼相似啊！這又個比喻的說法，可用來形容兩個人，或形容一個小孩和他的寵物。


16.  Their discussion is all over the map.


The words in red are used many times, in many different ways to describe conversations, thoughts, emotions, even political promises that are not consistent, or regular. They even might be unpredictable

他們天南地北什麼都談，卻沒有一致的主題及看法。

Map 是地圖；而 all over the map 表明許多不同的地點或方向，分散各處，有極大的差異。此語，可指討論內容，眾說紛紜，或各說各話，莫衷一是。



17.  He lost so much weight during his illness that now he's all skin and bones.

The words in red describe a person who is very thin. It does not look like the person has much muscle. The skin looks to be very loose. The description is not a compliment. It is said with almost a feeling of being sad for the person. The contraction combines the words ‘he’ and ‘is’

生病這段期間，他體重驟降，現在只剩皮包骨了。

All skin and bones 說明瘦到「肉」都不見了，只剩下「皮」和「骨」。這不是讚美身材苗條（好看）的話，反而是帶著幾分同情的說辭。



18.  My airplane tickets to fly to Europe cost an arm and a leg.

The words in red are an often-used phrase to describe anything that costs a person much more than they expected they would have to spend.

我買的飛往歐洲的機票，價格高得嚇人。

買那張飛機票，竟然花掉我的一手一腳 (cost an arm and a leg)？這樣的形容實在很生動。平常，我們只會說「花去我荷包的一大半」之類的話！



19.  Don't count your chickens before they're hatched.

This means that you should not assume that something will happen until it actually happens. It can be used for a variety of situations: spending money you cannot afford to spend because you expect to receive some money is one example. The contraction combines the words ‘do’ and ‘not’.

別過早打如意算盤。

原文字面義：不要在蛋未孵化前，就先數算［認定］會有幾隻小雞。很多時候，「計畫」趕不上「變化」。那些借錢玩股票的朋友，可要特別小心啊！



20.  I'm going to make hay while the sun shines.

The words in red have their history in American farming. Today, this expression is used to say that you are going to use the extra time that you have so that you can accomplish a goal. The contraction combines the words ‘I’ and ‘am’.

我要打鐵趁熱----把握「時機」締造「佳績」。

原文字面義：趁有太陽時曬乾草。農業時代 hay 是作為飼料用的乾草；即草料也。當今說這話，常有勉勵人善用時光，以締造佳績或達成目標之意。



---- The above English Sentences are noted by Warren Sevander in English and Jerry Liang in Chinese, which have been put onto the website of St. James' Language Institute.