4.Fish in Troubled Waters渾水摸魚;趁火打劫;陷于混亂
Fish in Troubled Waters直譯是:“渾水里捕魚”,出自《伊索寓言·漁夫》
這篇寓言江的是:有個漁夫在河里張網(wǎng)捕魚,他把魚網(wǎng)橫欄在河道里,然后拿了一條縛著石塊的繩子,不停的拍擊河水,使泥沙泛起,河水渾濁,魚兒在慌亂中紛紛自投羅網(wǎng),漁夫用這個方法捕得了好多魚。但住在附近的人指責(zé)漁夫說:“我們飲水全靠這條河,你把水搞得這么渾,叫我們到哪里去找清水飲用呢?” 漁夫回答說: “可是,我若不把水搞渾,那就非餓死不可了”
因此,人們常用to fish in trouble waters 比喻to try to win advantages for oneself from a disturbed state of affairs; to make use of sb's misfortune to serve one's own ends.并因此產(chǎn)生了諺語it’s good fishing in troubled waters(混水好摸魚)。
在英語中,to fish in troubled waters 也可寫成to fish in the muddy waters,而且water必須做waters。
eg:The man who interferes in South American politics is fishing in troubled waters
I refused to let them come here because i knew they only wanted to fish in troubled waters
Those who made large profits out of illegally selling rationed goods during World War II were fishing in troubled waters.
5.cat's paw 被他人利用的人;受人愚弄者
cat's paw 也坐cat's-paw或catspaw,字面意思“貓爪子”,出典17世紀(jì)法國著名的寓言作家拉·封丹的《猴子與貓》。講的是狡猾的猴子哄騙頭腦簡單的貓兒,替它從爐火中取出烤熟的栗子來。貓兒應(yīng)命去做,結(jié)果貓爪子被火燒傷了,而取出的栗子卻被猴子吃光了。
追根嗍源,遠(yuǎn)在公元前3世紀(jì)的《伊索寓言》中就有這個故事,不過沒有題目。
cat's paw常用來比喻a person used as a tool by another;one who is used merely for the convenience of a cleverer or stronger person之意。按其內(nèi)涵,這個成語與漢語成語“為虎作倀”所比喻的意義相似,僅是動物的形象不同
cat's paw除了單獨(dú)做復(fù)合名詞使用外,還構(gòu)成to make a cat's paw of sb(利用某人做為工具或爪牙)
eg:It is easy for him to be used as a cat's paw of evil-doing.
I am afraid that he is making a cat's paw of you.
6.Pull the chestnuts out of the fire火中取栗;替別人冒險
Pull the chestnuts out of the fire來自法國著名的寓言作家拉·封丹的《猴子與貓》。
cat's paw與Pull the chestnuts out of the fire是同源成語,但兩個成語無論在結(jié)構(gòu)上或意義上都不相同,前者比喻充當(dāng)別人的工具或爪牙,后者常用來表示to do sth dangerous for others的意思。
這個成語也作to pull sb's chestnuts,或者to put the chestnuts for sb.
eg:I had pulled the chestnuts out of the fire for him on several occasions and was unwilling to do it again.
They are pulling chestnuts out of the fire for the imperialists without knowing it
You can't make me your catspaw to pull your chestnuts out of the fire...
以上就是關(guān)于英文名著中典故介紹,非常詳細(xì)的介紹了許多中國考生比較熟悉的成語典故在英語中的表達(dá),在寫作的時候也是非常有用的,大家可以在備考雅思閱讀考試和雅思小作文的時候,對這篇文章進(jìn)行適當(dāng)?shù)膮⒖己烷喿x。
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