英式英语和美式英语之别

 　　得益于美国文化的全球化传播，世界范围内说英语的人们已经知晓一些奇奇怪怪的美式英语表达，如 bury the hatchet、pass the buck¹ 和 take a rain check，（有关11个流行表达方式的解释）。但无论看过多少好来坞电影，总还是有一些美式俚语的含义让人出其不意。让我们通过下面的十道题测试一下你对当下美语短语的理解如何。

　　英式英语和美式英语之别——令英国人糊涂的美式短语

　　1. If something ‘jumped the shark’, then it:

　　A. Avoided payment of overdue² loans

　　B. Began a period of inexorable decline in quality or popularity

　　C. Escaped from a dangerous situation

　　D. Went down to Florida for the winter

　　2. A ‘Monday morning quarterback’ is someone who:

　　A. Is obsessed³ with American football

　　B. Is an early enthusiast⁴ for something

　　C. Loves getting things done at the start of the week

　　D. Passes judgment⁵ on and criticizes something after the event

　　3. A ‘horse of another color’ would refer to:

　　A. An unrelated matter with distinctly different meaning

　　B. The odd one out

　　C. A person from a different state

　　D. A missed opportunity

　　4. Someone who ‘bought the farm’ has:

　　A. Died

　　B. Come into new wealth

　　C. Paid off a mortgage

　　D. Made an awkward comment

　　5. If you were to ‘lay an egg’, then you would be:

　　A. Really angry

　　B. Hungry

　　C. Completely unsuccessful

　　D. Opportunistic

　　6. A ‘Bronx cheer’ refers to:

　　A. A sound of derision or contempt made by blowing through closed lips

　　B. A chant popularized by fans of the New York Yankees

　　C. The sound of a car horn

　　D. A stabbing

　　7. If we need to ‘put on the dog’, then we would:

　　A. Chase behind a car

　　B. Be servile

　　C. Eat hot dogs for dinner

　　D. Behave in an ostentatious way

　　8. Something ‘up the wazoo’ is:

　　A. In Canada

　　B. In a desperate situation

　　C. At the bottom of a lake

　　D. In great quantity

　　9. If you ‘talked turkey’, then you would be:

　　A. Lying about your true intentions

　　B. Insulting someone behind their back

　　C. Discuss something frankly⁶ and straightforwardly⁷

　　D. Obsessed with Thanksgiving planning

　　10. A John Hancock refers to:

　　A. A person’s signature

　　B. An elderly person

　　C. A revolutionary

　　D. A breakfast sandwich

　　答案

　　1. B

　　Jump the shark（走下坡路）一词源于很流行的一档美剧Happy Hours，在第五季第一集的剧情里，人物Fonzie去划水，并跳过了一条鲨鱼。这个剧情的设计饱受纷争，在此之后剧集质量下滑，观众人数下降。这一现象产生了这个短语，用以指代电视剧或电影情节达到某个分水岭，在此只为出奇而引入一些荒唐可笑的剧情，表明质量开始下降。

　　例句：It had its faults - some say it jumped the shark when Niles and Daphne got married - and,as with any long-running show, it could get tiresome⁸ sometimes.

　　2. D

　　Monday morning quarterback （事后诸葛亮，马后炮）源于美国橄榄球赛，星期日比赛后，星期一早上各家媒体会就昨日比赛做出各式批评和评论。Quarterback 是橄榄球赛中的四分卫，相当于全队进攻的核心，因此球赛的评论也多是把四分卫作为焦点。该短语作为非正式的用法，比喻事后做出判断和批评，自作聪明的事后诸葛亮。

　　例句：I'm getting a little sick and tired of the Monday morning quarterbacks out there determining that she did something wrong.

　　3. A

　　A horse of another / a different color 这一短语指有明显不同意义的不相关事物，即完全不是一回事。它可能是从莎士比亚喜剧《第十二夜》中的 “a horse of the same color”短语发展而来。

　　例句：Buxton Forman's A Shelley Library,however, was a horse of a different colour.

　　4. A

　　短语 buy the farm 在美式英语中可表示“死亡”。它源于美国军事俚语，但词源学家也不能肯定其出处。这或许是在暗示某种情况，即一个农场因为军用飞机坠毁而受损，其农场主的损失将由政府承担。若是飞机遭遇致命的空难，飞行员大概会毙命。

　　例句： I refused to admit to my recklessness, even when I nearly bought the farm

　　5. C

　　如果说某人 lay an egg，那就是说这个人很不成功，很失败。当然，如果是母鸡 lay an egg，那就是下了个蛋。

　　例句：The magazine really laid an egg with this article, which ranks right up there with the worst and most inaccurate⁹ articles they have ever published.

　　6. A

　　Bronx cheer 是用嘴吹出嘘声，表示蔑视和嘲笑。Bronx 是纽约市的布朗克斯区，纽约扬基棒球队的发源地。该短语与 blow a raspberry 近义。

　　例句：She shuddered¹⁰, making a noise like a Bronx cheer. / He blew a long, loud raspberry, spraying Bob with spittle.

　　7. D

　　Put on the dog：（北美非正式）Behave in a pretentious¹¹ or ostentatious way。如果你“表现成一只狗”，那就是说你表现出自命不凡的拽样。词源学家也不很确定这一词组的确切来源，有一些人曾认为这是源于贵妇们的“lap dog/哈巴狗”这一概念。Lap dog可指无主见、奉承和势力的人。

　　例句：The CEO put on the dog today as he welcomed customers to the enterprise software company's annual users' conference.

　　8. C

　　Up / out the wazoo：（北美非正式）大量的。Wazoo /w??zu?/一词指臀部、屁股。该词的来源无法得知。

　　例句：A terrorist has no problem at all getting fake I.D. up the wazoo. / You're right, those two have issues out the wazoo, and Lana is off to find out why.

　　9. C

　　讲土耳其语是什么意思？它指坦率地说，毫无保留；言归正传，讨论不利的事实等。辞典学家也不知道词组的真实来源，有些人假定可能和感恩节有关。那这里就不是土耳其语而是火鸡喽？

　　例句：she promised to go talk turkey with the representatives

　　10. A

　　John Hancock 为什么有签名的含义呢？John Hancock（1737-1793年）是美国的革命家和政治家。他是北美第一届和第二届大陆会议的成员，第一任大陆会议主席（1775-1777年）。美国的《独立宣言》由 Thomas Jefferson 起草，在第二届大陆会议上通过。John Hancock 是在《独立宣言》上第一个签字的人，且签名很大。随后“John Hancock”就成为签名一词的代名词。

1 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

2 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

3 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

4 enthusiast   

n.热心人，热衷者

参考例句：

• He is an enthusiast about politics.他是个热衷于政治的人。
• He was an enthusiast and loved to evoke enthusiasm in others.他是一个激情昂扬的人，也热中于唤起他人心中的激情。

5 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

6 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

7 straightforwardly   

adv.正直地

参考例句：

• He hated her straightforwardly, making no effort to conceal it. 他十分坦率地恨她，从不设法加以掩饰。 来自辞典例句
• Mardi, which followed hard on its heels, was another matter. Mardi begins straightforwardly. 紧跟着出版的《玛地》，却是另一回事。《玛地》开始时平铺直叙。 来自辞典例句

8 tiresome   

adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的

参考例句：

• His doubts and hesitations were tiresome.他的疑惑和犹豫令人厌烦。
• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors.他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。

9 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

10 shuddered   

v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 pretentious   

adj.自命不凡的，自负的，炫耀的

参考例句：

• He is a talented but pretentious writer.他是一个有才华但自命不凡的作家。
• Speaking well of yourself would only make you appear conceited and pretentious.自夸只会使你显得自负和虚伪。