英美文化赏析--Lecture 3 Idioms.doc

Lecture Three Idioms In-class exercises Take these exercises as a quiz to check your knowledge of idioms “Do English idioms drive you round the bend, send you potty or make you go bananas? Maybe you find them as clear as mud, and they leave you thinking that you are as thick as two short planks because you cant get your head around them? Well, help is at hand - try this book and you could end up thinking that you are Jack the Lad and on top of it all. -Cambridge University Press put together 7000 of the most common idioms in English.” - How do you know about Johns illness? - Oh, I heard it on the grapevine. “Do you think Mary will quit her job now that she‘s pregnant?” Yeah, when pigs fly! She had to bite the bullet and give in to her bosss unreasonable demands When Carols son got an F on his report card, she hit the ceiling! Idioms with Animals Idioms with colours Idioms Nationality Idioms vs. Sports Idioms with Animals Translate the following Animal Idioms 亚洲四小龙 four tigers 鸡犬不宁的生活 a cat and dog life 爱屋及乌 love me, love my dog 吹牛 talk horse 壮如牛 as strong as a horse 老黄牛 a willing horse 狐假虎威 donkey in a lion’s hide 摸老虎屁股 twist the lion’s tail an early bird a cunning bird the Swan of Avon an old dog a lucky dog a dumb dog Senator McGovern was one of the leading doves in the Congress. His father, who was a night owl, was still awake. She is nice but her husband is such a bear that nobody likes him. He is far from straightforward to deal with--- a slippery eel. “all right, tiger,” said the coach, “get out on the track and show us what you can do!” to eat like a horse; to work like a horse --- To eat a great deal. To work very hard hold your horses --- Stop, wait a dead horse matter --- No longer of concern a dark horse. --- A person or thing that is much better than is thought lock the stable door after the horse has bolted --- Take action too late a horse of another color --- Quite a different m