词语趣谈Word文档下载推荐.docx

1、1. contraction 语法缩写38.1933年Gestapo（盖世太保）Acontraction（上角标1）from Geheime Staats Polizei, the Nazi secret police agency, 德国纳粹秘密警察组织Geheime Staats Polizei的缩写。39.1934年Belisha Beacon（贝利沙灯标）Black-and-white striped（上角标2）posts topped with yellow globes, introduced by Leslie Hore-Belisha, to halt mass murder

2、on the roads. 黑白相间的标杆，顶部有一个黄色的球形灯，这一年被莱斯利.霍尔一贝利沙（英国交通大臣）用作人行横道指示灯，以防道路上发生恶性车祸。40.1935年Alcoholics Anonymous（嗜酒者互诚协会美国的戒酒组织Founded by alcoholic Bill Wilson, based on bonding sessions and public confession of sins, 由嗜酒者比尔.威尔逊创立，其活动是开谈心会和公开认错。41. 1936年Mickey Mouse （米老鼠）Invented by Walt Disney, first cal

3、led Mortimer Mouse：He was my firstborn and how I achieved all the other things I ever did.系（美国人）沃尔特.迪斯尼的创造发明，当初名叫莫蒂默老鼠。迪斯尼说：他是我创造的第一个形象，借他实现了所有目标。42.1937年Surreal（超现实）A back-formation from the arts movement founded by Guillaume Apollinaire. The word has been degraded（上角标5） to mere waffle（上角标6）.这个词源于吉

4、洛默.阿波里耐（法国诗人）奠基的文艺运动，现在已被贬到与胡扯同义。43.1938年Nylon（尼龙）Trade name for polyhex-amethyleneadipamide. Coined（上角标7）by the Du Pont company.化学品聚亚已基已二酰胺的商标，由杜帮公司创造。（待续） A piece of cake 小事一桩I knew little about English when I first came to America. so I went to a language school everyday to learn English. One day

5、, during the break I asked one of my classmates a question that I didnt understand. When I thanked her for it, she said: You are welcome. Its a piece of cake. I thought to myself: America is really a society for money in which everything is done for pay. Thus I said to her: I havent taken any piece

6、of cake with me today. what about a piece of biscuit?She looked at me with a puzzled expression, then smiled. Knowing she hadnt got her words across, （get sth. across 为人理解，表达清楚）she said: What I mean is, no problem, and that it is only a trifling matter. Then I came to learn that a piece of cake is n

7、ot only a pieced of cake but also means a thing that is very easy. Bid mouth 喋喋不休，随便乱说I am a nurse. I was lucky to work at an old peoples home when I first came to America. As my English was poor, my aim at that time was to do more but speak less. One day I gave an old lady, Linda, her medicine. Lin

8、da was over 90 years old suffering from aged dementia （痴呆症）. I tried several times, but Linda refused to open her mouth. Feeling anxious, I said without thinking:Linda, open your big mouth, please. Unexpectedly, Mrs. Linda got angry and shouted: You have a big mouth. Leave me alone! I was dumbstruck

9、 （惊呆的）and did not know where my mistake laid.Later on a few pointers（指点，指示） from others made it clear to me that big mouth in American slang refers to a person who talks too much or spreads secrets around. No wonder Mrs. Linda got angry when she heard what I said. Actually I should have said: Open y

10、our mouth wide.百年话百词 （八）44.1939Walter Mitty（沃尔特.米帮）An ordinary person who is the hero of v ivid dreams and day-dreams of adventures, as in Thurbers The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.（美国幽默作家）瑟伯的作品沃尔特.米蒂的秘密生活的主人公，指整天想入非非，做白日梦的家伙。45.1940Jeep（吉普）Utility vehicle. Some say from G.P.general purpose. Probably

11、 influenced by Eugene the Jeep in Elzie C. Segers comic strip Popeye.多用途车辆。有人说这个词来自多用途（General Purpose）的首字母G.P.，但这个词的产生很可能受到（美国连环漫画家）埃尔齐.西格的作品波佩中的人名Eugene the Jeep的影响。46.1941Radar（雷达）A method of detecting the position and velocity of an object. Acronym of Ra（dio） D（etecting） a（and） R（anging）.用来探测物体的

12、位置和速度的一种方法，无线电探测定位的简称。47.1942Robotics （机器人学）The science of robots. A science fiction word come to life. Asimovs There Universal Laws of Roboticsare accepted the rubric of SF.这个词是从科学小说中流传开的。（美国科学小说家）阿西莫夫制定的机器人学的3条普遍法则被视为科学小说的程式。48.1943Dam Busters（大坝毁灭者）Nickname for the 617 Squadron of the RAF, which

13、destroyed the dams with bombs that skimmed like ducks and drakes, and flooded the Ruhr. Bouncing bombs invented by Barnes Wallis.英国皇家空军第617中队的绰号。这个飞行中队在二战期间炸毁了德国的水坝，河水淹没了鲁尔区。他们使用的炸弹是巴恩斯.沃利斯发明的弹跳炸弹，飞机在贴近水面的高度投弹，炸弹便像在水面上跳动的鸭子一样直奔水坝。More.Updated on each Monday!百词话百年（一）1997年11月3日，英国泰晤士报（The Times）刊登了一篇题

14、为“诠释现代社会的词汇”（Words That Define the Modern Age）的文章，作者是菲利普霍华德（Philip Howard）。文章说，我们怎样才能最有效地评估20世纪呢？柯林斯词典（Collins Dictionaries）声称它把20世纪的含义浓缩在过去100年产生的100个新词里。具体来说，从1896年到1997年这102年间每年出现的许多新词中选出1个最具代表性的词，共102个。1.1896年 Radioactivity（放射性）This word wearsits derivation on its face. The spontaneous alteratio

15、n of the nuclei of radioactive atoms. Alpha, beta and gamma radiation.从词面就可以看出这个词的起源。它是指放射性原子核自发地放出射线而衰变成另外的元素的性质。放射线分为甲、乙、丙三种。2.1897年 Aspirin（阿司匹林）First used for headaches and fever, now said to prevent heart attacks.最初用于治疗头痛和发烧，现在据说可用于预防心脏病突发。3.1898年 Krypton（氪）Greek for hidden thing. A colorless,

16、odorless gas used in fluorescent lights and lasers.源于希腊语，意思是“隐藏的物质”。它是一种无色、无味气体，用于日光灯和激光器。4.1899年 Gamine（流浪女孩）An elfish young woman. French for a young street Arabess. Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday was the archetypal, unforgettable, adorable gamine.指调皮活泼的年轻女子。这个词源自法语，意思是在街头流浪的女孩。奥黛丽赫本在罗马假日一片中扮演了一个

17、典型的、令人难忘的、可爱的流浪女孩。5.1900年 Labor Party（工党）Latin toil. Old English for pain and grief. New Labor is more chardonnay and avocado dip, less beer and sandwiches.劳动（labour）这个词在拉丁语里是“艰辛”的意思，在古英语里是“痛苦和悲伤”的意思。而现在的“新工党”成员喝的是夏敦埃酒（甜白葡萄酒），吃的是鳄梨奶油沙司；啤酒和三明治已不那么上口了。6.1901年 Fingerprint（指纹）No two fingerprints are the

18、 same. First used in India as a means of indentifying suspects. Then in England and in thrillers. DNA is better.指纹没有相同的；首先被印度用作鉴定嫌疑犯的方法，后来在英国被采用；惊险片也常使用这个方法。不过，现在更好的方法是脱氧核糖核酸鉴别法。（待续）足球场上的常用词 （一）referee 裁判coach 教练fan 球迷defender, back guard 后卫lineman 巡边员 spectator观众goal deeper, goalie 守门员team球队skipper

19、 领队forward, striker前锋training训练 captain, leader队长center field中场byline边线end line底线kick-off circle中圈，开球区penalty area禁区pitch球场FIFA 国际足联goal球门，进球数golden goal , sudden death 金球制，突然死亡法 趣谈 Workaholic Workaholic这个词在普通词典上是查不到的，它是根据alcoholic这个词衍生出来的。Alcoholic是指饮酒上瘾的人，当然Workaholic就是指对工作上瘾的人。有些人在工作上喜欢花很多时间，他干工作

20、的时间比别人长。他一开口就谈工作，不谈别的什么，好像对工作有瘾一样。几十年前美国有一位教会辅导员，名叫维恩奥茨，他从早到晚忙个不停，成了典型的工作狂。他工作时连家人都不能见到他。后来维恩奥茨写了一本名为一个工作狂的忏悔录的书。书中第一次使用Workaholic这个词，意思是指那些只知道工作，不顾家庭，没有正常生活的人。例如：People call Mr.Green workaholic He spends most of his time in the office, pays no attention to his wife and kids, and never goes on vacat

21、ion with them. 人们管格林先生叫工作狂。他把大多数时间花在办公室里，不注意他的妻子和孩子，从不和他们去度假。踢地雷 英语当中许多语汇与体育运动是分不开的，kick就是一例。足球比赛的第一脚是kickoff,这一脚后比赛便开始了。久而久之，这个词组也用于日常生活中，如这样一句话“Starting on Friday, the soldiers kicked off the second round of the landmine clearance drive”怎么译呢？是不是从星期五开始士兵踢地雷？逻辑上显然是错误的，因为踢地雷不啻于送命。而且原文中说是second round（

22、第二轮），命岂有送了一次再送一回的理？kick off在此就是开始的意思，相当于比赛开始，因而全句可译为：“士兵在星期五又开始第二轮的扫雷行动。”再举一例：“They kicked off a ten day tour of China with a party in Beijing. ”（他们在北京搞了个聚会，以此开始对中国的十天旅行。）踢足球很刺激，kick也就有了这样的含义，如：They loved debate, and got a kick out of court proceedings.（他们喜欢辩论，因而法庭的辩辞使他们觉得特过瘾。五指不同名，拇指最不灵英语和汉语对手指的称呼既

23、有差别又有相似之处。现介绍如下：1.thumb :大拇指。与汉语相映成趣的是，英语的all（fingers and ） thumbs也表示笨手笨脚的意思，例如：（1）Im all fingers and thumbs this morning. I dont seem to be able to button up my shirt.今天早上我的手怎么这么笨呢，好像连衬衫都扣不上了。（2）He was so excited that his fingers were all thumbs and he dropped the teacup.他激动得手都不好使了，竟把茶杯摔了。2. forefi

24、nger :又称index finger,即食指。前缀fore-表示位置靠前的（placed at the front）,所以从排位上说，forefinger应为第一指。从功用上看，此手指伸出时有标示或指向的作用。在一些英语工具书中，我们会见到这样的表示参见（index）含义的手型符号。3. middle finger :中指。此指居中，名正言顺，且与汉语说法也一致。4. ring finger:无名指。从世界各地的婚俗习惯来说，结婚戒指（wedding ring）戴在这一手指（通常指左手）之上，表示已婚。5. little finger: 顾名思义为小指。在美国和苏格兰，人们又赋予它一个爱称

25、，管它叫 pinkie（pinky），后缀-ie（-y）有小巧可爱之意。五指长短不一，各有各的用处，但唯有相互协作才能发挥最大的功能。由人名而来的词Oscar, one of several gold statuettes awarded annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the USA for outstanding achievements in the cinema. The trophies, first awarded in 1929, were not called Oscars until

26、1931, when, so it is said, the Academys librarian, Margaret Herrick, remarked that the statuettes reminded her of her uncle Oscar. A newspaper reporter who happened to be listening passed this fact on to his readers, and so , the story goes, the word came into the language. 奥斯卡是一尊金雕像，一年一度由美国电影艺术与科学学

27、院颁发给电影辊有突出业绩的人士。该奖项始于1929年，但直到1931年才被称为奥斯卡奖。据说学院的图书馆员玛格丽特.赫里克说该雕像使她想起她的叔叔奥斯卡。一名报社记者恰巧听到，便把这一信息传达给读者，奥斯卡奖由此得名。Pulitzer prizes, awarded annually for outstanding achievements in journalism, literature, and music. Named after Joseph Pulitzer （1847-1911）, the Hungarian-born US newspaper publisher, the pr

28、izes were established by Pulitzers will.普利策奖一年一度颁发给在新闻、文学和音乐领域有突出业绩的人士。该奖以匈牙利裔美国报纸出版商的瑟夫.普利策（18471911）的名字命名，是根据他的遗愿而设立的。百词话百年（二）7.1902年 Teddy Bear（玩具熊）Brooklyn candy store owner Morris Michtom made the first teddy bear of brown plus and named it for that great huntsman, Theodore Roosevelt.纽约布鲁克林区的糖果

29、店老板莫里斯米奇汤姆用棕色长毛绒制作了第一个玩具熊，并用（美国总统）西奥多罗斯福的名字给它命名。罗斯福是很棒的猎手。（Teddy是罗斯福的昵称。）8.1903年 Tarmac（柏油碎石）The eponym of the paving material is John Loudon McAdam（1756-1836）,the Scottish engineer.这种铺路材料的名字来自其发明者苏格兰工程师约翰劳登麦克亚当（1756-1836）。9.1904年 FIFA（国际足球联合会）The acronym for Federation Internationale de Football Association. Professional football is overpaid lions organized by donkeys and hyenas.这个词是国际足球联合会的简称。职业足球成了一个出大款的职业，而其组织者不过是一群笨蛋和阴险之辈。10.1905年Sinn Fein（新芬党）Irish republican movement founded about 1905. In Irish we ourselves.爱尔兰主张共和运动的组织，约在1905年成立。新芬在爱尔兰语里的意思