1、常见的西方典故,常见的西方典故,An Apple of DiscordThe Heel of AchillesPandoras boxCatch-22Uncle Sam,the sword of DamoclesBone of The Bone and Flesh of The FleshGreek GiftSwan SongThe Salt of the Earth ,典故以较少的文字表达相对丰富的含义，了解典故的文化背景有利于对篇章的翻译和理解西方典故大多出于圣经，希腊神话，荷马史诗等古代经典与现当代的文学著作。也有出于风俗习惯和异类见闻的,An Apple of Discord,He t
2、hrowing us an apple of discord,we soon quarrelled again. The dispute about inheriting estate formed an apple of discord between them. This problem seems to be an apple of discord between the Soviet union and the USA,An Apple of Discord,An Apple of Discord直译为“纠纷的苹果” 出自荷马史诗Iliad中的希腊神话故事 最初为公元2世纪时的古罗马历
3、史学家马克朱里尤斯丁(Marcus Juninus Justinus)所使用，后来广泛的流传到欧洲许多语言中去，成为了一个国际性成语。,any subject of disagreement and contention;the root of the trouble;dispute 争斗之源；不和之因；祸根,The Heel of Achilles,The shortage of fortitude is his heel of Achilles. His Achilles heel was his pride-he would get very angry if anyone critic
4、ized his work.,The Heel of Achilles,The Heel of Achilles直译是“阿基里斯的脚踵”，是个在欧洲广泛流行的国际性成语。它源自荷马史诗Iliad中的希腊神话故事。,a weak point in something that is otherwise without fault; the weakest spot 唯一弱点；薄弱环节；要害,Pandoras box,The Senate investigation turned out to be a Pandoras box for the administration .they came
5、through the uncontrollable desire of a young woman to open and see a box of jewels Pandoras Box.,Pandoras box,Pandoras box直译为“潘多拉的盒子”，是个在欧洲广泛流行的国际性成语。源自于希腊神话。,The source of disaster.被用来比喻造成灾害的根源。,Catch-22,You cannot get a job without experience ,but you cannot obtain experience without getting a job
6、 it is a Catch-22 situation .There must be a catch somewhere .,Catch-22,出自美 国 作 家 赫 勒 (Joseph Hiller)写 的 一 本 小 说 Catch-22(第 廿 二 条 军 法 )，,引申为“没 法 克 服 的 障 碍 ”或“进退维谷的境地”。catch是 “引 人 上 当 的 事 情 ”或 “潜 在 的 困 难 ”,Uncle Sam,Your former neighbor is wanted by the FBI; Uncle Sam wants him.We pay uncle sam with
7、our taxes,Uncle Sam,产生于1812年美英战争时期。纽约州一位诚实能干的肉类包装商被人们亲切地称为“山姆大叔”。他担任纽约州和新泽西州的军需检验员，负责在供应军队的牛肉桶和酒桶上打戳。人们发现该厂的牛肉桶上都盖有标记。本来，是一个军火承包商的名字，是美国的缩写。碰巧山姆大叔（ ）的缩写与美国的缩写（）相同，人们就管美国叫“山姆大叔”。,a personification of the United States government 山姆大叔(指美国政府或美国人)美国人把“山姆大叔”诚实可靠、吃苦耐劳以及爱国主义精神视为自己民族的骄傲和共有的品质。1961年，美国国会正式承认
8、“山姆大叔”为美国的民族象征。,The Salt of the Earth,He does a lot of good jobs and is considered to be the salt of the world. You all are the salt of the earth.Our hope is placed on you.Ye are the salt of the earth:but if the salt have lost his savor,wherewith shall it be salted? (bible),The Salt of the Earth,字面意
9、思“世上的盐” The Salt of the Earth一词出自圣经,把门徒比做“世上的盐”，这是极高的称赞 .,the most valuable members of sociey; the finest type of humanity; a person or a group of people having the best character 社会中坚；民族精华；优秀份子,the sword of Damocles,Unemployment, like the sword of Damocles, was always accompanying the workers. The
10、newspaper reported that the army was very discontent and that this was a sword of Damocles hanging over the government,the sword of Damocles,直译作“达摩克利斯剑 ”。出自希腊神话,The potential dangerous hidden agenda;秘密议程；masked threat;潜在的威胁 时刻存在着忧患。人们常用这一典故来比喻随时可能发生的潜在危机。,Bone of The Bone and Flesh of The Flesh,Our
11、army is bone of the bone and flesh of the flesh of the people. The I.W.W was bone of the bone and flesh of the flesh of the floating workers.(W.Foster:Pages from a Workers Life.),Bone of The Bone and Flesh of The Flesh,Bone of The Bone and Flesh of the Flesh直译“骨中之骨,肉中之肉“出自中关于上帝造人的神话.,as close as fle
12、sh and blood;to be inseperately linked to each other 比喻血缘上的亲属关系或思想上的团结一致,Greek Gift,He is always buying you expensive clothes,Im afraid they are Greek gifts for you.Comrades,be on guard against the Greek gifts!,Greek Gift,Greek Gift(s)直译是“希腊人的礼物”出自荷马史诗奥德赛 。,a gift with some sinister purposes of the
13、enemy; one given with intent to harm; a gift sent inorder to murder sb 与汉语“黄鼠狼给鸡拜年-不安好心”十分类似,Swan Song,Kykneion asma. :All the tickets have been sold for the singers performance in London this week-the public clearly believes that this will be her swan song The Tempest was W.Shakespeares swan song in 1612,Swan Song,Swan Song字面译做“天鹅之歌” 在古希腊神话中，阿波罗(Apollo)是太阳神、光明之神，由于他多才多艺，又是诗歌与音乐之神，后世奉他为文艺的保护神。天鹅是阿波罗的神鸟，故常用来比喻文艺。传说天鹅平素不唱歌，而在它死前，必引颈长鸣，高歌一曲，其歌声哀婉动听，感人肺腑。这是它一生中唯一的，也是最后的一次唱歌。,a last or farewell appearance;the last work before death 比喻某诗人，作家，作曲家临终前的一部杰作，或者是某个演员，歌唱家的最后一次表演 最后杰作；绝笔,OVER,bye-bye,
