- family
Do you have a family? // 你有孩子了吗?
- sth and sth
There are friends and friends. // 朋友跟朋友不一样,有真朋友,也有所谓的朋友。
There is coffee and coffee. // 咖啡有这种和那种之分。
There are books and books. // 书跟书不一样。
There are ways and ways of doing it. // 做此事有各种不同的方法。
and 在此处表示:“表示……同一事物质地的优劣不同”
- one and another
Time and tide wait for no man. // 时光如同潮流一样不等人 (时光如水,岁月不待人)
Truth and roses have thorns about them // 真理和玫瑰一样,都带有刺。
A word spoken and an row let fly can't be recalled // 说过的 话犹如射出去的箭,是追不回来的。
Of soup and love, the first is the best. // 喝汤第一口最鲜美,恋爱时初恋最甜美
and 在这里并不是将前者和后者连接成一个并列结构,而是构成一种比喻。
- labor
His mother died of difficult labor. // 他妈妈难产而死。
Labor is the father of happiness. // 勤劳是幸福之父。
He soon learned to do a new labor // 他很快学会了一个新行当。
At last I woke him after much labor // 我费了好大劲终于将他叫醒。
You can hear his labored breathing. // 你能听到他费力的呼吸声
Prices are much lower there because ofthe cheaper labor // 因为那里的劳动力便宜,价格要低得多
labor 有很多意思, difficult labor 表示“难产”。hard labor 表示“苦力”,“累活”
- sleep late 短暂动作 VS 持续动词
Many people sleep late at weekends. // 周末许多人睡懒觉 (许多人睡觉一直睡到很晚)。
Many people go to bed late at weekends. // 许多人周末睡得很晚。
sleep 是一个典型的持续动词,
I have put on this jacket for three days // 这家衣服我穿三天了
put on 是短暂动词,此句的谓语动词应该是 have worn
汉译英时注意区分英语的短暂动词和持续动词;短暂动词的完成形式不能和表示一段时间的状语连用。
- It's ... that...
It's a good father that knows his son. // 再好的父亲也未必了解自己的儿子
It's a good horse that never stumbles // 好马也有失蹄时
It's a good machine that works without power // 无论机器怎么好,没有动力开不了
- at the end of ....
At the end of the day, it's his responsibility, and there's nothing you can do. // 不管怎么说,这是他的责任,你一点办法都没有
到头来,归根结底,最终
With all the homework to be done, he was at the end of his rope. // 有那么多功课要做,他简直累坏了。
at the end of one's row, at the end of one's tether, at the end of one's rope //束手无策,筋疲力尽,忍无可忍
Their washing machine has long been at the end of the road. // 他们的洗衣机早坏了
at the end of the road // 用坏了,完蛋了的,与“路”没有关系
A hundred years ago, this place was at the end of the rainbow, and people were rushing there through all means
// 一百年前,那里是美国人实现梦想的地方,人们千方百计地到那儿去。
at the end of the rainbow // 所有梦想都能实现的地方