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发表于 2006-10-22 16:32
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The best things in life are free.
--We don't have to pay for the things that are really valuable, like love, friendship and good health.
A stitch in time saves nine.
--Repair something as soon as it is damaged. That's a small repair job. If not, you will have a much bigger and more expensive repair job later. Do it now and you'll need one stitch. Do it later and you'll need 9 stitches! (Why nine and not eight or ten? Because "nine" rhymes,approximately. with "time".)
stitch (noun) = a link made with thread in sewing
in time = not late
Still waters run deep.
--Some rivers have rough surfaces with waves. That's usually because the water is shallow and there are rocks near the surface. But deep rivers have no rocks near the surface and the water is smooth and still. "Still waters run deep" means that people who are calm and tranquil on the outside, often have a strong, "deep" personality.
still (adjective) = calm, motionless
deep (adjective) = going far down
He teaches ill,who teaches all.
--The unusual structure of this proverb may make it difficult to understand. It becomes easier if we change the structure to "He who teaches all teaches ill." The word "ill" here means "badly". So it means that the teacher who teaches students everything, does not teach well. A good teacher lets students discover some things for themselves.
ill (adverb) = badly
You can't take it with you when you die.
--When we die we leave everything on earth. We don't take anything with us. Even the richest people cannot take their money with them after death. This proverb reminds us that some material things are not really so valuable as we think.
Better untaught than ill taught.
--This proverb drops the verb "to be". But we understand: "It is better not to be taught at all than to be taught badly." It's better not to learn something than to learn it badly. This idea is echoed in Pope's famous line: "A little learning is a dang'rous thing;".
taught = past participle of verb "teach" (here used in passive voice)
ill taught = badly taught
You can't tell a book by its cover.
--We need to read a book to know if it's good or bad. We cannot know what it's like just by looking at the front or back cover. This proverb is applied to everything, not only books.
No news is good news.
--This is like the proverb "Bad news travels fast." If we are waiting for news about someone, it's probably good if we hear nothing because "bad news" would arrive quickly.
Bad news travels fast.
--"Bad news" means news about "bad" things like accidents, death, illness etc. People tend to tell this type of news quickly. But "good news" (passing an exam, winning some money, getting a job etc) travels more slowly.
Live and let live.
--This proverb suggest that we should not interfere in other people's business. We should live our own lives and let others live their lives. The title of the famous James Bond story Live and Let Die was a play on this proverb.
Birds of a feather flock together.
--"Birds of a feather" means "birds of the same type". The whole proverb means that people of the same type or sort stay together. They don't mix with people of another type.
feather (noun) = part of the soft, light covering of a bird's body
flock (verb) = gather in a crowd
以上英文解释已经非常简单易懂了，我就不翻译了。 |
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