【正文】 【成語來源】tocontradictoneself自相矛盾A man of the state of Chu (chǔ gu243。 楚國(guó)) had a spear and a shield for sale.楚國(guó)有個(gè)賣兵器的人，在市場(chǎng)上賣矛和盾。He was loud in praises of his shield.My shield is so strong that nothing can pierce it through.為了讓人家愿意買他的貨，他先舉起盾向人們夸口道：“你們看，我的盾是世上最堅(jiān)固的盾，任何鋒利的東西都不能刺穿它。”He also sang praises of his spear.My spear is so strong that it can pierce through anything.接著又舉起他的矛，向人吹噓說：“你們?cè)倏纯次业拿?，它鋒利無比，無堅(jiān)不摧，無論多么堅(jiān)硬的盾，都擋不住它，一刺就穿！”What would happen, he was asked, if your spear is used to pierce your shield?人群中有人問道：“如果用你的矛去刺你的盾，結(jié)果怎么樣？”It is impossible for an impenetrable shield to coexist with a spear that finds nothing impenetrable. 這世界上一樣無堅(jiān)不摧的東西永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)與一樣什么都能摧毀的東西共存?！疚幕溄印俊白韵嗝堋钡挠⑽谋磉_(dá)，常用“to contradict oneself”，比如：“你自相矛盾了”就可以說：“You39。re contradicting yourself.”或者“You39。ve contradicted yourself.”曾經(jīng)有一個(gè)英文帖子就討論過“Can you contradict yourself in one sentence? ”（你能在一句話里面做到自相矛盾嗎？），答案千奇百怪，這里就給大家看兩個(gè)例子~1.In the military it39。s, Hurry up and wait.（在軍隊(duì)里，有一種說法叫做“Hurry up and wait. ”，英語解釋是：“The concept of making every effort to arrive at a location ahead of the appointed time, with the expectation of having to wait upon arrival. ”也就是說不惜一切力量在指定時(shí)間之前就到達(dá)了目的地，但自己知道到達(dá)之后也要一直等到指定的時(shí)間。“hurry up（迅速）” 和“wait（等待）”是含有一定相對(duì)意義的詞，所以就在這么簡(jiǎn)短的一句話中，就做到了自相矛盾~這句話也被廣泛應(yīng)用在各個(gè)場(chǎng)所、各個(gè)領(lǐng)域）, I can39。t.（這句有很簡(jiǎn)短啊，同時(shí)還達(dá)到效果了~“yes（是的）”和“can39。t（不能、不會(huì)）”形成了自相矛盾的效果）【成語來源】show offbefore anexpert/teach a fish how to swim班門弄斧Lu Ban (魯班) was supposed to be a consummate carpenter in ancient times.古代有一個(gè)建筑和雕刻技術(shù)非常高超的人，名叫魯班。It is said that he once carved a wooden phoenix that was so lifelike that it actually flew in the sky for three days. 傳說他曾用木頭制作了一只五彩斑斕的鳳凰，能夠在空中飛翔三天不掉下來。Thus it was considered the height of folly to show off one39。s skill with an axe in front of Lu Ban. 誰敢在魯班門前賣弄使用斧子的技術(shù)，也就是說，想在大行家面前顯示自的本領(lǐng)，這種太不謙虛的可笑行為，就叫做“班門弄斧”（ 這句成語有時(shí)也用作自謙之詞，表示自己不敢在行家面前賣弄自己的小本領(lǐng)）?！境烧Z活用】I39。m making a fool of myself trying to show off before an expert like you.在你面前班門弄斧,太不好意思了。【文化鏈接】“班門弄斧”的英文表達(dá)，常用“to teach a fish how to swim”，也就是說“去教一條魚怎么游泳”，魚本來就會(huì)游泳，怎么還用人來教呢？所以英語中要表示一個(gè)人“班門弄斧”做無用的行為的時(shí)候，就會(huì)用“to teach a fish how to swim”。舉例來說： My son, fresh out of college, keeps telling me how to run my business. But I39。ve been making good money for 30 years so he39。s teaching a fish how to swim.我的兒子大學(xué)剛畢業(yè)，可是他卻不斷地來告訴我應(yīng)該怎麼做生意．我叁十年來生意做得很好，賺了不少錢．所以，他來告訴我怎麼做生意簡(jiǎn)直是班門弄斧?！境烧Z來源】e out of nowhere一鳴驚人In the Warring States Period (戰(zhàn)國(guó)), Duke Wei of Qi neglected state affairs, for the first three years of his reign, giving himself over to dissipation. 戰(zhàn)國(guó)時(shí)期，齊威王繼承王位已有三年了，可是他整天飲酒作樂，不理朝政。One of his minister, Chun Yukun (chn y kūn)who had a good sense of humor, said to him:”There is a big bird which has never taken wing nor sung for three Highness, may you guess what kind of bird is it?” 有一個(gè)大臣叫淳于髡，很有幽默感，對(duì)齊威王說：“臣聽說齊國(guó)有一只大鳥，三年來不飛也不叫，大王知道這是一只什么鳥？”The duke answered, “Once that bird starts to fly and sing, it will astonish the world.”（其實(shí)淳于髡是暗喻齊威王）齊威王答道：“一旦這只鳥開始飛翔高歌，必然震驚世界。”The duke then devoted himself to his duties and built his state up into a powerful one.從此齊威王勤于朝政，勵(lì)精圖治，國(guó)威大振。This idiom is used to indicate that a person may rise from obscurity and achieve greatness. 成語“一鳴驚人”比喻平時(shí)默默無聞或是無所作為，但一旦認(rèn)真起來，便一下子干出一番驚人的事來。【文化鏈接】英文中“一鳴驚人”可以用“e out of nowhere”來表達(dá)，直譯也就是“不知道從哪里就突然出現(xiàn)”的意思，這樣一想也就容易理解了~網(wǎng)上曾有一個(gè)帖子名叫“9 Sports Stars Who Came Out Of Nowhere”（9個(gè)“一鳴驚人”的體育明星），帖子中就細(xì)數(shù)了體壇九位“一鳴驚人”體壇黑馬，其中自然會(huì)有我們的驕傲“林書豪”啦~【成語來源】super good song 余音繞梁[en]In the Warring State Period (戰(zhàn)國(guó)) , there was a girl in the State of Qi called Han E (韓娥) who sang beautifully.在戰(zhàn)國(guó)時(shí)期，有一位歌聲撩人的少女，名曰韓娥。Once when she was passing through the State of Qi she had to sing to earn money to buy food. 有一次韓娥路過齊國(guó)時(shí)，以唱歌賣藝來掙錢，以此為生。When she left Qi the echoes of her songs clung to the beams of the houses there for three days before people realized that she had left.當(dāng)她離開齊國(guó)時(shí)，她的歌聲仍在房屋的梁木間縈繞，直到三日之后，人們才意識(shí)到韓娥已經(jīng)離開了。This idiom is used to describe unforgettably beautifull singing. 這個(gè)成語就形容歌聲的美麗與令人難忘?！疚幕溄印坑⑽闹小坝嘁衾@梁”雖然沒有特別傳神的表達(dá)，但若想表達(dá)“歌曲很好聽”可以用“super good song”，也就是“超級(jí)好聽的歌”的意思。其實(shí)“super+adj.”是一個(gè)十分常用的表達(dá)形式，比如“十分聰明的學(xué)生”就可以說“super clever student”，又比如“極其才華橫溢的導(dǎo)演”就可以說“super brilliant director”。其實(shí)，英語中表達(dá)“一首歌極其好聽”還有很多不同的表達(dá)方式，小編在此為大家介紹一種很贊的表達(dá)方式，那就是“eye of the tiger”，直譯就是“老虎的眼睛”，那為什么說“一首歌像老虎眼睛”就是“余音繞梁”了呢？老虎眼本身就體現(xiàn)了老虎的一大優(yōu)秀特質(zhì)（The name itself means a significance characteristic of a tiger.），同時(shí)有一首經(jīng)典的個(gè)就做“eye of the tiger”（電影《洛奇》的插曲），所以這個(gè)詞本身已經(jīng)成了表達(dá)“好歌”的代名詞了?！纠洹縏his song is ‘eye of the tiger.’這首歌堪比《老虎之眼》。This kind of sounds like ‘eye of the tiger’.這歌聽著就像《老虎之眼》一樣經(jīng)典?！境烧Z來源】castles in the air空中樓閣A rich man asked an architect to build a threestory house for him.有一個(gè)富人讓一位建筑師為他建造一個(gè)三層樓的房子。When the first story was finished, the rich man said to the architect: I want only the third story。 not the first and second stories. 當(dāng)?shù)谝粚咏ㄔ旌玫臅r(shí)候，富人對(duì)建筑師說：“我只想要第三層樓，不要第一、第二層。”The architect asked, But without the first and second stories, how can I build the third story? 建筑師說：“但沒有第一、第二層，何來第三層呢？”Shaking his head, he packed up his things, and left.建筑師于是就搖了搖頭，收拾東西離開了。This idiom indicates an unrealistic or impractical plan or theory. 這個(gè)成語現(xiàn)在比喻不現(xiàn)實(shí)或者不可行的計(jì)劃或者理論等?！疚幕溄印坑⑽闹小翱罩袠情w”可以說成“castles in the air”，基本就是直譯了，所以不難理解哦~英文解釋是“plans or hopes that have very little chance of happening”，也就是指“發(fā)生機(jī)會(huì)微乎其微的計(jì)劃或者希望”。我們來一起看幾個(gè)例句吧~She tells me she39。s planned out her whole career, but as far as I can see it39。s all just castles in the air. 她告訴我她已經(jīng)有了整個(gè)職業(yè)計(jì)劃，但是就我看來其實(shí)只是“空中樓閣”而已。Before you start building castles in the air, just think how much all this is likely to cost.在你開始建立“空中樓閣”之前，不如先想想你需要付出多少代價(jià)?！境烧Z來源】mere copycat東施效顰In the Spring and Autumn Period (春秋時(shí)期,770476 BC), there was a beauty in the State of Yue called Xishi (西施).傳說春秋時(shí)期，越國(guó)有一美女，名喚西施。She often suffered from pains in her chest, and so she would often walk around doubled over and with her brows knitted.但是西施有心口疼的毛病，所以她經(jīng)常手捂胸口，皺著眉頭走著。There was an ugly girl in the village called Dongshi who envied Xishi. 村子里還住著一位丑姑娘，叫做東施，她十分嫉妒西施。Striving to emulate Xishi, she imitated her stoop, knitting her brows at the same time. 于是東施時(shí)常效仿西施，手捂胸口，緊皺眉頭。She thought that this made her elegant, but in fact, it only made her more ugly.東施覺得她效仿西施就會(huì)變得很美麗，但是實(shí)際上，只會(huì)使她變得更難看而已。Later, this idiom came to be used to indicate improper imitation that produces the reverse effect. 這個(gè)典故比喻不恰當(dāng)?shù)哪７?，帶來相反的效果。【文化鏈接】英文中“東施效顰”可以說成“mere copycat”，“mere”有“僅僅”的意思，而“copycat”則可以表示我們常說的“山寨”，也就是“模仿的產(chǎn)品”，所以合在一起就是“僅僅只是山寨而已”，也就是“東施效顰”所表達(dá)的含義啦~比如說，大家都知道美國(guó)由好萊塢Hollywood，而印度有一個(gè)寶萊塢Bollywood,所以曾有人說“寶萊塢是不是東施效顰好萊塢呢？”，英文表達(dá)就是“Bollywood a mere copycat?”，但事實(shí)其實(shí)不是哈，寶萊塢已經(jīng)越來越有自己的特色，也有很多廣為人知的好電影了。【成語來源】be