【正文】 to help a lame dog over a stileto help a person in trouble。s colloquial speech, and have bee mottoes: God helps those who help themselves(自助者天助 ), fall on stony ground(沒有結(jié)果 ), fall by the wayside(半途而廢 ), ask for bread and be given a stone(得非所求 ), sow the wind and reap the whirlwind(惡有惡報(bào) ), old Adam(本性的罪惡 ), a doubting Thomas(不肯輕易相信別人的人 ), all things to all men(八面玲瓏 ), beard the lion(敢在太歲頭上動(dòng)土 ) and an eye for an eye(以牙還牙 ) Like the word Heaven in Chinese, God is a household word in English. It is often used in their oral conversation, for they believe that God is so justice, merciful and powerful that he is capable of helping the needy and relieving the distressed, for example, Oh, my God, Thank God, God bless me, Man proposes, God disposes, honest to God etc. 4. Different traditions and customs Culture is long acquired from customs and habits. These customs and habits are representative of the way of living of a certain speech munity and they are mirrored in the habitual speaking of the language. . Food and cooking Food is one of the aspects of cultural tradition that are reflected in English idioms. In most European countries, wheat used for baking bread, barley for brewing wine and oat for feeding animals are the major supply of food. Bread, butter, jam, cheese, etc. are usual kind of food in daily meals. Bread is one of the supplies for living. So to earn one a bread means to make a living. Bread and butter(日常所需 ), as major food of the Westerners is also an idiom meaning the usual needs of life. To know which side one?s bread is buttered(知道自身利益所在 ) is an interesting idiom implying to know where one?s interest lies. To butter both sides of one39。誰言寸草心，報(bào)德三春暉 (Such kindness as young grass receives from the warm sun can39。ll jeopardize affairs of great moment) 《 論語 》 。 “Reading makes a full man, conference a ready man, writing an exact man”Bacon Of Studies, Catch 22(第 22 條軍規(guī) )Joseph Heller39。 have an old head on young shoulders (年輕卻有頭腦 ) and to claim one39。s Fables greatly influence the English idioms. Perhaps you are quite familiar with these idioms: mistake the shadow for the substance(以假當(dāng)真，捕風(fēng)捉影 ), sour grapes(聊以自慰 ), nurse a viper in one39。s box (潘多拉之盒 ) which means the origin of all evils is also from Greek mythology。s egg(哥倫布豎雞蛋 )(In the famous story of Columbus39。s history. Take the aspect of language for example: there are a lot of idioms in the Chinese language which cannot find an equivalent in the English language because the history of the two countries are quite different. Many Chinese idioms are from their own historical events which are wellknown by Chinese people. For instance, the following idioms are from historical events in Ancient China: 風(fēng)聲鶴唳 ,草木皆兵 (be in an extremely nervous state in which one is frightened by the slightest sound) is from the defeat of Fu Jian?s(苻堅(jiān) ) army at Feishui River during the East Jin Dynasty。s sail to the wind (見風(fēng)使舵 ), to be in the same boat (同舟共濟(jì) )， to burn one39。漢語 。因此，完全有必要對(duì)中西文化差異進(jìn)行詳細(xì)的研究。Cultural Differences between English and Chinese on Idioms Origins 從習(xí)語來源看中英文化差異 [Abstract] Different people from different cultures may have different understandings of the same sentence because they know little about the target cultures. While the ultimate aim of English teaching as a foreign language is to cultivate students39。語言是跨文化交際中最主要的手段。文化差異 Introduction Language is inseparable from culture. For one thing, language is a part of culture and plays an important role in it. For another, as a mirror of culture, language is strongly influenced and shaped by culture。s boat (破釜沉舟 ), a big fish in a little pond(山中無老虎，猴子稱霸王 ).[2]P110 On the other hand, the Han People live on land, they belong to an agrarian society that places agricultural production at the top of the national agenda, regarding industry and merce as the nonessentials. During the long history of farming, the Chinese language has accumulated large numbers of farmers39。 臥薪嘗膽 (to sleep on brushwood and taste gallto undergo selfimposed hardships so as to strengthen one39。s egg, the explorer, irritated at being told that his exploits were easy, challenged the guests at a banquet to balance an egg on its end. When all had failed, he succeeded by flattening one end by tapping it against the table, a trick that any would then have been able to repeat. Repetition is easier than innovation.)[7] and to eat crow(吃下烏鴉 ) which means to be forced to change hat one has said。[9]P360,10and Penelope39。s bosom(姑息養(yǎng)奸 )， the lion39。s pound of flesh (割某人的一磅肉 ) are from The Merchant of Venice。s Catch 22。 東 施效 顰 (now it means imitating somebody stupidly)《莊子 t be repaid)孟郊《游子吟》 .[12]P23 3. Different religions and beliefs As a cultural phenomenon, religion, which is the manifestation of different cultures, is the vital part of human thought. It perates into every possible aspect of people39。s bread may satisfy a person39。 Love me, love my dogaccept my friends as yours. However, In China, people often despise such an animal, therefore, a dog is usually associated with a derogatory sense:狗血噴頭 (a torrent of abuse),狗頭軍師 (wicked counselor),狗眼看人低 (be damned snobbish),狼心狗肺 (rapacious as a wolf and savage as a cur),狗急跳墻 (despair gives a courage to a coward),打落水狗 (kick the man when he is down),狗嘴里吐不 出象牙 (a filthy mouth can39。s invitation to a meal, you will find it difficult to say anything against him) reflects the philosophy of the Chinese. That is why most of the problems can be solved at the dinner table, which surprises the western businessmen. . Animals The English and Chinese people have their own individual state of mind, which add national coloring to the idioms, due to their different living conditions. The English and the Chinese people traditionally have different opinions of anima