【正文】 d by these allusions. To them, it is not only a question of understanding an allusion and knowing what it means, but also a question of knowing what kind of allusions is likely to make. This thesis studies the chief cultural sources of English allusions and explains how allusions serve to significance, ideas and descriptions. English allusions e from sources that are familiar to the majority of people or the educated. These sources range from Greek and Roman mythology, the stories from the Bible, and Shakespeare’s plays to Aesop’s fables. There are some allusions easy to understand, while there are others difficult to figure out. The following example contains an allusion: That expectation could prove to be the Achilles’ heel of the project. (Net. 4) If readers have no idea of what Achilles’ heel is, this allusion means nothing to them, and they could not understand what the writer wants to express. To fully understand this allusion, we have to know Achilles’ story from Greek mythology. Achilles’ mother took him by the heel and dipped him in the river Styx to make him invulnerable from death, but the heel by which she held him remained dry. His heel became his weakness. It was the place where he could be killed. When one alludes to Achilles’ heel in someone or something, it means that there is a weakness in that person or thing.Therefore, if one wants to fully understand English allusions, it is necessary and important to study them from chief cultural sources.2. Allusion, language and culture The definition of allusionThere are lots of allusions in English, which reveals the rich cultural heritage of English. It helps people from different countries municate and understand each other more easily, so they can use English allusions properly in intercultural munication.“Allusion is an implied or indirect reference, especially, when used in literature” ().Allusion is something that is said or written that refers to or mentions another person or subject in an indirect way (Oxford ADVANCED LEARNER39。(4)A way of expressing ideas and feeling using movement symbols and sounds. The definition and major ponents of cultureCulture is the customs and briefs, art, way of life and social organization of a particular country or group。 it is England who brought up Shakespeare. However, who created England is the Bible（Wang Bingqin，1995: 58）. The Bible has an enormous influence on the western world, probing not only into literary and art works, but also in politics, economy, technology, merce, diplomacy, etc.With the spreading of Christianity, the Bible is known to every household in the western world. It is taken as background knowledge in numerous literary works and allusions from it are used to construct works’ main themes. Figurative meanings from charactersNumerous characters in the Bible have their own images, disposition, belief and experience, and have bee typical representatives after being widely read and quoted for a long time, especially to Christians.Below are some examples containing this kind of allusions:(1) ①He is a Job’s post.②I am as poor as Job, however, not so patient.③My teacher was as patient as Job, and never bee impatient over my stupidity. It is not difficult to find that there is one word “Job” in every sentence. If one does not know who Job is or what or whom Job likes, he may be confused by these three sentences.Job is one character in the Bible. He was a man of great patience. He managed to finish all the work that God subjected him by enduring it patiently. Although he was very rich, he lived in poverty and simplicity. There are many allusions with Job, such as “Job’s news” that means bad news, “Job’s post” which means disaster messenger, “as poor as Job” that means poor and blank, “as patient as Job” that means having great patience.(2) His behavior towards his wife turned out to be Judas kiss.Judas was a traitor. He was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. It is recorded that Judas betrayed Jesus to the Jewish priests for thirty pieces of silver.“Judas kiss” or “the kiss of Judas” means honey in mouth, danger in heart, which seemed affectionate but actually insidious.(3)He is no Solomon. I do not believe he can manage to do it in time.Solomon was a very wise man。 Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, was the god of the sky and the king of the Roman gods.In the chemical field, there are some chemical elements named according to gods. For example, Uranium is named from Roman mythological god of heavens, Uranus。 (2)The use by humans of a system of sounds and words to municate。本文從以下幾個方面粗略地學習了英語典故：第一：希臘羅馬神話；第二：文獻巨著，包括《圣經(jīng)》，莎士比亞的作品以及伊索寓言。 the second one is famous literature, including the Bible, Shakespeare’s plays and Aesop’s fables. Illustration is the main method for studying English allusions in this thesis. Key Words: language and culture English allusions cultural sources 摘 要語言與文化有著密切的關系：文化影響語言的發(fā)展，語言是文化的載體。S EnglishChinese Dictionary, 2004: 45). So far, a conclusion can be drawn that allusion is persons, events or vocabularies quoted from legends, tales, customs, religious, famous literary works and correct life when people speaking or writing. The definition of languageIt is difficult to answer this question when one is asked “what is language”. He or she may be hesitating to give the following: (1) Language is a means of munication。 it is art, music, literature, thought of a group。 he was the king of the Hebrews around the 10th century, ., and was noted for his wisdom. “As wise as Solomon” means very wise, while “no Solomon” means stupid or foolish.Besides the characters illustrated above,