时间:2018-12-27 作者:英语课 分类:英语早间课堂


英语课
各位亲爱的朋友们,欢迎和Juliet一起来趣味学英语。上回我们知道了the last straw 1(最后一根稻草)是比喻一根导火索,一个垮台的因素,一系列不愉快的事情的最后一件或一种导致人无法忍受的事情或情况。那么,英美人为何用“最后一根稻草”来这么比喻呢?今天我们就要探其源,究其本,探寻挖掘它的由来了。
 
The last straw来自于跟骆驼有关的一个短语:the straw that breaks the camel's back。这个说法来源于伊索寓言,字面意思就是压垮骆驼背的那根稻草。后来就简称用作the last straw。
 
 
我们大家都知道,骆驼是非常强壮的动物。一般说来,一只骆驼可以驮500公斤重的东西。但是,不断地往它背上加东西的话,这只骆驼到了一定程度就会到达它所能承受的极限,哪怕再多加一根稻草也会使它承受不了而垮掉。这个故事引申到人身上,则是某人忍无可忍,到了忍受的极限的意思。
 
我们来看下面这个妻子非常气愤地对其丈夫说的话:
 
All these years, I have tried to be a good wife, even though you are lazy, you drink too much and half of the time you even don't have a steady 2 job. But when I know you are spending money on another woman, that is the last straw! I ask you to go out of my house right away and I never want to see you again!
 
这么多年来,尽管你很懒,酗酒,还经常没有固定的工作,但是我一直尽力做一个贤惠的妻子。可是,当我发现你把钱花在另一个女人身上的时候,这就使我忍无可忍了。你给我马上滚出去,我永远也不想见到你!
 
是的,在当今社会,很多家庭破裂的因素是因与外人有染而导致。无论男方还是女方,都不可能给带“绿帽子”或“红帽子”。你即使穷,对方都不嫌弃。可是你富裕,但是你花心对方都会嫌弃。我接触到很多欧美国家的外国人,他们都离婚了,他们都对我说着同样的一句话:“Juliet,我不需要你有多漂亮,Juliet,不嫌弃你有多贫穷,Juliet,需要的是Juliet善良的心地,Juliet,你有这颗善良的心,我就愿意娶你。”那么,我听了实在是很感动。不要伤着自己或者伤着对方,我们守住自己的最后一道防线,为你的人格,为你曾经心动爱过的人,为你们爱情的结晶——孩子,你守住最后一道防线。当然,如果实在婚姻是不如意,觉得两人在一起是当初错误的一个选择,就当机立断选择正大光明的方式处理,给对方一个明白的交代,早点结束双方的痛苦。好,亲爱的朋友,您对这个问题是如何看待的呢?来信请寄:leinadancingroon@qq.com。
 
我们再来通过英国文学名著《飘》和中国文学名著《子夜》中的句子更为熟悉the last straw这个俗语的意思。
 
1. Not marrying the young lady, of whom you have probably heard, was merely 3 the last straw. (From Gone With The Wind)
 
就说我没有娶那位你大约听说过的年轻女人吧,那仅仅是问题爆发的最后一个方面罢了。
 
2. If we knock off another ten per cent on top of that, it's going to be the last straw, and it's quite likely they'll come out on strike, which will put us in a tight 4 spot.(From The Midnight)
 
现在再来一个九折,一下里太狠了一点,恐怕他们当真要闹什么罢工怠工,反多了周折。
 
最后,我们要用the last straw这个名词性短语来表述某人忍无可忍,来强调这个人,那么又如何表达呢?我们来看这个例句:It was about the last straw for Jabez Stone. 杰贝兹·斯通简直忍受不了。我们名词straw后面加上介词for即可。
 
转自可可英语
 

1 straw
n.稻草,麦杆,吸管;adj.用稻草做的,用来作稻草的,麦杆色的,无价值的,象稻草人的,非正式民意测验所发现的
  • The old peasant is twisting pieces of straw into a rope.这位老农民正把稻草搓成绳子。
  • May I have a straw for my drink?给我一根喝饮料的吸管好吗?
2 steady
adj.稳定的,不动摇的,沉着的,稳固的,坚定的,可靠的;vt.使稳定
  • She has a steady income.她有固定的收入。
  • He is a steady young man.他是一个稳重的年轻人。
3 merely
adv.仅仅,只不过
  • Your scheme is merely a castle in the air.你的计划只不过是空中楼阁。
  • You merely caused a crash by cutting in on me like that!你那样超我的车,差一点就撞车了!
4 tight
adj.紧的;难解的;紧密的
  • Time is going to be tight,so you'd better hurry.时间很紧,你最好抓紧一点。
  • The box is so tight that I can't open it.这个盒子太紧,我打不开。
学英语单词
a coaster
abrupts
acridology
alicyclic hydrocarbon
Alpers-Huttenlocher syndrome
amethodist
amorphous silica-alumina catalyst
annular focus
antifatique
arsoniumsalt
auspication
Bardet-Biedl syndrome
be bang on
be beset with
be reduced to
bonnici
bother about
boulderings
branch controller
can ice
centroid method
chromosome field (lima-de-faria 1954)
clearing heat and promoting fluid
clodomiro
closing output file
club sandwich
cok
colour sampling sequence
comparative advantage
complementary tree
composition of capital
conical barrel
conversion costs
countersteer
crematogasters
cyclotrigermenium
digamma functions
economic mobilizations
effective stiffness constant
electrictramway
electrode grip
endevors
ethylpentene
externally threaded part
extractum spinae cervinae fluidum
flying mouse
formal litigation of a case
gear roller
genetic dermatosis
Grewia
high hurdles
high-frequency medium hot combination equipment
hull geometry
information-flows
international trade documentation
james langston hughess
jawan
knaveries
line production method
looper toggle link complete
lotos
mecamylamine
mechanically-driven optical reflector
meflophenhydramine
minimal detectable quantity
misrecalling
musculus coracobranchialis
nondrinder
osteoccllagenous fibers
paronymies
Parophrys vitulus
phenol formaldehyde lacquer
photopic measurement
prescriptivisms
psychromete
puck-out
pyrocat
radionecrosis
rebate
regreases
restriced channel
revenge effect
reverse stock split
rewatering
sandpaperer
seal-in relay
self-noise
semi-continuous stoking
serial variance
Siemens furnace
sociologese
Song-chon
structure declaration and attribute
the top flight
two-fifty
unpermissiveness
vena pulmanalis inferiors
washing-machine
whip-round
wordhoards
yestersol
yth