有一次,一位外教老師,在大晴天的感嘆道:
I've been really bad lately. It's really a rainy day.
有同事回應:
"Wow! It is raining? Awesome!"
外教老師突然對他白了一眼,無言地走開了……
神馬情況?“A rain day”難道不是“下雨天”?
原來,a rainy day除了有“下雨天”的意思,還表示“不如意的日子”,“窮困的日子”。
eg:
I know you wanna buy a new TV, but you should really save that money for a rainy day.
我知道你很想買臺新電視,但你真應該把這筆錢存下來以備不時之需。
在這里,需要注意:“rainy day”一般和for搭配使用,意為“以備不時之需”。
如:save/keep money for a rainy day就表示
to save money for a time when it might be needed unexpectedly.
存錢以備不時之需;有備無患;未雨綢繆
Luckily she had saved some money for a rainy day.
幸好她未雨綢繆早有準備。
一起看看幾個“rain”常用習語↓↓↓
make it rain
“make it rain”除了直譯的“催雨”,在口語里還有“撒錢”之意。用此表達的人,是要展示自己有錢,也就是“炫富”。
“Let's make it rain at the club tonight, fellas!”
“兄弟們,今晚我們去酒吧里撒錢吧!”
as right as rain
這個表達,經常在口語里出現。它有好幾個意思:如“恢復健康”、“一帆風順”、“十分正確”。
今天主要提一下“恢復健康”的用法:
當你給生病的好友送上慰問/祝福的時候,就可以使用這個表達↓↓↓
"I have a cold, but the doctor says I'll be as right as rain."
“我感冒了,但醫生說我很快就能好。”
be rained off
它的英文釋義是:
An event that has been or will be canceled due to inclement weather. Primarily heard in UK.
它來源于英國,因為英國常下雨,有時候安排好的活動,總是會因為突然的雨天被延期或取消,所以,rain-off就是“(因為雨天)XX被取消;被延期”。
I was really looking forward to the football match this weekend, but it turned out to be a rain-off.
我很期待這場球賽,但因為下雨被取消了。
It never rains but it pours.
這個短語的英文釋義為:When troubles come they come together.
當有麻煩的時候,麻煩的事兒往往都扎堆來。
它引申為“禍不單行”,有時也可以理解為“不鳴則已,一鳴驚人”。
I broke a fingernail, laddered my tights and then missed my train– it seems it never rains but it pours.
我弄破了我的指甲,緊身衣褲抽了絲,還誤了火車——真是禍不單行。
(來源:英語四六級備考)