英语文化

文化角

1ChristmasCarols:

EnglishwordcarolcomesformtheOldFrenchwordcarole,whichmeansacircledancewith

hewordcarolisassociatedwithChristmassongsthatcelebrateJesus’sbirth--such

as“JoytotheWorld.”Christmassongsthataren’treligious--suchas“JingleBells”--areoftensimply

calledChristmassongs.

2GoodNews!

Inthepast,peoplerangchurchbellssothatthewholecommunitywouldknowsomething

hurchbellsstillringtocelebratenationalholidays,weddingsand

avealsobecomeanimportantsymbolofChristmasbecautheyremindusofthe

goodnewsofthebirthofJesus,God’sson.

3TheColorGreen

Formanycultures,heChristmasholiday

isalsoabouthope,’swhysomany

Christmasdecorationsaregreen--Christmastrees,wreathsandgarlandsforexample.

4Ornaments

r,tho

ChristmastreesweredecoratedverydifferentlyfromtheChristmastreesweknowandlovetoday.

’tuntilthe19th

centurythatmoderndecorationsbegantoappear.

5SecretsofSingapore

AMixofLanguages

Famousforitsculturaldiversity,Singaporehasfourofficiallanguages:English,Mandarin

Chine,ySingaporeansarealsocomfortablespeakingSinglish--an

English-badmixtureoflanguage.

CoffeeTime

Coffeeshops,orKopitiam,’ttrytoordera

d,Singaporeusitsowncoffeetermslikekopi-o(blackcoffee)and

kopi-c(coffeewithmilkandsugar).

6LoveIdioms

heartskipsabeat怦然心动loveatfirstsight一见钟情nolovelost没有好感

heartofgold心地善良headoverheelsinlove陷入爱河puppylove纯纯的爱

love-haterelationship爱恨交织heartisintherightplace心怀善意half-hearted心不在焉，半调子

winsomeone’sheart赢得芳心heartstoodstill吓了一跳changeofheart改变心意

lovemakestheworldgoround爱让世界运转fromthebottomofone’sheart发自内心，打从心底

7有趣的成语

1raincatsanddogs(下倾盆大雨)

[典故]源于北欧神话，神话中说猫对天气有很大影响，英国水手至今还流传着“猫尾巴藏大风”的说法。据说驾

风暴的巫士化为猫形，狗和狼都是暴风雨神奥丁的随从。在德国古画中猫被当作暴雨的象征，狗是伴随暴雨的强

风。现在人们用raincatsanddogs表示下倾盆大雨。

[例句]Oh,whatahotday!Itlooksliketoraincatsanddogs.

2poundofflesh(形容以借款人的惨重损失和痛苦为代价的债务，也可以说是合法却极不合理的要求)。

[典故]源于沙士比亚作品《威尼斯商人》，一个痛恨Antonio（作品中的人物）的商人答应借给他一大笔钱，但条

件是如果他不能按时还清就要割下他身上的一磅肉。Antonio果然中了高利贷商人的奸计按期没能偿还。那奸商

便告上法庭，名正言顺要割他的肉。

[例句]Mybusinessisclodandmywifehascancer,andstillthebankwantsitspoundofflesh;they’lltakemyhouif

Ican’tpaybackwhatIborrowedformywife’shospitalbills.

clay(泥足，致命的弱点)。

[典故]典出《圣经.旧约.但以理书》第二章，巴比伦国王尼布甲尼撒(Nebuchadnezzar)梦到一泥足巨人，头是金的，

胸臂是银的，腹部是铜的，被飞来的一块巨石砸碎了脚，整个巨人顿时瓦解。西伯来先知但以理（但以理为人名）

释梦称这预示着国家的分裂。现多指“伟人不为人知的弱点或致命的弱点”。

[例句]Thestudentsdidn’trealizethattheirherohadfeetofclayuntilthecoachwasarrestedfordrunkendriving.