1. A man may usually be known by the books he reads as well as by the company he keeps, for there is a companionship of books as well as of men.
看一个人读些什么书就知道他的为人，就像看一个人同什么人交往就知道他的为人一样。
书如同人，皆可成为伴侣，读其书，如同读其人；同样，观其朋友，也如同观其人。无论是以书为伴或以人为友，我们都应慎重选择，与佳者为伴。
以书为伴 塞缪尔斯
Birds of a feather flock together.
2. 心灵的洗涤He is a rolling stone. I don’t think he can go far.他是个见异思迁的人，我想他不会有多大出息。
3. The matter was finally ttled under the table.事情终于私下解决了。
4. I have no head for music.我没有音乐方面的天赋。
5. To my confusion, I discovered the yell was no ideal: hasty footsteps approached my chamber door; somebody pushed it open with a vigorous hand.使我狼狈的是这声喊叫并非虚幻。一阵匆忙的脚步声向我的卧房门口逼近。有人使劲把门推开。
6. “孔子曰：三人行，则必有我师。是故弟子不必不如师，师不必贤于弟子。闻道有先后，术业有专攻，如是而已。” “弟子不必不如师，师不必贤于弟子”, 这是一个真理，并不是瞎说。老师和学生并没有什么不可逾越的界限。在这门知识上老师高于学生，在另一门知识上学生也可能高于老师；今天老师高于学生，明天学生可能高过老师。这也是辩证法，对立面的统一。老师和学生可以相互转换，学生要向老师学习，老师也有需要向学生学习之处。
“Confucius says: ‘Out of three men, there must be one who can teach me.’ So pupils are not necessarily inferior to their teachers, nor teachers better than their pupils. Some learn the truth earlier than others, and some have special skills------that is all.” “Pupils are not necessarily inferior to their teachers, nor teachers better than their pupils” -----that is a truth, not a fallacy. There is no impassable demarcation line between teacher and pupil.
While a teacher may be superior to his pupil in one branch of knowledge, the latter may be superior to the former in another. While the teacher may be superior to his pupil today, the latter may be superior to the former tomorrow. That demonstrates the law of dialectics and the unity of opposites. A kind of interplay exists between teacher and pupil. The pupil should learn from his teacher, but sometimes there may also be something the teacher has to learn from his pupil.
7. 骆驼能征服沙漠，鸽子能征服天空……
骆驼不会像马那样奔驰，鸽子也不会向海燕那样遨游。但鸽子和骆驼相比，同样都有耐力。它们的耐力是坚强的，漫卷的黄沙和凶猛的台风在它们的面前，都为之失色……
The camel conquers the dert while the pigeon conquers the air.
The camel cannot run as fast as the hor, the pigeon cannot fly with as much agility as the petrel. But both camel and pigeon are hardy. Their endurance is such as to put to shame both the raging sandstorm and the violent typhoon.
8. I’m sitting at my mother’s desk, a mahogany cretary with a writing leaf that folds down to reveal rows of cubbyholes and tiny drawers----- even a sliding cret compartment. I’ve loved it since I was just tall enough to e above the leaf as Mother sat doing her letters. Standing by her chair, staring at the ink bottle, pens, and smooth white paper, I decided that the act of writing must be the most delightful thing in the world.
我坐在母亲的书桌旁，这是一个红木做的带书橱的写字台，上面有个可以折叠的活动桌面，桌面翻下来就可以看见几排分类格子架和一些小抽屉，甚至还有一个可以拉动的秘密的小隔间。我刚刚长到可以看见桌面时，看着妈妈坐在那儿写信，我就喜欢上这个桌子了，站在她的椅子旁，看着上面的墨水瓶、钢笔和光滑的白纸，我就断定，写字这事儿准是世界上最好玩儿的事儿。
9. The study had a Spartan look.
书房看起来很简朴。
（古希腊斯巴达人以生活简朴而著称。可看出，此处重意不重典，所以只用翻译出其意。）
10. The planners were busy bypassing the Gordian knot.
Gordian knot (戈尔迪结) 源于希腊的一个传说,是有关由农夫变成国王的戈尔迪和亚历山大的故事。戈尔迪在木桩上系了一个众人都无法解开的绳结,后来,由亚历山大一刀将其斩开。从此,Gordian knot 便成了棘手问题的代名词。屈人之兵
11. He sowed the apple of discord between the two countries.
海带怎么保存国王珀琉斯和女神西蒂斯结婚,邀请众神参加,惟独忘了争吵之神厄里斯,自相矛盾她便寻衅把一个金苹果仍到宴席上,说要送给最美丽的女神。从而在天后赫拉、智慧女神雅典娜和爱神阿芙洛狄特之间引起争端,最后导致了特洛伊战争。后来the apple of discord 就被用来表示“祸端、争端”。
12. The book is a vehicle of learning and enlightenment, an open same to countless joys and sorrows.
书籍是传播知识、启迪智慧的工具,是开启无穷的欢乐与悲伤之门的秘诀。
open same 是来自于《天方夜谭》里“阿里巴巴与四十大盗”的故事。只要阿里巴巴念“open same”,藏有财宝的洞门就会打开。现在,open same 便成了“秘诀,关键”疯狂的头发的代名词。
进步人士
13. Mr. Kingsley and his Red Brick boys will have to look to their laurels.
金斯利先生和他那些二流大学的学生们必须小心翼翼地保持已经取得的荣誉。
（Red Brick又称Red Brick Universities，指英国除牛津、剑桥大学以外的其他地方性二流大学。因其建筑主要是红砖砌成，不象牛津、剑桥的建筑均为古色古香的石块所建成，故得此名。
14. She scolded her maid and was as cross as two sticks.
She scolded her maid and was as cross as two sticks.她骂斥自己的女仆，而且脾气非常不好。
炸鸡简笔画（如直译为"像两根棍子一样暴躁"，让人不知所云，并且此处重意不重形，翻译时只好采用释义法。）
15. We had planned to give Mum a pleasant surpri on her birthday, but Jimmy let the cat out of the bag.
我们原打算在妈妈生日那天给她个意外惊喜，可吉米泄露了秘密。英语熟语“let the cat of the bag”意思是“泄露秘密天堂回信观后感”。它得自于1个有趣的故事：1位顾客要求验货，看看袋子里的猪，而从袋子里跳出来的是猫。此熟语的内涵意义的译文汉语使用者能理解，但是“猫”的形象却消失了。
