英语早间课堂:话说地道美语 Lesson 19(3)

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首先，let's warm up。我们先来做个热身。现在就进入我们今天的复习环节。在第19课第一讲中我们知道了“熬更打夜”的表述法是pull an all-nighter。在第19课第二讲中我们知道了“熬更打夜的人”的表述法是night owl。A night owl is a person who pulls an all-nighter. 夜猫子就是熬更打夜的人。

【今日课题】

那么，既然谈到夜猫子，夜猫子就是猫头鹰的别称。我们就来透视一下中西的文化对猫头鹰(Night Owl)的看法。这就是我们今天的“美味早餐”。

【课题详说】

在英语文化中，an owl is thought to be wise(猫头鹰是智慧、聪明才智的象征。)在希腊和古罗马神话中，an owl stands beside Athenae(站在智慧女神雅典娜的身边)，因此owl就有智慧的象征。

有个成语叫做as wise as an owl，是“有学问的”“聪明绝顶的”“有才智的”意思。我们来看2个例句。

例句1：Her parents lay stress on her education very much. They are proud to be her parents because of her good grades. When she got a success, they said, " Our daughter is as wise as an owl."她的父母很重视她的教育。由于她的成绩好，身为父母，他们也很骄傲。当她取得成功的时候，他们便会说：“我们的女儿真是聪明过人。

注解：Lay a stress on something是重视、注重......的意思。例如：Sure , a man should lay a stress on his career . 诚然，一个男人应当注意事业。

例句2：The child picked up the glasses and put them on. "Now you look as wise as an owl, " said his father affectionately. 那孩子拾起那副眼镜戴了起来。他的爸爸非常疼爱地说：“瞧，看上去真够有学问的。”

注解：Pick up是“捡起”“收拾”的意思。例如：My mother gasped as she bent to pick up the object. 母亲喘着气弯腰把它拾起来。I am checking out soon. Could you please pick up my luggage? 我现在要退房。请问可以帮我收拾一下行李吗? Put sth on是“戴上”“穿上”的意思。例如：Put on your scarf. Go out to play. 戴上围巾，出去玩吧。Anyway, We'd better put on more warm things. 不管怎么样，我还是多穿些暖和的衣服。Affectionately是“挚爱地”“亲切地”的意思。

Owl是个名词，其形容词是在词尾加上ish，即：owlish，意思是看上去“聪明的”“儒雅的”的意思。For example：Her new glasses make her look rather owlish. 她戴着新眼镜看上去很文气。Owlish 词尾加上ly就是副词了，owlishly。For example: Her grandmother peers owlishly at us through his glasses. 他的祖母透过他的老花镜严肃而又机智地打量着我们。

注解: Peer at是凝视的意思。例如：He had to peer at his book because the room was dark . 因为房间里很暗，他看书时可费劲了。She peers at him closely , as if not believing it can really be him. 她仔细地打量着他，似乎不相信真会是他。

以上足以说明以英语为母语的人认为猫头鹰是智慧的象征。然而，在中国，a night owl is regarded as an unlucky bird (被视为一种不吉祥的鸟)。Just because it comes out that often and it squeakes out shrill cries，所以迷信的人就把它的叫声和死联系在一起。有句话：“猫头鹰进宅，好事不会来。”以此预兆厄运的到来。谁要是在树林里hear a night owl，就预示someone in his family would pass away。It's so horrible. 那么，Juliet在此建议您千万不要在深夜到在树林中听到a night owl的凄厉的叫声，祝愿您的家人平平安安，健康幸福。