The chairman of the board of directors did not receive Walker yesterday because he was a walk-in.
[误译] 董事长昨天不接待步行者,因为他是擅自走进来的。
[原意] 董事长昨天不接见沃克,因为他是未经预约而来的。
[说明] Walker 是姓氏“沃克” ,若是步行者其前应有冠词且不大写。而walk-in (N)意为“未经预约而来的人”。
Bert passed the spoken language exam with the skin of his teeth.
[误译] Bert 轻而易举地通过了口语考试。
[原意] Bert 差一点就没地通过口语考试。
[说明] with /by the skin of one's teeth是源典故的口语(介词短语),意为“差一点没”,“险些没”,“好不容易才”,“侥幸”。
Why did kent attack Leo with a vengeance a few days ago?
[误译] 为什么肯特日前攻击利奥以报一箭之仇?
[原意] 为什么肯特日前激烈地攻击利奥?
[说明] with a vengeance 是习语(口语),意为“激烈地”,“猛烈地”,“极度地”,“彻底地”。
Joanna took the news about the rising in price of edible oil with a grain/pinch of salt.
[误译] Joanna 得到了食油和粒状食盐价格上涨的消息。
[原意] Joanna 对食油价格上涨的消息半信半疑。
[说明] with a grain/pinch of salt是习语,意为“半信半疑”,“可疑”。
He left his pet dog with Billie.
[误译] 他把他的爱犬和Billie一起留下就走了。
[原意] 他把爱犬交给Billie照顾。
[说明] 本例中的with(介词)意为“由……照顾”之意。