学点英文谚语 了解西方文化
1. Money makes the mare （ to ） go.
mare 是母马或母驴，这里说的是连驴马都不得不屈从于金钱的诱惑。这是一句很有意思的谚语，与中文里“有钱能使鬼推磨”的俗语有异曲同工之妙。鬼推不推磨没有人见证过，但金钱的诱惑力却被一次又一次的验证。为蝇头小利而为恶者有之，为重金出卖朋友者有之。美国也正是以“重赏之下必有勇夫”为信条，以重金利诱，使“扑克牌人物”在伊拉克纷纷就擒。当人们为金钱而心旌摇曳之时，道德的约束力就显得微不足道。所谓“君子爱财，取之有道”，人类的软肋不是爱财，而是贪婪。“ Money talks ”也是这个意思。
e.g. The terrible accident with so many victims was exposed to the whole nation at last. Apart from the shocks， people were puzzled： How come the accident was concealed for such a long time？ Money makes the mare go. Journalists had been bribed.
2. Never mention rope in the house of a man who has been hanged.
《阿 Q 正传》中，阿 Q 的头上有块亮光光的癞疮疤，于是他很忌讳人家说“癞”字，后来推而广之“光”也讳，“亮”也讳，再后来连“灯”“烛”都讳了。然而人们却有意拿他取笑，等他走过来时故意说：“嚯，亮起来了。”于是阿 Q 便满疤通红的发起怒来。阿 Q 近乎滑稽的忌讳也反映出了人们害怕难堪，不敢正视自身弱点的心理缺陷。
e.g. Remember not to mention the word father to Joe's face， Geoffrey. His Dad was just sentenced to life imprisonment a week ago. Never mention rope in the house of a man who has been hanged. It'll draw him back into embarrassment again.
3. Give a dog a bad name and hang him.
人言可畏，一个人一旦恶名在外，就很难再在社会上有立锥之地。在中国文化里，“一世英名毁于一旦”无疑是一件令人扼腕叹息的憾事。古来以死以证清白者有之，不堪毁谤之辱而自赴黄泉者有之。西谚又说： He that has an ill name is half hanged. 可见“名节”一词无论在东方抑或西方的词典中都占据着极其重要的位置。
e.g.
－ The prestige the minister used to enjoy no longer exists. He's become the target of criticisms ever since it was revealed that he had accepted bribes.
－ Absolutely， Bob. That’s all natural， though. Haven't you heard of the saying “ Give a dog a bad name and hang him ” ？ A bad name is not enough to ruin his entire life， but sufficient to put an end to his official career.
4. The dog returns to his vomit.
如果说“ Old habits die hard ”可以作为一种委婉的托词来自嘲的话，那么“ The dog returns to his vomit ”就比上句激烈得多了。说起来有点恶心， vomit 是呕吐物，俗话说“狗改不了吃屎”，话虽是粗俗了一点，但道理都是千真万确的。
e.g. A week after Pete was released on parole， he was caught smuggling again. The dog returns to its vomit. Pete is a perfect example of that proverb.
5. Constant dropping wears away a stone.
山石屹立在水边，岿然耸峙，而流水就以千年来的温柔，将它们洗濯得皱纹满面。水最柔软，竟然没有一定的形状；而水又是最坚硬，能在千百年的水石厮磨中将石任意雕刻。牙齿比舌头硬，而老者张开嘴，牙齿没有了，舌头还在。愚公移山“子子孙孙无穷匮也，而山不加增，何苦而不平？”在山的面前，人是如水一般的温柔，同时又如水一般的坚硬。“ Constant dropping wears away a stone. ”这句西谚竟然可以一字不差的直译为水滴石穿，体现了令人惊叹的文化相通性。
e.g. At first， he sniffed at his wife’s idea. But as she pleaded time and again， he became more and more receptive. And why not？ Constant dropping wears away a stone.
6. Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched.
很多人都有这样的失落：明明已经十拿九稳、胜利在望了，却在最后一刻功亏一篑，将人拖入失望的深渊。未来充满变数，自信是必要的，但是“蛋未孵前先数鸡”就难免沦于自负了。“ Hope for the best， prepare for the worst ”，凡事如能保持一个良好的心态，就能最大程度上避免那种功亏一篑的失落。
e.g. Harley is over-conceited. He even claimed to be the gold medalist days before the games. As it turned out， he had been counting chickens before they were hatched. He even failed to get the bronze， let alone the gold one.
7. Hasty climbers have sudden falls.
越是疾行的攀爬者越容易突然坠下。因为匆忙，步履就可能不稳，轻则前功尽弃，重则粉身碎骨。好望角好望不好过，好高骛远者难免被脚下的一块石头绊倒在地。欲速则不达。“ Haste makes waste； More haste， less speed. ”说的也是这个道理。
e.g. It’s all very well for the government to institute reforms， especially in this war-ravaged country. The problem is their surprisingly fast pace. Hasty climbers have sudden falls. Unrealistic reformers will， one day， have a heavy price to pay.
8. A stitch in time saves nine.
及时修补，可以避免更大的损失。其中智慧，与“小洞不补，大洞吃苦”何其相似乃尔。另外值得一提的是，在中国传统文化中“九”表示多的意思，西方的“九”也有相似的意思，以上这句谚语就是很好的例子。例如还有“ Nine tailors make a man ”（绅士要注意穿着的考究）和“ Possession is nine points of the law ”（占有者在诉讼中十有九胜），体现出东西方文化在“九”这个神秘数字上不约而同的交汇。
e.g. A stitch in time saves nine. The cost will double or triple if we ignore the present loophole.
9. It never rains but it pours.
古人云：福无双至，祸不单行；人生不如意事常十之八九。西方人眼中也是如此，不仅下雨，还要下倾盆大雨。“ but ”在这里是古英语的用法，用来引出两种相伴而生不可避免的情况，颇有点黑色幽默的意味。
e.g.
－ It never rains but it pours， especially when you’re without an umbrella. My car’s got a flat tire this morning， which had never happened before. When I got to work at long last， I was informed by the boss that my work has been forwarded to Johnson， whom I hated most in the whole company！
－ Oh， rotten luck！ But take it easy. That’s life！
《高中英语语法-学点英文谚语 了解西方文化》由留学英语组编辑整理(m.liuxue86.com)