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2008-04-20 22:22:04
林戊荪中国资深翻译家，青年时代留学美国，1950年回国后，曾多次从事英语口语翻译的交传、同传和英语广播工作，长期从事英文写作和翻译工作。1988-1994年，担任中国外文局局长；1996-2002年，任国际翻译家联合会理事；现任全国高级翻译专业职称评审委员会主任、中国翻译工作者协会常务副会长、《中国翻译？主编。著名译著有《孙子、孙膑兵法》、《南京大屠杀》等。
孙萌：北京外国语大学学生
为了学好英语，特别是为了提高英语写作和翻译水平，了解和熟悉一些英文谚语和格言十分必要。这些谚语源远流长，反映了前人在生活实践中所积累的经验和教训，既富有知识性和哲理性，又形象生动、通俗易懂。由于谚语大多韵律和谐，读来朗朗上口，听来印象深刻，所以比较容易记忆。如果再与我国相应的谚语和成语加以比较，就更易于人们全面掌握、正确使用。
(1)A fool at forty is a fool indeed.
孔子云：四十而不惑。又云：年四十而见恶焉，其终也已。 (The person who at the age of forty still evokes the dislikes of others is a hopeless case.) 西谚谈的也是这个意思，只不过换了一种说法：到了四十岁还不懂得生活的人，就真的是一个愚人。正如另一句西谚所说，Life begins at forty. 由此看来，四十岁是不惑之年，是一个人领悟生活真谛的开始，在这一点上，无论是东方抑或是西方，都有着共鸣。
e.g. John never lived up to the expectations of his family. Twenty years after college, he has accomplished nothing. Which reminds us of the proverb, "A fool at forty is a fool indeed!"
(2)Old habits die hard.
这句谚语说的是一个习惯问题。人们很难克服自身的惯性，总是喜欢走老路，或按照旧习惯去思考和行事，不管这种习惯是好还是坏。这虽是人之常情，有时不免使人偏执，带来不利影响。如果要找出一个相应的中文成语来匹配的话，那就是“江山易改，本性难移。” 当然，中文这个成语里有些许贬义，但英文这句话本身的使用却不受褒贬的限制，有时还可能有自嘲的意思。
e. g.
A: Why, I have told Joe millions of times that he should leave his dirty shoes outside, but it seems he is just turning a deaf ear to my advice!
B : Come on, calm down. Old habits die hard, you know.
(3)Bad news travels fast.
正所谓 “好事不出门 , 坏事传千里。” 坏消息、小道消息总是不径而走，其速之疾，令人咋舌。这也许与人们的猎奇心理有关，越是有争议的话题越能得到人们的关注，bad news 自然就会大有市场，令人们奔走相告。
e. g.
A: Newman missed the championship by a mere 0.1second.The news just came out at noon, but now the whole city seems to be talking about it!
B: Yeh, bad news travels fast.
(4) Revenge is a dish that could be eaten cold.
很形象的一句谚语。所有的菜肴都必须趁热吃，唯独revenge 是个例外。“君子报仇，十年未晚。”
e.g. He has done serious wrong to his friends. You just wait and see. They will not let him go scot- free. Revenge is a dish that could be eaten cold.
(5) There is no smoke without fire.
无风不起浪，有水才行船。任何事情的发生都是有前兆的，“流言”的兴起有时也不完全是无中生有。虽然说是“坐得船头稳，不怕浪来颠”(相似的西谚是"Do right and fear no man")但风起于青萍之末，一只蝴蝶扇动翅膀就可能引起大洋彼岸的一场大风暴。做人、谋事，谨慎为佳。
e.g. "No smoke without fire, "sad the detective.
"Smoke signals can be misread," countered Sloan.
(6) Every dog has its day.
这里的day是指opportunities，即成功的机会；而dog则泛指那些地位低下、似乎没有出息的人。“士别三日，当刮目相看”，落魄的人若发奋图强，总会有出头之日。
(又作All dogs have their days)
e.g. You must not look down upon him.Though poor and gloomy. He could turn out to be outstanding one day. As the saying goes, every dog has its day.
(7) If you lie down with dogs, you win get up with fIeas.
这是一句很经典的谚语，也就是我们中文里说的“近朱者赤，近墨者黑”。在这条英文谚语中体现出来的只是“近墨者黑”的一面。虽然中文里还有成语“出污泥而不染”一说，但环境对于人的影响仍然不可小觑。
e.g. Harry! How come you're back so late? Where have you been?
--Just to a friend's.
--To a friend. Just for a glass of liquor, huh? You're going to be drowned in 1iquor. I'd say! If you lie down with dogs, you'll get up to End yourself with millions of fleas!
(8) It is easy to find a stick to beat a dog.
人非圣贤，孰能无过。人们总会犯一些错误，也许做者无心但观者有意。有些小人，自己抱残守缺，不干实事，却挖空心思，找别人的缺点和麻烦。欲加之罪，何患无辞？
e.g.
--Did you know that Jeff's been fired?
--No. What for?
--Jeff sometimes had ideas different from our boss's.
--Yeah, but Jeff hasn't done anything wrong, has he?
--Well, boss is boss. It is always easy to find a stick to beat a dog.
(9) You can't teach old dogs new tricks.
这句谚语说的是：人老了思想容易僵化，对新生事物很难接受。
e.g. Don't forget Wang is already 80.At his age, you can't expect him to learn the tap dance. You can't teach old dogs new tricks, you Mow.
从以上的几则谚语我们可以观察到中西文化的一个有趣的区别。西方人经常用狗来比喻人，如，lucky dog(幸运儿)，因为他们并不歧视狗。而在汉语中，有不少涉及狗的谚语和成语都是贬义的，如“狗改不了吃屎”、“挂羊头卖狗肉”、“狗仗人势”、“狗嘴里吐不出象牙”等。当然，英文中dog一词有时也带有贬义，但往往含义与中文不尽相同，我们使用时切忌望文生义。如It is a dog's life Chris is leading.某位教授认为“a dog's life”的意思是“悲惨的生活”，因而在一篇论及中英文化差别的文章中将其译成“过着牛马不如的生活”。其实“a dog's life”指的是“争吵不休，过着不安宁的日子”。这类成语很多，如 go to the dogs(每况愈下)，dog-eat-dog (狗咬狗的，损人利己的)，dog in the manger (占着茅坑不拉屎的人)。还有一些没有任何褒贬涵义的用法，如 dog days (大热天)，doggy bag (餐馆里的打包袋),据说，早先人们碍于面子，不愿明说要把剩菜带回家吃，佯称要带给狗吃，所以叫doggy bag 。
上面几条西方谚语都可以在汉语中找到相似的表达，但下面两条却截然不同了。
(10) Lightning never strikes the same place twice.
“闪电从不打同一个地方”，与我们说的“福无双至，祸不单行”恰恰相反，这也是差异的一个有趣的体现。
e.g.
--How were your exams? All over?
--I really don't how. I did rather poorly last time. I hope I'll do better this time.
--Come on, don't worry about it. You are sure to pass. As the saying goes, lightening never strike the same place twice.
(11) One swallow does not make a summer.
swallow 是燕子。西谚说，一只燕子飞来不能代表夏天的来临。而中国成语却说，一叶知秋。两种说法各有其智慧。"One swallow does not make a summer"，强调的是要区别一般性与特殊性的辩证哲理；而“一叶知秋”体现的则是从细微的端倪窥见总体趋势的睿智。
e.g.
--Hey, look! The scores are already 2:1! Liverpool is sure to win, I bet!
--I don't think so. One swallow does not make a summer. Miracles always happen the last minute.
