about the maxim 080608

字体: 小 中 大 | 打印 发表于: 2008-6-08 05:01    作者: Nicole7    来源: 恒星英语论坛

don't look a gift horse in the mouth—when buying a horse, you should look in its mouth. Why? Because a horse's teeth tells its age and how much it's worth. But if someone gave you a horse as a present, would you look at its teeth? No, that would be impolite to judge evaluate a gift. You should accept a gift with an open heart. 买马的时候要看看它的嘴巴。为什么？因为从马的牙齿可以看出它的年龄。不过如果有人送你一匹马作为礼物，你会不会检查它的牙齿呢？不会，那样很不礼貌。 Example:If a small child complains about a gift, their mother will say: Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

to be in the doghouse—to make someone angry and receive a punishment. Usually used for married couples. 让某人生气并得到惩罚。通常用于夫妻之间。 Example: I didn't take out the trash yesterday and now I'm in the doghouse. My wife hasn't talked to me all day.

to be a big fish in small pond—someone well-known or important to a small group of people. 在小范围内的知名人士。 Example: He thought he was so clever as he was the top student in his school. But it's easy to be a big fish in a little pond, there are only 200 students in his school.