人人皆有得意時

說起“狗”，許多人都會眉飛色舞唾沫橫飛大講特講。這位人類最忠實的朋友，早在不知不覺間滲入我們的生活與文化，改變了我們的語言思維習慣。英語中出現的許多與狗相關的俗語諺語，數量繁多，使用頻率極高。愛狗的我們，又怎能不趕緊學一學呢？

Americans use many expressions with the word dog. People in the United States love their dogs and treat them well. They take their dogs for walks; let them play outside and give them good food and medical care. However， dogs without owners to care for them lead a different kind of life. The expression to lead a dog’s life describes a person who has an unhappy existence.

Some people say we live in a dog-eat-dog world. That means many people are competing for the same things， like good jobs. They say that to be successful， a person has to work like a dog. This means they have to work very， very hard. Such hard work can make people dog-tired. And， the situation would be even worse if they became sick as a dog.

Still， people say every dog has its day. This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life. To be successful， people often have to learn new skills. Yet， some people say that you can never teach an old dog new tricks. They believe that older people do not like to learn new things and will not change the way they do things.

Some people are compared to dogs in bad ways. People who are unkind or uncaring can be described as meaner than a junkyard dog. Junkyard dogs live in places where people throw away things they do not want. Mean dogs are often used to guard this property. They bark or attack people who try to enter the property. However， sometimes a person who appears to be mean and threatening is really not so bad. We say his bark is worse than his bite.

A junkyard is not a fun place for a dog. Many dogs in the United States sleep in safe little houses near their owners’ home. These doghouses provide shelter. Yet they can be cold and lonely in the winter.

Husbands and wives use this doghouse term when they are angry at each other. For example， a woman might get angry at her husband for coming home late or forgetting their wedding anniversary. She might tell him that he is in the doghouse. She may not treat him nicely until he apologizes. However， the husband may decide that it is best to leave things alone and not create more problems. He might decide to let sleeping dogs lie.

Dog expressions， also， are used to describe the weather. The dog days of summer are the hottest days of the year. A rainstorm may cool the weather. But we do not want it to rain too hard. We do not want it to rain cats and dogs.

● 不要看現在的寵物狗嬌寵高貴，但還是有為數眾多無人照看的流浪狗過著極其悲慘的生活。這一現象也衍生出短語“to lead a dog’s life”，形容人過著貧困潦倒、慘不忍睹的生活。例如：Tom’s been leading a dog’s life since he got divorced. （湯姆自離婚后一直過著混沌潦倒的日子。）

● 狗向來被認為是溫順友好的動物。正因為如此，“dog eat dog”才顯得更加殘酷。一個能讓 “狗吃狗”的世界，可想而知是一個競爭多么激烈、殘酷無情的世界。“dog-eat-dog world”就是形容冷酷無情的競爭世界。

● 漢語中形容一個人努力工作，多數用牛、馬來比喻，英文則用狗來表示。短語“work like a dog”指一個人努力、賣命地工作。

●“dog-tired”這個詞相當形象地把筋疲力盡、累到快要趴下的神態勾勒了出來。想象一下狗在疲勞的時候伸舌頭、趴癱在地上的可愛模樣，“dog-tired”形容的情景躍然紙上。

● 養狗的朋友都知道，狗一旦吃錯了東西，反應是很激烈的。短語“sick as a dog”正是從這個典故發展而來，表示病得很嚴重。這里所指的“病”，傾向于進食引起的病癥，如胃痛、嘔吐等等。

● “Every dog has its days.”這句諺語如今愈來愈為人所知，“每個人都有屬于自己的運氣/每個人都有時來運轉的一天”。這種樂觀積極的心態正是現代社會生活中最需要的。

● “You can’t/can never teach an old dog a new trick.”可意譯為“老古董學不會新東西”。“an old dog”這里是指不愿改變想法的、守舊的人。細心的讀者朋友會發現，《瘋狂英語口語版》2009年3月號的“生活聊吧”欄目中出現過一句“You can’t teach an old dude a new trick.”表達的是同樣的意思。

● 前面說過，許多無人照看的狗的生存環境很惡劣。比如“junkyard dogs”，就是生活在垃圾里的狗。他們通常神情兇狠，一旦發現有人接近自己的領地，便會警惕十足。假想一下，如果一個人比這種狗還兇狠殘酷，那他的冷漠、難以接近，估計也已經登峰造極了。“meaner than a junkyard dog”就用來形容殘酷、冷漠的人。

● 我們俗語常說的“刀子嘴、豆腐心”在英語中也可用“His bark is worse than his bite.（他雖叫得兇，但不咬人。）”來表示。

● 我們經常在歐美電影或電視劇上看到，寵物狗通常都在院子的一角有專屬于自己的天地——狗屋（doghouse）。不過當“doghouse”被引入夫妻關系中，就沒那么美妙了。假如你妻子告訴你“You’re in the doghouse!”那你就應該好好想清楚自己究竟做錯了什么事，得遭遇如此“冷遇”了。

● “let sleeping dogs lie”顧名思義，就是不要去吵醒睡著的狗。把睡著的狗吵醒，后果可是相當嚴重，因此這個短語即可引申為 “不要自找麻煩、自討苦吃”的意思。

●如果你還不知道“三伏天”英語要怎么說，那么從現在起要記牢“the dog days of summer”這個短語啦！他正是指一年中最熱的時候。

●“rain cats and dogs”作“下傾盆大雨”解，許多人都不陌生。不過說起其出處，卻是眾口不一。其中最靠譜的一種說法，即“雷電大作的聲音與貓狗打架的聲音相似”。