名人教你讲英文：Idioms 谚语

名人教英文：idioms 谚语

idioms (1) are groups of words whose meanings cannot be guessed from the ordinary meaning of each word understood on its own.

every language has its own idioms peculiar to the language itself.

just as it is important to understand english grammar, so it is important to know common english idioms. this is particularly so for students who have little contact with native english speakers in their daily lives and who study english as a second language.

a knowledge of idioms will help students in their english examinations. it will enable them to decode (2) the mood and hidden meaning of a piece of writing. that is to say, a knowledge of idioms will help students to read between the lines. (3)

here are some examples:

■passage of the week：writing on the wall (13)
without wishing to teach grandma to suck eggs (14), i think it is a known fact that all governments place premium on power and control (15). officials seldom back down from a declared policy so as not to lose face. however, when the writing is on the wall (13), officials not only may lose face by having to back down, but may also run the risk of being totally humiliated as well.

■footnotes 批注
1.idioms: 谚语
e.g.the passage has many idioms.

2.to decode: to understand the hidden meaning 解密
e.g. i can easily decode the meaning of the passage.

3.to read between the lines: 了解暗示之意思
e.g. i understand the writer's implied meaning as i read between the lines.