美国习惯用语第305讲fib; white lie...
2009-04-15来源:和谐英语
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例句-1:Johnny tells everybody he got an A for every subject last term. I'm afraid he's telling a fib - I happen to know he got at least one B, but he's too embarrassed to admit it.
他说:Johnny告诉大家自己上学期门门功课都得了A,恐怕他撒了个小谎,我碰巧知道他至少有一个B。他只是不好意思承认。
Johnny虽然得了一个B,但是他还可以算是个优秀生。他撒谎也许是因为别人对他期望过高,认为他样样都该得A,再说他的谎话也不会损害他人。这样看来fib是无关紧要的小谎。
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Fib是无伤大雅的小谎,有一种fib的动机甚至更容易被理解,是出于礼貌或者为了别伤害他人的感情。这种清白无辜的谎言就称为:white lie。 White lie是动机善良的谎话。换句话说,虽然没说实话,但是至少有理由这样做。好,我们来听一个例子:
例句-2:I told Sally a white lie when she asked me how I liked her new party dress. I didn't like the color or the design but when I saw how happy she was with it, I told her it looked great.
他说:当Sally问我喜不喜欢她新的宴会服的时候,我对Sally撒了个无辜的谎言,其实我并不喜欢那件衣服的颜色和设计,但我看到Sally对那衣服的满意劲儿,我就告诉Sally那衣服真漂亮。
所以white lie就是出于好意而说的小谎话。
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我们刚才学了两种无伤大雅的谎话的说法。接下来要学的习惯说法所表示谎话却和刚才两个性质截然相反。它是: lie through your teeth。我们马上要听一个例子,讲的是一起枪杀案,法庭已经听取了所有的证据和证词,接下来检察官要来总结案情。
例句-3:When the defendant says he didn't shoot the woman, he's lying through his teeth. His fingerprints were on the gun and he was standing over the body when the police arrived.
大家都听清楚了吧? 尽管被告矢口否认开枪杀人,然而铁证如山,枪上有他的指印,而且警察抵达凶杀现场的时候看到尸体就在他脚下。检察官由此得出的结论是他是在昧着良心抵赖。
可见lie through your teeth类似于中文的俗话:红口白牙,当面说瞎话,也就是编造弥天大谎。
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我们再来学一个解释谎言的词: whopper. Whopper也是弥天大谎,但是whopper是令人难以置信的胡扯,有时可能不带恶意,而是说着玩的。好,让我们来听下面一个例子,说的是Joe去钓鱼发生的事情。你来判断一下Joe估计别人会相信他事后说的whopper吗?
例句-4:Joe went fishing. He came back all wet without his rod and reel and told us a real whopper. He said he caught a fish so big it pulled him out of the boat and swam off with his rod and reel.
这段话说:Joe去钓鱼,回来的时候浑身上下都湿了,钓鱼竿和绕线轴也丢了。于是他编了个故事,说自己钓上一条大鱼,但是鱼实在太大。反而把他从船上拖下水。那条鱼还带着鱼竿和线轴游走了。
Joe的话实在太离谱,简直是天花乱坠的胡扯。这就是whopper这个词的意思了。Joe的朋友后来发现真实情况,原来Joe边钓鱼边打瞌睡,钓竿和绕线轴掉下了水。他从船上站起身来去捡却翻了船;他只得游泳上岸。