英文谜语趣谈
2007-11-25来源:
英文谜语同中国谜语一样有着极其悠久的历史，其中最为有名的大概是斯芬克司之“谜”了。“斯芬克司”一词源自希腊语Sphinx，是希腊神话中一个可怕的怪物，它长着女人的头、狮子的身躯，身上还有两只翅膀。传说中，狮身人面的女怪斯芬克司生性残酷无比，常常守在大路口，让过往的行人猜一个谜，猜错了就要被吃掉。有一次，一位国王的儿子被斯芬克司吃掉了，国王一怒之下，发出悬赏：“谁能把它制服，就给他王位。”青年俄狄浦斯(Oedipus)应召前去，很快就道破谜底，斯芬克司便自杀了。这个世界著名的谜语是：What goes on four feet, on two feet, and three, but the more feet it goes on, the weaker it will be.其谜底是Man. Because he crawls first, then walks on two feet, uses a cane when old.因为人在婴儿时用四肢在地上爬行，成人后两腿行走，年老后拄拐杖走路，所以谜底是“人”。这个谜语还可以这样说：What goes on four legs at dawn, two at noon, and three at dusk?
在《圣经·士师记》中有这样一个故事，大力士参孙杀死了一头狮子，后来在狮子的尸体里发现了一群蜜蜂和蜂蜜，于是他就这件事编了一则谜语：Out of the eater came something to eat；/ Out of the strong came something sweet.他让菲利士人猜这个谜语，并允诺如果他们在七天之内给出谜底，就送给他们三十套亚麻布长袍和三十套衣服；如果给不出答案，他们就要送给他这些东西。狡猾的菲利士人让参孙的妻子哄骗参孙说出谜底。在第七天日落之前，菲利士人把答案告诉了参孙：What is sweeter than honey? / What is stronger than a lion?
上面两则有趣的谜语中，谜面的构成方法十分类似，都是采用了描写其特征的方法，英语中这种谜语被称为事物谜，也叫做描述性谜语(descriptive riddles)。事物谜的谜面通常是用比喻、暗示或其他方法来描绘所猜谜底的特征，和汉语中物谜的谜面构成及猜测方法基本相同。举例说明一下：
My fatherland is Arabia,
Though in England they roast me brown.
I'm ground up inside a mill,
And tortured with scalding water,
And then they pour milk over me,
And drink me at their leisure.
谜底是“Coffee”。这个谜语用第一人称自述的手法道出谜面，最后一句则是点睛之笔，使人一下就猜出谜底是某种饮料。
另外一种人们经常见到的英文谜语是字谜(charades)，字谜经常在字母、音节或是整个词的离合上做文章。字谜的谜面通常是前面几句描述谜底单词的某个或某些字母在哪些单词中出现或是不出现，最后一句点出词义，或是为猜谜提供一些暗示和猜测的方向，有点像中文里的谜目。猜英文字谜的关键是不要被谜面的含义或是寓意所迷惑，否则的话，很可能误入它途，不得要领。例如：
1) The beginning of eternity,
The end of time and space.
The beginning of every end,
And the end of every place.
将句中提到的单词“eternity, time, space, end, place”按照字面意思进行拆分，即可得到谜底：“The letter E”。
2)What starts with T，ends with T and full of T？谜底是“A teapot”。teapot(茶壶)一词以字母T开头和结尾，而茶壶里装的自然是茶(tea)，所以是full of T。
3)The longest word in the world.谜底是“smiles”。这个单词的首字母和尾字母之间是单词“mile”(英里)，可以理解为首尾间有一英里长，自然就是世界上最长的单词了。猜这个字谜时，千万不要去翻词典去找一个字母最多的单词。
英文谜语中一个重要的类型是智力谜语，主要涉及一些机智与诙谐的问题(shrewd and witty questions)，谜底通常是语义双关，和汉语中脑筋急转弯的问题极为类似，在英语中被称作“conundrums”。在莎士比亚悲剧《哈姆雷特》第五幕第一场中，两个专门为死人挖墓穴的工人出了一则智力谜语：What is he that builds stronger than either the mason，the shipwright or the carpenter？意思是谁造出来的东西比泥水匠、船匠或是木匠造的更坚固？谜底是：The gallows-maker，for that frame outlives a thousand tenants.因为绞架比任何一个被吊死其上的死刑犯都存在得长久，所以谜底是“造绞架的人”。莎士比亚用这则谜语告诉人们今日的辉煌迟早会成为过去。
猜智力谜语很有意思，也很有挑战性。破解智力谜语首先要有对语言的悟性及灵活运用的能力，其次是丰富的语言知识，二者缺一不可。
英文中，有些智力谜语貌似严肃，煞有介事，谜底却是稀松平常，让人哭笑不得，大呼上当。例如：
1) What is the difference between a presidential candidate and an overworked secretary?
谜底是“One can't wait to get into office and the other can't wait to get out of the office.”总统候选人(presidential candidate)迫不及待地要上任(get into office)，而工作过度劳累的秘书则期待着下班(get out of the office)回家休息。
2)What is the cheapest way to see the world？
谜底是“Buy an atlas”。买一张地图(buy an atlas)就可以见到整个世界(see the world)了。而其实see the world作为一个固定词组时的意思是“见多识广”。
有些貌似简单，谜底却耐人寻味。如：
What goes up and never goes down？谜底是“Age”。年龄是永远向上增长，不可能下降的。
还有一些则语出惊人，出人意料，细细品味倒也幽默风趣，让人哑然失笑。
例如：
Why should you never marry a tennis player？
谜底是“Because love means nothing to them”。love的通用义是“爱情”，在网球比赛中则表示“零分”。
英文智力谜语中有一类比较难猜，这类谜语是通过篡改英语谚语、成语或名句而形成的，要猜出这些谜语就必须对这些谚语、成语了如指掌，否则，就是绞尽脑汁也未必能猜中。略举例说明一下：
1)Why shouldn't you cry if a cow slips on the ice?
谜底是“Because it's no use crying over spilt milk.”
英语中成语“覆水难收”是这样表达的：“It's no use crying over spilt milk.”所以谜底就用成语作一戏言，因为母牛摔在地上，它身上的牛奶也洒了。
2)What's a sculptor's motto?
谜底是“All work and no clay makes Jack a dull boy.”
雕塑师(sculptor)的格言All work and no clay makes Jack a dull boy.(只工作没有土，聪明孩子也变傻。)是模仿谚语All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.(只工作不玩耍，聪明孩子也变傻。)杜撰而来。
猜英文谜语不是易事，却是件愉悦身心、让人觉得很有成就感的事，有其难，亦有其乐。在猜谜的过程中，可以丰富语言知识，提高驾御语言的能力，培养对语言的悟性，同时还可以增加生活的情趣。最后，为了引起大家对英文谜语的兴趣，留几则谜语请大家猜一猜：
I.字谜：
1) There is a thing that is the first to pity and the last to help.
2) I am the beginning of sorrow, and the end of sickness.
You cannot express happiness without me;
yet I am in the midst of crosses.
I am always in risk, yet never in danger.
You may find me in the sun,
but I am never out of darkness.
3) My first is nothing but a name;
My second still more small;
My whole of so much smaller fame,
It has no name at all.
4) If the English alphabet goes from A to Z, what goes from Z to A?
II.事物谜：
1) At night they come
Without being fetched,
And by day they are lost
Without being stolen.
2) As round as an apple,
As deep as a pail;
It never cries out,
Till it's caught by the tail.
3) My sides are firmly laced about,
Yet nothing is within;
You'll think my head is strange indeed,
Being nothing else but skin.
4) Over the water,
And under the water,
And never touch the water.
5) I never was, am always to be,
No one ever saw me, nor ever will
And yet I am the confidence of all
To live and breathe on this terrestrial ball.
III.智力谜:
1) Why are Saturdays and Sundays so strong?
2)swheresdo smart dogs refuse to shop?
3) Would you rather an elephant kill you, or a gorilla?
4) When do elephants have sixteen feet？
5) Which is faster, heat or cold?
6) What's every baby's motto?-
答案：
I.字谜：1) The letter P 2)The letter S 3)Nameless 4) Zebra
II.事物谜：1)Stars 2)A bell 3)A drum 4)A girl crossing a bridge with a pail of water on her head. 5)Tomorrow
III.智力谜：
1)Because the rest are weekdays.提示：weekdays的意思是“工作日”，而week(星期)和weak(弱的)是一对同音异义词。
2)At flea markets.提示：flea market的意思是“跳蚤市场”(经营廉价古物、旧货等的露天市场)。谜底把flea market曲解为“跳蚤的市场”，聪明的狗可不愿长跳蚤，自然不愿去有跳蚤的市场。
3)I'd rather he kill the gorilla.提示：谜面可以有两种解释。第一种是“你希望大象杀死你，还是大猩猩杀死你？”第二种解释是“你希望大象杀死你，还是杀死大猩猩？”
4)When there are four of them.提示：因为四只大象(four elephants)有十六条腿。
5)Heat. You can catch cold.提示：catch cold的意思是“患感冒”，字面意思是“抓住冷”，但是从来没人说catch heat。
6) If at first you don't succeed, cry, cry again.提示：孩子的格言If at first you don't succeed, cry, cry again.(一次哭闹不成功，哭闹再哭闹)是模仿谚语If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.(一次不成功，努力再努力)杜撰而来。
在《圣经·士师记》中有这样一个故事，大力士参孙杀死了一头狮子，后来在狮子的尸体里发现了一群蜜蜂和蜂蜜，于是他就这件事编了一则谜语：Out of the eater came something to eat；/ Out of the strong came something sweet.他让菲利士人猜这个谜语，并允诺如果他们在七天之内给出谜底，就送给他们三十套亚麻布长袍和三十套衣服；如果给不出答案，他们就要送给他这些东西。狡猾的菲利士人让参孙的妻子哄骗参孙说出谜底。在第七天日落之前，菲利士人把答案告诉了参孙：What is sweeter than honey? / What is stronger than a lion?
上面两则有趣的谜语中，谜面的构成方法十分类似，都是采用了描写其特征的方法，英语中这种谜语被称为事物谜，也叫做描述性谜语(descriptive riddles)。事物谜的谜面通常是用比喻、暗示或其他方法来描绘所猜谜底的特征，和汉语中物谜的谜面构成及猜测方法基本相同。举例说明一下：
My fatherland is Arabia,
Though in England they roast me brown.
I'm ground up inside a mill,
And tortured with scalding water,
And then they pour milk over me,
And drink me at their leisure.
谜底是“Coffee”。这个谜语用第一人称自述的手法道出谜面，最后一句则是点睛之笔，使人一下就猜出谜底是某种饮料。
另外一种人们经常见到的英文谜语是字谜(charades)，字谜经常在字母、音节或是整个词的离合上做文章。字谜的谜面通常是前面几句描述谜底单词的某个或某些字母在哪些单词中出现或是不出现，最后一句点出词义，或是为猜谜提供一些暗示和猜测的方向，有点像中文里的谜目。猜英文字谜的关键是不要被谜面的含义或是寓意所迷惑，否则的话，很可能误入它途，不得要领。例如：
1) The beginning of eternity,
The end of time and space.
The beginning of every end,
And the end of every place.
将句中提到的单词“eternity, time, space, end, place”按照字面意思进行拆分，即可得到谜底：“The letter E”。
2)What starts with T，ends with T and full of T？谜底是“A teapot”。teapot(茶壶)一词以字母T开头和结尾，而茶壶里装的自然是茶(tea)，所以是full of T。
3)The longest word in the world.谜底是“smiles”。这个单词的首字母和尾字母之间是单词“mile”(英里)，可以理解为首尾间有一英里长，自然就是世界上最长的单词了。猜这个字谜时，千万不要去翻词典去找一个字母最多的单词。
英文谜语中一个重要的类型是智力谜语，主要涉及一些机智与诙谐的问题(shrewd and witty questions)，谜底通常是语义双关，和汉语中脑筋急转弯的问题极为类似，在英语中被称作“conundrums”。在莎士比亚悲剧《哈姆雷特》第五幕第一场中，两个专门为死人挖墓穴的工人出了一则智力谜语：What is he that builds stronger than either the mason，the shipwright or the carpenter？意思是谁造出来的东西比泥水匠、船匠或是木匠造的更坚固？谜底是：The gallows-maker，for that frame outlives a thousand tenants.因为绞架比任何一个被吊死其上的死刑犯都存在得长久，所以谜底是“造绞架的人”。莎士比亚用这则谜语告诉人们今日的辉煌迟早会成为过去。
猜智力谜语很有意思，也很有挑战性。破解智力谜语首先要有对语言的悟性及灵活运用的能力，其次是丰富的语言知识，二者缺一不可。
英文中，有些智力谜语貌似严肃，煞有介事，谜底却是稀松平常，让人哭笑不得，大呼上当。例如：
1) What is the difference between a presidential candidate and an overworked secretary?
谜底是“One can't wait to get into office and the other can't wait to get out of the office.”总统候选人(presidential candidate)迫不及待地要上任(get into office)，而工作过度劳累的秘书则期待着下班(get out of the office)回家休息。
2)What is the cheapest way to see the world？
谜底是“Buy an atlas”。买一张地图(buy an atlas)就可以见到整个世界(see the world)了。而其实see the world作为一个固定词组时的意思是“见多识广”。
有些貌似简单，谜底却耐人寻味。如：
What goes up and never goes down？谜底是“Age”。年龄是永远向上增长，不可能下降的。
还有一些则语出惊人，出人意料，细细品味倒也幽默风趣，让人哑然失笑。
例如：
Why should you never marry a tennis player？
谜底是“Because love means nothing to them”。love的通用义是“爱情”，在网球比赛中则表示“零分”。
英文智力谜语中有一类比较难猜，这类谜语是通过篡改英语谚语、成语或名句而形成的，要猜出这些谜语就必须对这些谚语、成语了如指掌，否则，就是绞尽脑汁也未必能猜中。略举例说明一下：
1)Why shouldn't you cry if a cow slips on the ice?
谜底是“Because it's no use crying over spilt milk.”
英语中成语“覆水难收”是这样表达的：“It's no use crying over spilt milk.”所以谜底就用成语作一戏言，因为母牛摔在地上，它身上的牛奶也洒了。
2)What's a sculptor's motto?
谜底是“All work and no clay makes Jack a dull boy.”
雕塑师(sculptor)的格言All work and no clay makes Jack a dull boy.(只工作没有土，聪明孩子也变傻。)是模仿谚语All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.(只工作不玩耍，聪明孩子也变傻。)杜撰而来。
猜英文谜语不是易事，却是件愉悦身心、让人觉得很有成就感的事，有其难，亦有其乐。在猜谜的过程中，可以丰富语言知识，提高驾御语言的能力，培养对语言的悟性，同时还可以增加生活的情趣。最后，为了引起大家对英文谜语的兴趣，留几则谜语请大家猜一猜：
I.字谜：
1) There is a thing that is the first to pity and the last to help.
2) I am the beginning of sorrow, and the end of sickness.
You cannot express happiness without me;
yet I am in the midst of crosses.
I am always in risk, yet never in danger.
You may find me in the sun,
but I am never out of darkness.
3) My first is nothing but a name;
My second still more small;
My whole of so much smaller fame,
It has no name at all.
4) If the English alphabet goes from A to Z, what goes from Z to A?
II.事物谜：
1) At night they come
Without being fetched,
And by day they are lost
Without being stolen.
2) As round as an apple,
As deep as a pail;
It never cries out,
Till it's caught by the tail.
3) My sides are firmly laced about,
Yet nothing is within;
You'll think my head is strange indeed,
Being nothing else but skin.
4) Over the water,
And under the water,
And never touch the water.
5) I never was, am always to be,
No one ever saw me, nor ever will
And yet I am the confidence of all
To live and breathe on this terrestrial ball.
III.智力谜:
1) Why are Saturdays and Sundays so strong?
2)swheresdo smart dogs refuse to shop?
3) Would you rather an elephant kill you, or a gorilla?
4) When do elephants have sixteen feet？
5) Which is faster, heat or cold?
6) What's every baby's motto?-
答案：
I.字谜：1) The letter P 2)The letter S 3)Nameless 4) Zebra
II.事物谜：1)Stars 2)A bell 3)A drum 4)A girl crossing a bridge with a pail of water on her head. 5)Tomorrow
III.智力谜：
1)Because the rest are weekdays.提示：weekdays的意思是“工作日”，而week(星期)和weak(弱的)是一对同音异义词。
2)At flea markets.提示：flea market的意思是“跳蚤市场”(经营廉价古物、旧货等的露天市场)。谜底把flea market曲解为“跳蚤的市场”，聪明的狗可不愿长跳蚤，自然不愿去有跳蚤的市场。
3)I'd rather he kill the gorilla.提示：谜面可以有两种解释。第一种是“你希望大象杀死你，还是大猩猩杀死你？”第二种解释是“你希望大象杀死你，还是杀死大猩猩？”
4)When there are four of them.提示：因为四只大象(four elephants)有十六条腿。
5)Heat. You can catch cold.提示：catch cold的意思是“患感冒”，字面意思是“抓住冷”，但是从来没人说catch heat。
6) If at first you don't succeed, cry, cry again.提示：孩子的格言If at first you don't succeed, cry, cry again.(一次哭闹不成功，哭闹再哭闹)是模仿谚语If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.(一次不成功，努力再努力)杜撰而来。
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