发音：美式发音 语速：110词/分钟 使用方法：精听+听写
小编Tips:这篇文章语速较慢、发音清晰,用简单生动的语言来解释日常生活中出现的各种俗语、固定表达,是用英文学英文的最好素材。建议在精听之后进行逐字逐句的听写,可锻炼读者的听写能力。
Every people has its own way of saying things, its own special expressions. Some of these expressions are easy to understand. The words create a picture in your mind.
As easy as falling off a log is one such expression. It describes a job that does not take much effort. If you ever tried to walk on a fallen tree log, you understand what the expression means. It is easier to fall off the log than to stay on it. The expression is often used today. For example, you might hear a student say to her friend that her spelling test was “as easy as falling off a log”.
●大家都知道,“log”就是圆木。在一段圆圆的木头上行走并不是一件容易的事,大多数人走个一两步就会从上面掉下来。因此“as easy as falling off a log”也就用来说明某事很容易做到,就像从圆木上掉下来那么容易。“as easy as falling off a log”也作“as easy as rolling off a log”,这两个短语在日常生活中应用得相当广泛。假如你不做什么准备就通过了考试,你就可以说:“The test was as easy as falling off a log.”(这次考试太容易了。)
There are several other expressions that mean the same thing. And their meaning is as easy to understand as “falling off a log”. One is, easy as pie. Nothing is easier than eating a piece of sweet, juicy pie, unless it is a piece of cake.
●英语中常用“as X as Y”的结构,Y一般是常见的事物,用Y来形容X,形象生动,简单明了。例如这个短语“(as) easy as pie”。众所周知,pie是西方人最喜欢的甜点之一。在这个短语中,“pie”的“easy”并不体现在它的制作过程,而在于人们品尝它时感受到的舒适和享受(ease and enjoyment)。“(as) easy as pie”这个短语多见于美式英语中。
“Piece of cake” is another expression that means something is extremely easy to do. A friend might tell you that his new job was a “piece of cake”.
●表示“容易的、轻松的”意思的短语,大家最熟悉的莫过于“piece of cake”这个表达方式了。聪明的读者一定发现了,“piece of cake”和上面的“(as) easy as pie”在表达容易至极、易如反掌的意思上有异曲同工之妙。cake和pie都是西式点心,也同样由人们享用蛋糕或馅饼时的舒适愉悦而引申出“easy”(容易)的含义。
Another expression is as easy as shooting fish in a barrel. It is hard to imagine why anyone would want to shoot fish in a barrel. But, clearly, fish in a barrel would be much easier to shoot than fish in a stream. In fact, it would be as easy as “falling off a log”.
●“as easy as shooting fish in a barrel”再次沿用了“as X as Y”的模式。“shooting fish in a barrel”可从字面上理解,即“向桶里的鱼射击”。桶的容量如此之小,命中率自然就高啦,那还不是易如反掌吗?另外,“as easy as shooting fish in a barrel”=“like shooting fish in a barrel”。例如:Jane’s a good mechanic. Changing a tire is as easy as shooting a fish in a barrel for her.(简是个好机械师,换轮胎对她来说是小事一桩。)
Sometimes, things that come to us easily, also leave us just as easily. In fact, there is an expression—easy come, easy go—that recognizes this. You may win a lot of money in a lottery, then spend it all in a few days. Easy come, easy go.
●“Easy come, easy go.”——“来得快,去得快”可谓是言简意赅的真理。容易得到的东西,也容易失去。这句话被现在抱着“简单生活、简单爱情”信念的时尚一族奉为名言,认为事业、爱情等来去匆匆,不必太介怀。其实“Easy come, easy go.”这句话也带有一定的警诫意味——容易得到的东西,往往也最容易失去,所以还是要珍惜拥有的东西啊。
When life itself is easy, when you have no cares or problems, you are on Easy Street. Everyone wants to live on that imaginary street.
●人生的道路有许多条,但不是每个人都能走上“Easy Street”。“Easy Street”并不是字面理解的“容易的路”的意思,而是指一个人无需担心金钱、生活无忧,跟“康庄大道”有相似的意味。
Another “easy” expression is to go easy on a person. It means to treat a person kindly or gently, especially in a situation where you might be expected to be angry with him. A wife might urge her husband to “go easy on” their son, because the boy did not mean to wreck the car.
●“to go easy on a person”意为“对某人客气点、宽容以待”,尤指在这个人做了令人生气或比较严重的事情时。举个例子来说,如果有个小孩把你家的窗户玻璃打破了,你又不好跟小孩子发脾气,这个时候只能“go easy on him”啦。
If it is necessary to borrow some money to fix the car, you should look for a friend who is an easy touch. An “easy touch” or a “soft touch” is someone who is kind and helpful. He would easily agree to lend you the money.
●“an easy touch”和“a soft touch”同义,都表示对别人的要求有求必应、容易被说服的人。例如:Her Dad’s an easy touch; he’s always giving her money.(她爸爸对她真是有求必应,总给她钱花。)
And one last expression, one that means “do not worry or work too hard”. Try to keep away from difficult situations. Take it easy until we meet again.
●学了上面这么多关于表达“easy”的短语,你会不会担心自己消化不了呢?Take it easy——别着急,放轻松!