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标题: “转喜为忧”英语怎么表达? [打印本页]

作者: leenyao    时间: 2011-3-31 20:41     标题: “转喜为忧”英语怎么表达?

经常在电影里看到那种转喜为优、乐极生悲的戏剧化场景,不过在现实生活中,这种考验人心脏的场景还是越少越好。今天我们就来学习一下“转喜为忧”在英语中怎么表达。
我们先来学习一个习惯用语: laugh out of the other side of your mouth。让我们看个例子来体会这个习惯用语是什么意思:
Bill thought he got a real bargain because the car was half the normal price. Now he's laughing out of the other side of his mouth. The police came to tell him the car was stolen. So he loses both the car and the money.
比尔用正常价钱的一半就买进了这辆车,他高兴极了,以为自己占了大便宜。但是想不到警察来对他说这辆车是赃货,这一来比尔既没了车又丢了钱,真是哭笑不得。
可见laugh out of the other side of his mouth这个习惯用语是用来描绘这种乐极生悲的局面的。它的含义是意外打击使人哭笑不得、转喜为忧。另外一个习惯用语laugh on the other side of one's face也可表示同样的意思。


刚才的习惯用语使人连想起一句老话: 别高兴得太早。人们常规劝别人说: 得意莫忘形,失意别消沉。英语里有一句习惯用语有类似的含义,这个习惯用语是: have the last laugh。 Have the last laugh看来意思很明白,就是笑在最后,谁能在最后笑呢?当然是取得最终胜利的一方,所以have the last laugh说的是获得最后胜利。我们来看个例子。
The boys thought they had tricked the girls by locking them in the kitchen. But the girls had the last laugh when the boys got hungry and realized they couldn't get into the kitchen for food.
男孩儿们把那些女孩锁进了厨房就自以为计谋得逞了,但是实际上他们高兴得太早了:他们饿了想吃东西的时候才想起他们进不去厨房了。
Have the last laugh这个习惯用语来自谚语: He laughs last who laughs best. 笑到最后的人才笑得最好。 Have the last laugh这个习惯用语言简意赅,含意是取得最后胜利才是真正的胜利,所以大可不必为最初的胜利而得意。




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