透过英文看成语

一直以来，我们都习惯于用中文来解释和学习中国成语——一种学问倘若从

来没有渠道进行换角度或换模式思维，那么，很容易学累了、学蔫了、甚至学歪

了。而用另一种语言对某种寓意进行诠释的可能性——如用英语来解释中文的成

语和寓言——为转换思维模式提供了机会和便利。以“兴高采烈”一词为例，中文

解释差不多都是“很高兴、兴致高、精神饱满”，而英文的解释却能给人带来更多

的惊喜与遐思：on top of the world (在世界之顶端)、feel one’s oats (马吃到大量的

燕麦时的兴奋感觉)、in buoyant/high/good spirits (被大好元气所包围着)、go into

raptures (进入极度狂喜的状态)、in fine/high feather (在羽翼最舒适、最完好、最

丰满之时)。从这个例子，我们可以看出，换语言、换文化、换角度、换模式思

考，能够大大促进我们对原学问的认识并加深对其印象。

以下内容根据网络上流传的《一篇气死了99 名老师的中学生作文》改编，目的是让读者在谈笑风生之余，把粗体部分的成语的正确意义顺着英文的思维模

式梳理一遍，并在英文写作中对这些成语展开全面使用。学习检验方式为两人一

组，一位同学说出中文，另一位同学立即用英文解释出来，每天三次， 每次要

定量并且计时，每次检验的反应速度理应比前一次更快，不断地挑战自己的记忆

潜能。

令人兴高采烈的星期天终于不期而至，尽管我的作业罄竹难书，独立自主的

我还是决定放假一天，并特地带着爸爸妈妈和弟弟妹妹眉飞色舞地去动物园玩。

出门前，我把徐娘半老的自己打扮得花枝招展，鬼斧神工到一点也看不出丑

女贝蒂的原形。

头顶羽毛未丰的弟弟也赶紧洗心革面沐猴而冠，换上双管齐下的西装后英俊

得惨绝人寰，鸡飞狗跳到让人退避三舍。

东施效颦爱漂亮的妹妹更是穿上了整型小洋装愚公移山，画虎类犬地打扮得

艳光四射，还趾高气昂地穿上新买的高跟鞋。

按照惯例，我们会在游玩的路上贪得无厌地自食其果——吃些“苹梨李桃”

一类的水果，不一会盒子里就没好果子吃了，妹妹只好黔驴技穷地削些芋头来滥

竽充数。

说时迟那时快，我们一丘之貉坐着素车白马，很快地到了动物园，不料参观

的人多到豺狼当道草木皆兵，害我们一家骨肉分离。妻离子散的爸爸鞠躬尽瘁地

到处广播，终于找到差点认贼作父的我和遇人不淑的妹妹，困兽之斗中，我们螳

臂当车力排众议推己及人地挤到猴子栅栏前，鱼目混珠地拍了张强颜欢笑的全家

福。

1. 兴高采烈：be elated/cheerful/raptured; on the high ropes; in great form; feel

one’s oats

2. 不期而至：arrive unexpectedly

3. 罄竹难书：罄：尽，完；竹：古时用来写字的竹简。形容罪行多得写不完。

(One's misdemeanors) are too numerous to inscribe on all bamboo strips

4. 独立自主：self-independent

5. 眉飞色舞：to be enraptured

6. 徐娘半老：指尚有风韵的中年妇女。The woman in her forties is still attractive,

despite her age; the woman in her thirty-forties still retains a great deal of charm

7. 花枝招展：招展：迎风摆动的样子。形容打扮得十分艳丽。The flowering

branches shake to give notice - used to describe the beautiful dress of a

woman; be seductively dressed; be gorgeously dressed; make up freshly; as pretty

as flowers

8. 鬼斧神工：形容艺术技巧高超，不是人力所能达到的extraordinary as if done

by the spirits; extremely skillful; “divine” workmanship; the secret workings of

nature; uncanny workmanship; superlative craftsmanship

9. 羽毛未丰: 小鸟的羽毛还没有长全（丰：丰满）。比喻尚未成熟或力量还不够

强大。The

feather

is

not

yet

fully

grown;

still

young

and

immature [inexperienced]; unfledged

10. 洗心革面：洗心：消除邪恶的思想；革面：改变旧的面目。比喻彻底悔改；重新做人。Change one's heart and reform; cleanse the heart from sin; cleanse

one's heart and order one's behavior; make a thorough reformation; reform

oneself thoroughly; repent genuinely; start life anew

11. 沐猴而冠:比喻虚有仪表 a monkey with a hat on - a worthless person in

imposing attire; a devilish person with imposing attire; a snobbish social

climber; making a monkey show - stupid political figures

12. 双管齐下:双手执笔同时作画。比喻为达到某个目的同时采取两种措施或同时

做两件事情。Paint a picture with two brushes at the same time - work along both

lines; do both things at one and the same time; do two things at the same time in

order to achieve one's aim

13. 惨绝人寰：惨：狠毒；残酷；绝：穷尽；人寰：人世；人间。世间再没有比

这更残酷的了。形容残酷凄惨到了极点。 Tragic beyond compare in this human

world; a rare tragedy on earth; most shocking in the human world; so miserable

that it can hardly be found in human life - extremely pitiful

14. 退避三舍：后退九十里。比喻为避免冲突；向对方作出回避或让步。舍：古

时行军；一舍为三十里。 retreat about thirty miles as a condition for peace; give

one a wide berth; give way to sb. to avoid a conflict; keep a good distance from

sb; keep at arm's length; keep sb. at a pole's length; keep three marches distant

from sb.

15. 东施效颦：比喻不顾具体条件；不加分析地胡乱摹仿别人；结果适得其反；显得可笑。 ugly woman trying to imitate a famous beauty knitting her brows -

blindly copying others and making oneself look foolish; crude imitation; imitate

awkwardly; imitate sb. in certain particulars; be unconscious of one's own defects

16. 愚公移山：比喻做事有十分坚强的毅力和不怕困难不怕牺牲的精神。The

Foolish Old Man, who removed the mountains; the determination to win victory

and the courage to surmount every difficulty

17. 画虎类犬：画虎画得像只狗。比喻模仿的效果不好，弄得不伦不类。To try to

draw a tiger and end up with the likeness of a dog; to make a poor imitation

18. 趾高气昂：走路时脚抬得很高，神气十足。形容骄傲自满，得意忘形的样子。

Ride the high horse; be on one's high horse

19. 贪得无厌：厌：满足。贪心永远没有满足的时候 be insatiably avaricious; as

greedy as a wolf; be greedy of gain; be insatiably greedy;

20. 自食其果：指自己做了坏事，自己受到损害或惩罚 As you brew, so must you

drink; As you make your bed, so you must lie in it; eat one's own bitter fruit

21. 黔驴技穷：黔：今贵州省一带；技：技能；穷：尽。比喻有限的一点本领也

已经用完了。 be at [come to] one's wit's end; be at the end of one's rope; show

feet of clay; have exhausted one's tricks; have exhausted one's bag of tricks; have

no other tricks left to play.

22. 滥竽充数：比喻无本领的冒充有本领，次货冒充好货。 pretend to play the Yu

(a wind instrument) in order to make up the number for an orchestra - to be

included in a group just to fill in a vacancy; act as a stopgap; be dragged in to

swell the total;

23. 说时迟那时快：All this happened in less time than it would take to narrate; at a

snap of the finger; in a snap; before one knows where he is; before one can say

knife

24. 一丘之貉：丘：土山。貉：一种像狐狸的野兽。一个土山里的貉。比喻彼此

同类；没有什么差别。be tarred with the same brush [stick]; be jackals of [from]

the same lair; be of the same batch; be a bird of the same feather; be cut from the

same cloth; be of the same species; birds of a feather; brigands of the same stripe;

nothing to choose between them

25. 素车白马：旧时办丧事用的车马，后被用作送葬的语词 plain cars and white

horses - in a funeral procession; white horses and unadorned carriages used at a

funeral

26. 豺狼当道：豺、狼：两种凶残的野兽；当：正当；当道：横在路中间挡路。

豺狼两种凶残的野兽横在道路中间。比喻残暴的人掌权得势或违法横行；也

作“虎狼当路”。Wolves stop the road - evil men usurping authority; bad person in

power; Jackals and wolves hold sway; The cruel and the wicked are in power.

27. 草木皆兵木：树；皆：全；都是。野草和树木都像是兵士。比喻军队败退时

心虚；把草木都看成为是敌兵。亦形容极度惊恐时发出多疑的错觉。 Every

bush and tree looks like an enemy - state of extreme nervousness; The grass and

trees were thought to be the soldiers of the enemy.; apprehend danger in every

sound; mistake every bush and tree for an enemy; see every bush and tree as an

enemy; see an enemy behind every tree; be plagued by imaginary fears

28. 妻离子散：妻子离异；子女流散。表示一家人被迫离散。 Break up families; be

separated from one's wife and children; breaking up or scattering of one's family;

One's family was broken up.; Parents were separated from children; with one's

family broken up

29. 鞠躬尽瘁：《三国志·蜀志·诸葛亮传》注引《汉晋春秋》诸葛亮表:“鞠躬尽力，死而后已。”(“力”选本多作“瘁”)指小心谨慎，贡献出全部力量。. bend one's

body and exhaust one's energy; be entirely worn out in performing one's duties;

bend oneself to a task and exert oneself to the utmost; bend oneself to the task

unto death; dedicate all one's energies throughout one's life to ...; devote oneself

entirely to ...; devote one's life to ...

30. 认贼作父：把坏人当作父亲；常指卖身投靠坏人或敌人clasp an enemy to one's

bosom; adopt a gangster for a father; make up to the enemy; regard the enemy as

kith and kin; take a rascal as one's benefactor; take foes for parents; take the foe

for one's father; treat a thief as one's father

31. 遇人不淑：善，美。指女子嫁了一个品质不好的丈夫。be married to a bad

husband

32. 螳臂当车：螳螂奋举前腿来挡住车子前进；不知道它的力量根本不胜任。比

喻自不量力地去做办不到的事，必然失败。a mantis trying to stop [obstruct] a

chariot; a mantis raises its forelegs, trying to stop an oncoming car; an ambitious

attempt without a sense of one's pitiable limitation; an overestimation of one's

ability, resulting in failure

33. 力排众议：力：竭力；排：排除；议：议论；意见。竭力排除或驳倒各个人

的议论；使自己的主张占上风。do one's utmost to hold one's own opinion

against that of the majority; hold one's ground; override all objections; prevail

over all dissenting views; refute the consensus and present a new plan [idea];

reject strongly different opinions; stand one's ground; denounce the majority

opinion

34. 推己及人：用自己的意志去推想别人的心意，指设身处地替别人着想consider

others in one's own place; devolve one's own thought to others; do as one would

be done by others; Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.; extend

one's own feelings to others; judge others as you would like to be judged by them;

put [place] oneself in another's place; treat other people as you would yourself

35. 鱼目混珠：鱼目：鱼眼睛；混：混同；冒充。用鱼眼来假冒珍珠。形容以假

乱真；以次充好 pass off fish eyes as [for] pearls - pass off the sham as the

genuine; get sb. to accept ignorantly a false article; mix the fictitious with the

genuine; mix the genuine with the fictitious; palm off sth.

36. 强颜欢笑：心里不畅快，但脸上勉强装出喜笑的样子。force a smile; a

countenance with a forced smile; force oneself to smile (cheerfully); force a

smiling face; put on an air of cheerfulness; try to look happy when one is sad;

with a forced smile