算舊帳

英文:settle a score/settle an old score (v.)

說明:亦可用 settle scores 來表達完全相同的意思。這些英文成語還可表示「尋仇;報宿怨」的意思,通常與 with 連用。

例句:

  • Cindy was eager to settle a score with Maggie. (辛蒂急於找瑪姬算帳)
  • After losing the race for mayor four years ago, running again this year was partly a matter of settling old scores. (四年前競選市長失利後,今年再度出馬有部分是為了報一箭之仇)

翻舊帳;舊事重提

英文:rake over the ashes/coals (v.)

說明:事實上,rake over 這個片語動詞 (phrasal verb) 的意思就是「翻舊帳」,其受詞可放在 rake 和 over 之間或 over 之後,但以後者居多。

例句:

  • There’s no point in raking over the past. (翻舊帳毫無意義)
  • There’s no point in raking over the ashes – all that happened twenty years ago, and there’s nothing we can do about it now. (舊事重提已沒什麼意義了 - 那一切都發生在二十年前,現在我們也無能為力了)
  • His wife always rakes over the coals of their old unpleasant things when she is angry. (他太太一生氣就會將他們之間不愉快的往事重新搬出來)

maow

(動詞) 吃 (eat)。

  • Now I really need to maow. (現在我真的需要吃點東西)

(動詞) 大量地吃 (eat heavily)。

  • I just completely maoed my dinner. (我剛剛才吃完晚餐)

Cure, heal (vv.)

Cure 意為「治療;治癒」,而 heal 意為「癒合;治癒」,兩者都有治癒的意思,但含意卻大不同。

Cure 是表示疾病 (disease/illness) 方面的治療、治癒,如 This medicine will cure you of your arthritis. (這種藥會治好你的關節炎);Many formerly fatal diseases can now be cured. (以前的許多致命性疾病現在都可以治好了);Mary was fully/completely cured. (瑪麗痊癒了);Most doctors cannot cure this disease. (大多數醫生都無法治癒這種病)。

Heal 是表示外傷、灼傷等傷口 (wound/cut) 的癒合、治癒,如 David’s leg healed, and he went back to work. (大衛的腿傷痊癒了,所以他就回去上班了);The large wound is hard to heal. (這個大傷口難以癒合);The vitamin is needed by the body for healing cuts and bruises. (人體需要這種維他命來治癒割傷和瘀傷)。

Heal 僅能用作動詞,而 cure 除動詞外,還可當名詞用,意為「治療;痊癒;療法」,如 There are several possible cures for this disease. (這疾病有幾種可能有效的療法);There’s still no cure for diabetes. (治療糖尿病尚無良方)。

當名詞用的 cure 還意為「對策;解決方法」,如 It’s the only possible cure for this problem. (那是解決這問題唯一可行的方法) - 在此,cure for = solution to。同樣地,cure-all 和 miracle/miraculous cure 也都有字面和比喻的意思,如 There’s still no cure-all (= miracle/miraculous cure) for the common cold. (治療感冒尚無萬靈丹);This is not the cure-all (= miracle/miraculous cure) for unemployment. (這不是解決失業問題的萬全之策/萬靈丹)。從例句可知,cure-all 和 miracle/miraculous cure 為同義詞,意為「萬靈丹;萬全之策」;事實上,英文還有一個字可與它們劃上等號,那就是 panacea。

burn a bridge

(動詞) 完全切斷關係 (通常指職場上的關係)。亦可用 burn bridges 或 burn that bridge 來表示。

  • Always avoid burning a bridge if you can avoid it. (如果能夠避免的話,你一定要避免切斷職場上的關係)

fox

(動詞) 使迷惑;把…難住。

  • The new request had all of us foxed. (新的請求把我們所有人都難住了)

(名詞) 非常性感的人 (尤指嫵媚的女子)。

  • Catherine is quite the fox. (凱瑟琳十分嫵媚動人)

收拾心情

英文:pick up the pieces (v.)

說明:pick up the pieces 亦可表示「恢復正常;重整旗鼓」之意。

例句:

  • After a while, Ted was able to pick up the pieces and carry on his work. (一會兒後,泰德就收拾心情繼續他的工作)
  • After quarrelling with his wife, Peter pick up the pieces at once and went to work. (彼得和他太太爭吵後,馬上收拾心情去上班)
  • After Ruth’s death, John found it hard to pick up the pieces and carry on with his life. (露絲過世後,約翰發現他難以恢復正常,繼續過他的生活)

蠟燭兩頭燒

英文:burn the candle at both ends (v.)

說明:蠟燭兩頭燒是指白天忙碌,晚上又睡得遲。

例句:

  • No wonder Anna is ill. She has been burning the candle at both ends for a long time. (難怪安娜生病了。她長期蠟燭兩頭燒)
  • He has been burning the candle at both ends with his work and his studies. (為了兼顧工作和學業,他一直蠟燭兩頭燒)

Q:Make, have 和 get 這三個使役動詞的含意一樣嗎? 還是有所不同呢?

A:Make, have 和 get 這三個使役動詞 (causative verb) 在英文中相當常用,其句型分別為 have + sb + 原形動詞、make + sb + 原形動詞及 get + sb + to + 原形動詞,它們均可用來表示「使或叫某人做某事」的意思。然而,它們的含意並不完全相同。所以,它們並非總是可以互換,也不全然都可以用在同一個句子中。

Make 含有「強迫、迫使」(force) 之意。例如:

1. Mr. Huang made his son water the flowers. (黃先生叫他兒子澆花) - 黃先生的兒子別無選擇,因為他父親要他澆花。
2. His jokes made us all laugh. (他的笑話把我們都逗笑了) - 他的笑話使我們不得不笑。

Have含有「要求」(ask) 之意。例如:

3. I’ll have the porter bring your baggage up right away. (我會叫搬運工馬上把你的行李拿上來) - 搬運工會馬上把你的行李拿上來,因為我要求他這麼做。
4. I had John find me a house. (我叫約翰幫我找房子) - 約翰幫我找了房子,因為我要求他這麼做。

Get 含有「說服」(persuade) 之意。例如:

5. Wendy got me to lend her some money. (溫蒂叫我借她一些錢) - 溫蒂 (成功地) 說服我借她一些錢。
6. The students got the teacher to dismiss class early. (學生叫老師提早下課) - 學生 (成功地) 說服老師讓他們提早下課。

綜上所述,在句 1 中,若將 made 換成 had 或 got (記住:Get 後面要接帶 to 的不定詞) 也說得通,只是含意不同,但若將句子改為 Mr. Huang made his father water the flowers. (黃先生叫他父親澆花) 則不通,因為儘管兒子比老子大的情況並非罕見,但也不多見,哪有兒子強迫父親澆花的道理。句 2 不能使用 had 或 got,因為笑話不會要求或說服我們笑。在句 3 和 句 4 中,若將 have 和 had 換成另外兩個使役動詞,都還說得通。句 5 亦然,但句 6 的 got 若換成 made,則有違常理,因為儘管現今師道式微,師生關係緊張,學生會強迫老師提早下課或老師會在學生強迫下提早下課,還是令人匪夷所思。

最後,我們就用同一個句子來說明這三個使役動詞不盡相同的含意,以彰顯其用法之真諦。例如:

a. The doctor made the patient stay in bed.
b. The doctor had the patient stay in bed.
c. The doctor got the patient to stay in bed.

這三句的意思都是「醫生叫病人留在床上」,但含意不同。句 a 表示病人別無選擇、不得不留在床上,因為醫生堅持他要留在床上 (醫生有權威迫使病人這麼做);句 b 表示病人之所以留在床上,是因為醫生要求他這麼做;句 c 表示醫生成功地說服病人留在床上。