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FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
( 2012-11-30 )



      年輕的加拿大電影人Yung Chang張僑勇的新作《水果獵人》(Fruit Hunters)是一部關於exotic fruit ,熱愛、追踪和試圖保留一些奇異水果的紀錄片, there is a story behind every fruit, 導演盼望觀眾通過水果,找回他們和大自然的聯系。
      水果之外,FRUIT還有兩個解釋:the harvest gathered from land 農產品;the effect or result of an activity成果。Fruitfulness=fertility繁殖豐碩;fruition=fulfillment取得成果。
      蘋果對洋人來說,健康之外,有文化、歷史、宗教的象征特質symbolic attributes,比喻和諺語的涵蓋面,既廣泛又多姿 :quarrels  in mythology 希臘神話中引起爭吵之原因 (the apple of discord), a thing of great value 心肝寶貝、珍愛之物 (the apple of one's eyes), temptation of the forbidden fruit in the biblical story of the creation聖經創世紀之禁果誘惑, and homeliness in the American fondness for apple pies美國人蘋果餡餅般典型之生活方式。
      蘋果的成語,還有a bad apple:對四周產生壞影響的人,不誠實、不道德、討人厭的傢伙a troublesome person that has a corrupting influence on others;而壞蘋果和好蘋果儲放在一起時,可以令本來的好蘋果也變成a rotten apple壞蘋果:a bad person that has a bad effect on the rest of the group。
      井井有條、齊整有序,可以用apple-pie order來形容。Upset the apple cart即是帶來煩惱或破壞大計to cause trouble and do something that spoils somebody's plans or to ruin an event by surprise or accident。
      Adam's apple指喉結,Big Apple指紐約市。apples and oranges,指截然不同的兩碼子事。 
      Banana republic香蕉共和國,指政府無能、事事依賴外援的貧窮國家。Slip on a banana skin是喜劇和漫畫常見的滑稽窘相,成語的本意是:做了某些事或說了某些話,顯示自己愚蠢,當眾出醜。To go bananas is to become angry, crazy or silly發怒、發瘋、犯傻。
      來自電影的名句Life is just a bowl of cherries,表示生活簡單,無憂無慮 life is easy and uncomplicated; 失敗之後,再有第二個機會:可用a second bite of the cherry, 即是a second chance to do something,例如:I failed the exam, but I will get a       second bite of the cherry next month。
      櫻桃又紅又甜,葡萄,對某些人,卻可以是酸的,sour gapes are something that you really want but you can't have, and so you say that you don't like it。伊索寓言著名的故事:一隻狐狸多次伸手想抓着垂懸的葡萄,都沒有成功,終於放棄,牠安慰自已說道:葡萄是酸的,不好吃,不吃也吧!另一方面,you hear something through the grapevine你從認識的人聽到非經正式渠道的流言或小道消息。Grapevine是美國最早期電報系統的暱稱,電報的電線,經常像蔓藤亂捆在一起。當美國南北戰爭時,政府利用電報,作為戰爭情況的宣傳工具,充斥虛假消息和失實新聞,美國國民認為從電報聽來的流言和小道消息,都不可靠。
      BEANS和NUTS的成語,相當有趣:full of beans表示喜氣洋洋,興奮無比,精力充沛happy, excited and full of energy。 這句成語的出處,源於吃得很飽而活力充沛的馬匹。spill the beans表示揭露秘密的或私人的真相to let secret information become known;a hard nut to crack is a problem difficult to solve or a person hard to deal with棘手的問題、難對付的人;to put the matter in a nutshell is to express it in a few words簡而言之;the nuts and bolts are the basic practical details of a subject 基本要點;an old chestnut is a statement, story or idea that that has been repeated so often that it is no longer interesting 說話、故事、觀點,經過復述多次之後,變得陳腐,不再新鮮有趣。 另一個最常見的蔬菜成語carrot and stick:嘗試影響某人做某事時,給他的報酬或威脅rewards and punishments that influence someone's behaviour。我們可以用胡蘿蔔,吊在動物面前,鼓勵驢子向前面走,或者用大棒子,隨時拷打牠;carrot胡蘿蔔,代表向前走的誘惑,stick大棒子,代表懲罰你的威脅。

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