to throw cold water on something
英语里有好些习惯用语都和"水",就是water这个字有关系。有的用:hot water;还有的用:cold water or deep water。在英语里用这些词汇组成的习惯用语就和水一样普遍。但是,它们都有一个共同的特点,那就是它们一般都含有贬意。今天我们要向大家介绍两个用water这个字组成的习惯用语。第一个是:in hot water. In hot water的意思并不是"在热水中"。它的确切意思是指某人或某些人出境困难,遇到非常麻烦的问题了。举个例子来说吧:
例句-1:"Joe is really in hot water now -- his girlfriend just found out he&39;s seeing another woman."
这句话的意思是:"乔伊现在可是难办了,因为他的女朋友最近发现他另外还有一个女朋友。"
我们再举一个例子:
例句-2:"That movie actor tried to cheat on his income tax, but he got caught and now he&39;s in hot water with the government."
这是说:"那个电影演员想在缴纳所得税的时候弄虚作假,可是给税务局发现了。现在,他可麻烦了。"
今天要讲的另一个和water有关的习惯用语是: to throw cold water on something. To throw cold water on something和中文里说的"泼冷水"意思完全一样。下面的例子是一个人在说他办公室里发生的事:
例句-3:"Everybody else in the office thought my idea was great, but the boss threw cold water on it."
他说:"办公室里所有的人都认为我的主意很好,就是我们的老板给我泼冷水。"我们再举一个例子。这是一个儿子在说他的爸爸:
例句-4:"I had planned on going to medical school but my dad threw cold water on this idea the other day when he told me he wasn&39;t sure he had the money to pay my tuition for so long."
他说:"我一直想上医学院。可是,那天我爸爸给我泼冷水,说他不一定有能力替我付那么多年的学费。"
阶阶有进步,街街是熟路.