语言与文化考试重点

Generally, phrasal verbs occur often in colloquial English, while their corresponding single words are frequently found in writing.

1.1 Idioms other than phrasal verbs(they are closely related with English culture. To understand them properly one needs to attain familiarity with English culture from which they have developed.)

1.1.1 Idioms in relation to mannerisms

To split one’s side with laughter 当心笑破了肚皮

To keep a straight face 不动声色

To pull somebody’s leg 开某人的玩笑/捉弄某人

To ride one’s high horse 趾高气扬

To hold one’s head high 昂首挺胸/充满自信

To make a cat laugh 把死人逗笑了

To make one’s flesh creep 使人汗毛真竖/让人直起鸡皮疙瘩

To make a face 作个鬼脸

Not to bat an eyelid 眼不眨，心不跳/处之泰然

1.1.2 Idioms in relation to life philosophy

A big fish in a small pond 鹤立鸡群/

Milk and water 平淡如水

Mind one’s p’s and q’s 注意言行举止

No man is an island 没能人是一座孤岛

Just what the doctor ordered 医生的话不能不听，也不能全听

To keep one’s nose clean 保持一身清白

Not for all the tea in China 给我一座金山，我也不干

1.1.3 Idioms in relation to love and marriage

A male chauvinist大男子主义

A marriage of convenience 功利婚姻

The marriage of true minds 真诚的结合

To love at first sight 一见钟情

Mr/Miss Right 白马王子/绝色佳人

1.1.4 Others

Not to mince one’s words 直言不讳

To miss the boat 坐失良机

A nine days wonder昙花一现

Not in a hundred years 永远不能成功/一辈子也干不成

To keep one’s own company 独来独往

To know something like the palm of one’s hand 了如指掌

To know one’s onions

A nine to five job 朝九晚五

To move heaven and earth to do something 费了九牛二虎之力/连吃奶的力气都用上了

To make bricks without straw 做无米之饮

Between Scylla and Charybdis 腹背受敌/进退两难

2. Proverbs（a preverb is a brief familiar maxim of folk wisdom, usually compressed in form, ofen involving a bold image are frequently a jingle that catches the memory）

2.1 proverbs related to Christianity

Man proposes, God disposes.谋事在人，成事在天

Mills of God grind slow but sure 天网恢恢，疏而不漏

God help those who help themselves自助者天助之

Whom God would ruin, he first deprives of reason 上帝要毁灭谁，必先夺其理性

Whom the Gods love die young 上帝的宠儿早夭折

Each cross hath its own inscription 每个十字架都有自己的铭文

God sends meat and the devil sends cooks. 上帝赐给食物，魔鬼派来厨师

He that serves god for money will serve the devil for better wages.为金钱而侍奉上帝的人会为更多的报酬服侍魔鬼

2.2 proverbs derived from the Bible and great English literary works

Never cast your pearls before swine。不可明珠暗投。/不可对牛谈琴。

He that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow 知识越广，遗憾越多。Gossiping and lying go hand in hand 闲话与谎话结伴同行

Pride goes before a hall 骄傲是失败的向导

All are of the dust, and all turn to the dust again 从从来自泥土，又变回泥土

Judge not according to appearance. 不可根据外表判断/勿以貌取人

Great men are not always wise. 伟人并非事事聪明

Water Margin 水浒传

Dream of Red Mansions 红楼梦

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet 玫瑰无论叫什么名字都是香的

All the world is a stage. And all the men and women are merely players. 整个世界就是个大舞台，形形色色的人们只是其中的演员。

Life is but a walking shadow 人生不是移动的影子

It is better to be a beggar than a fool 作乞丐胜过作傻瓜

Uneasy lies the head that wears crown 戴王冠的脑袋躺不安稳

Every wise man dreadeth his enemy 聪明人不吃眼前亏

Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven 宁在地狱为群，不在天堂为臣

The child is father of the man 从小知其人

Knowledge is power 知识就是力量

2.3 proverbs related to Greco-Roman civilization

one falls into Scylla in seeking to avoid Charybdis 为避虎穴，又入狼窝。

without Ceres and Bacchus, Venus grows cold 离开克瑞斯和巴克劳动保护，维纳斯便心灰意冷

Far from Jupiter, far from thunder 远离朱庇特，远离了雷电

I fear the Greeks even when they bring gifts. 希腊人送礼时也让我害怕

Marry in May, repent always. 五月结婚，后悔终身。

Homer sometimes nods 智者千虑，必有一失

From his foot, you may know Hercules. 从他的脚，你就可以认出大力士

2.4 proverbs related to geography

Carry coals to Newcastle 北煤上煤都，多此一举。

Lemster bread and Weabley ale, dunmow bacon and Doncaster daggers. 吐鲁番的葡萄，哈密的瓜，库车的姑娘美如花。

England is the ringing island 英国是充满钟声的岛屿

Blessed is the eye, that is betwixt Severn and Wye 塞文河和瓦伊河之间的风光，令人大饱眼福

Oxford for learning, London for Wit, Hull for women and Yord for horses.牛津人学问好，伦敦人才智高，哈勒的女人美，约克的马匹好

2.5 proverbs related to navigation

many drops of water will sink the ship 积漏成多会沉掉航船

it is a hard sailing when there is no wind 风平浪静，艰难航程

a smooth sea never made a skillful mariner 海水平静难造就优秀水手

a great ship asks deep water 大船深水行

the good seaman is known in bad weather 天气恶劣才能显出优秀航海家.

Little boats must keep to the shore 小船沉岸行

He that would sail without danger must never come on the main sea 航行怕风险，绝不要去大海

Rats desert a sinking ship 船沉鼠要逃/树倒猢狲散。

A small leak will sink a great ship 小漏沉大船/蝼蚁之穴能溃千里之堤。

Any port in a storm 船在暴风雨中不择港口/慌不择路

Let another’s shipwreck be your seamark 别人的沉船，就是你的航标/前车之覆，后车之鉴。

2.6 proverbs related to wine

there are lees to every wine 凡酒都有沉淀。/金无足赤，人无完人

Wine and wenches empty men’s purses 酒色掏空男人的钱包

Wine is a turncoat, first a friend, then an enemy 酒是叛徒，先是朋友，后是敌人Wine is old men’s milk婴儿离不开奶，老汉离不开酒

Wine makes all kinds of creatures at table 酒使人丑态百出

Wine and judgment mature with age 酒沉味醇，人老识深

Bacchus hath drowned more men than Neptune 酒比海淹死的人多

2.7 proverbs related to individualism

an Englishman’s house is his castle 英国人的家也是他们的城堡

do not wear out your welcome 客人呆得太久不受欢迎

even reckoning makes long friends. 明算帐，友谊长

Tell money after your own father 父子也是清帐

2.8 proverbs related to sexism

beware of the forepart of a woman, the hind part of a mule, and all sides of a priest 当心女人的美貌，骡子的后蹄和牧师的一切

dally not with money or women 金钱、女人玩弄不得

gaming, women, and wine, while they laugh, they make men pine 赌博、女人和酒，使男人在笑声中消瘦

maids want nothing but husbands, and when have them, they want everything。姑娘除了丈夫外什么都不要；一旦有了丈夫，她们什么都要。

the more women look in their glass, the less they look to their house 女人照镜子越多，家务做得越少

wives and children are bills of charges. 妻子和孩子是帐单

2.9 proverbs related to the English writing system

2.10 proverbs related to the history of England

it is as hard to please a knave as a knight 取悦坏蛋和骑士同样困难

kings’ chaff is worth other men’s corn 国一的糠胜似百姓的粮

all stuarts are not sib to the king 与国王同姓的不都是皇帝

from whipping post to pillory 鞭打之后又披枷

2.11 proverbs related to the thrift

from saving comes having 富裕来自节俭

frugality is an estate alone 节俭本身就是财富

thrift is good revenue 节俭就是好收入

thrift is philosopher’s stone 节俭犹如点金石

3. Allusions（as defined in dictionaries, are implied or indirect references. In most, if not all, languages people enrich their speech or writing with indirect references to characters or events from culture: literature, legends, history, religion, sports, etc. 你真是个诸葛亮/她是个王熙凤式的人物。）

3.1 Allusions from literature

水浒传Water Margin

红楼梦Dream of Red Mansions

三国演义Three Kingdom

西游记Pilgrimage to the West

Remeo(a handsome young man, passionate, dashing, who has a way with woman[from Shakespeare’s Remeo and Juliet])

Cleopatra(a woman of breathtaking beauty (from Shakespeare’s Ant hony and Cleopatra))

A Shylock(a cruel, greedy, money-grabbing person who will go to no ends to gain wealth(from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice))

A pound of flesh()

A Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde(a person with a two-sided character, one side good and gentl e, the other side evil and ruthless.(from Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde.))

A Sherlock Holmes(a detective or shrewd person who has the uncanny ability to track down any quarry or solve any mystery through careful observations, scientific analysis, and logicalreasoning.(from Charles Arthur Conan Doyle’s well-known detective sotries))

An Oliver Twist(a child who roams the streets(from Charles Dickens’ novel Oliver Twist))

An uncle Tom( a meek person who submits to indignities and sufferings without any thought or act of rebelling (from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin))

A Don Juan (a captivating man known as a great lover or seducer of women (from Tirso de Molina’s EL burlador de Sevilla)

A Don Quixote(an idealistic and impractical person(from Miguel de Csaavedra’s Don Quixote)

A Cinderella(a person or thing suffering from undeserved neglect; or a person or thing suddenly lifted from obscurity to honour or significance ( from Hans Christian Andersen’s fa iry-tale Cinderella)

3.2 Allusions from mythology

a Damocles sword: forthcoming danger or danger that is always present, derived from a sword hung by a single hair over Damocles, a courtier of ancient Syracuse, when he was seated at a banquet

a Pandora’s

b ox: a prolifi

c source of troubles, derive

d from th

e box sent by the gods to Pandora, which she has forbidden to open and which loosed a swarm o

f evils upon mankind when she opened it out of couriosity

Atlantic Ocean: Atlantics, a mythical island in what is now the Atlantic Ocean Europe: Europa, a princess who was abducted and carried off to Crete by a bull that was actually Zeus, king of gods in Greek mythology.

Friday: Freya, goddess of music

January: Janus, a Roman god that is identified with doors, gates and all beginnings and that is artistically represented with two opposite faces.

Jupiter: the largest of the planets and fifth in order from the sun, derived from Jupiter, the chief Roman god

March: Mars, the Roman god of war

May: Maia, Roman goddess

Saturday: Saturn, Roman god of agriculture

Uranium: a radioactive element, derived from Uranus, the sky [personified as a god and father of Tians in Greek mythology.

Venus: the planet second in order from the sun, derived from Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty

3.3 Allusions from religion

3.4 Allusions from history

3.5 Allusions from sports.

Topics for consideration

Chapter 6. Similes, Metaphors and Associations

1. similes and metaphors

1.1 General remarks on similes and metaphors

They associate their old experiences with new ones, relate abstract ideas with concrete images and connect unfamiliar things with familiar ones. A simile is a direct comparison between two or more unlike things, normally introduced by “like”or “as” .

A metaphor is an implied comparison between two or more unlike things. They have two components: tenor（传达过程）and vehicle(传达手段)

1.2 Some cross-cultural similarities and differences in similes and metaphors

Similes and metaphors are different in that the function words “like” or “as” are used in similes rather than in metaphors. On the other hand, they are quiet similar in that they are both concerned with analogy making. They reflect a way of thinking. Analogy making as a way of thinking is universal. from a cross-culture perspective analogies made in English and Chinese may fall into two categories: 1. the same tenors are associated with the same vehicles in both English and Chinese. 2. the same tenors are related to different vehicles in English and Chinese.

When things are perceived to have the same qualities by both English and Chinese speakers, the same tenors may be associated with the same vehicles in both English and Chinese to express similar meanings.

When the same qualities are associated with different things in English and Chinese, the same tenors may be related to different vehicles to express similar meanings

1.3 Metaphors is daily conversations

1.3.1 Metaphorical expression about ideas

What are said left a bad taster in my mouth

All this paper has in it are raw facts, half baked ideas, and warmed-over theories. There are too many facts here for me to digest them all

I just can’t swallow that claim

Let me stew over that for a while

Now there is a theory you can really sink your teeth into

That’s food for thought

We don’t need to spoon-feed our students

He devoured the book

This is the meaty part of the paper

1.3.2 Metaphorical expression about love

1.3.3 Metaphorical expression about life

2. terms of colour

2.1 Red: read is usually associated with celebrations and joyful occasions both in English and Chinese.the red colour is not always associated with something joyful. In englsih, the red light district refers to a district where there are brothels. Red is also associated with certain emotions in both englsih and Chinese. In Chinese, Associated with embarrassment or shyness. But in English, it is associated with anger and excitement. Red meats means beef and mutton, Reds under the bed means left-wing activists.

2.2 White

white connotes purity, innocence. In English expression white has other associations.

A white Christmas refer to snow at Christmas time. A white-collar job . the white is not necessarily associated with something good. In a white elephant(无用的)t, the white feather and a white night（）

2.3 Black

in both Chinese and English, black is often associated with negative qualities. Such as blacklist, black market, black hearted. A black day, a black spot, a black sheep, a black mood, a black comedy, a black look. In some English expressions black has neutral association. In black and white, means something in writing or in print.

2.4 Blue:

in English, blue is usually associated with unhappy feelings. Such as in a blue mood, or having the blues. Blue Monday, and a blue fit. Blue is also often associated with high social position or being aristocratic. For example, blue blood. Blue may also has some pleasant associations. A blue ribbon指徽章，bluestocking指女学者。The blue-collar jobs.

2.5 Green

in English, green is often associated with jealousy and envy. Green with envy/green-eyed monsters, and green-eyed. It is also often used to indicate lacking experience, training or knowledge. A greenhorn 生手。Is often associated with fruit and vegetables or gardening. Greengrocer. It is also the symbol of vigour and energy.

A green old age.

B oth green light in English and “绿灯” in Chinese are associated with authoritative permission to go ahead with some project. Apparently, they are derived from traffic regulations.

2.6 Yellow

in Chinese, has many pejorative expressions. Yellow does appear in yellow journalism and yellow pages.

2.7 Grey, pink and purple

in English, grey is often used metaphorically to mean gloomy or dismal. A grey day. With something unpleasant, is milder than black.

Pink can be associated with something best.

Purple is often associated with high rank or station in general or imperial or regal rank or power in particular. The purple refers to royal or very noble rank. A purple passage/

a purple patch

2.8 Remarks on translating terms of colour from or into English

red alert空袭紧急警报。

red blooded 精力充沛的

red handed现行犯的

red hunter迫害共产主义者的人

black beetle 蟑螂

black browed 愁眉苦脸的

black tea 红茶

white alert 解除空袭警报

white room 绝尘室

white smith银匠，锡匠

green line（军）轰炸线，敌我分界线

green room演员休息室

blue alert（预备警报后的）空袭警报

blue jacket水兵，水手

blue water大海

brown bread黑面包

brown sugar红糖

brown paper牛皮纸

pink elephants 幻觉（吸毒后）

pink tea午后茶会

pinkeye火眼

purple medic苜蓿

grey cloth本色布

grey mare比丈夫强的妻子，雌老虎yellow dog 杂种狗

红白事weddings and funerals.

红尘the world of mortals, human society 红光满面one’s face is glowing with health 红利bonus

红人a favourite with somebody in power 黄道吉日a lucky day

黄泉nether world

黄牛ox, cattle

白菜chinese cabbage

白痴idiot

白费in vain

白金platinum

白卷blank examination paper

白面flour

白薯sweet potato

白蚁termite

白银silver

白昼daytime

黑暗dark

黑管clarinet

黑话argot

黑货smuggled goods

黑信poison-pen letters.

绿宝石emerald

绿洲oasis

Topics for consideration

Chapter 7. Honourifics, Terms of Humility, Euphemisms and Taboos

1. Honourifics (it is that honourifics are language forms used in speeches to show respect to a superior.)

In Chinese: it is hard to say for sure why there are so many honourifics in Chinese.such as, 您，陛下，令堂，令尊。But in English culture familiarity is highly valued. Chinese learners have to “forget” or “ignore”. There are honourifics in english, too, for example, majesty, honourable and excellency. English honourifics are not frequently used in daily speeches and conversations. Chinese honourifics often do not have equivalents in English.

您，您老you

先生/女士：you

局长、经理、老师等you or the persons’ names

爷爷、奶奶、伯父、伯母等you

哥哥，姐姐you

令尊，令堂，二老your father, your mother, your parents.

令郎、令爱等your son, your daughter, etc

贵姓，尊姓大名your name

贵庚your age

贵国，贵校，贵厂，贵府等。Your country, your school, your factory, your home, etc.

惠函your letter

久仰大名，久仰I’ve heard a lot about you. Your name is well-known here to us…

欢迎光临welcome, welcome to…

欢迎指导welcome, welcome to…

你有何高见what’s your opinion? I’d like to have your opinion

您有何贵干what bring you here? I’d like to know why you’re here?

请提宝贵意见: please give us your comments or suggestions. Could you give us your comments or suggestions?

请赐教please be so kind as to give me some advice or suggestions

拜托request somebody to do something; “would you be so kind as to do…?”

拜谢express one’s gratitude

拜访pay a visit

拜辞take leave of

拜年pay a New Year call

拜读了大作I’ve read your paper(article, report, work, book, etc)

敬请指正I’d like to have your comments on my look(work, etc).(it is often nothing but a polite remark when showing or giving one;s own publications or work as a gift.)

敬请光临：you’re invited to come to

1. Terms of Humility

It is used to show the speaker’s modesty. To sound modest and humble was vital to the ancient Chinese people, especially when they communicated with those who were older, higher in socioeconomic position, or more privileged in a specific area. In contrast, there are few terms of humility in English. If you want to learn English well, forget them.

敝人I,me

内人，老婆my wife

小儿，儿家那小子my son

小女，我那个丫头my daughter

寒舍，舍下my home

敝校，敝厂，敝所等this(our)school, factory, institution, etc

便饭dinner

拙作my book(painting, literary work, thesis, etc.)

献丑(it is normally nothing more than a polite remark given before one;s performance of a kind)

2. Euphemisms

Euphemisms are pleasant, polite or harmless sounding words or expressions used to mask harsh, rude or infamous truths.

Go he’s gone

Depart to depart from this life; depart from this world forever

Decease to decease; the deceased(all used in legal or formal contexts.)

Perish to perish in war

Fall to fall in battle

Pass away the patient passed away during the night

Breathe one’s last he breathed his last and was buried in the churchyard

Sleep to sleep in the graves

End wine ended him

Expire he expired early In the morning

Go the way of all flesh (die as other men do) The greatest artist of the first half of this century has long last gone the way of all flesh

Go sweet (from the sun sinking in the west) it’s a long time since he went west

Go to a better world

Be in heaven

Be with God

Pay one’s debt to nature

Pay the debt of nature.

Many English euphemisms are used to refer to the disadvantaged in the United States. The black people, used Negros. Ethnic neighborhood, backward countries, elderly people, plain looking, heavy, slender, physically handicapped, hard of hearing. A group of euphemisms are related to work. There are many euphemisms in English for lavatory. Washroom, bathroom, restroom, comfort station, powder room, ladies’ gents’, men’s, wc, toilet. Euphemisms are also frequently used in education. And used in mass media about political, socioeconomic affairs and international relations to avoid the unpleasantness of some terms or express. Industrial action

1. Taboos

Anything which is prohibited by religion, tradition of social usage is a taboo.

In both English and Chinese, the acts of human excretion are to be avoided in polite conversations. Certain part of the body and sexual intercourse are taboos in both two

countries. especially to Chinese. Swear words, profane or obscene oaths or words, are taboo in both two countries.

In English : anything related to privacy or considered personal are taboo. For example, age, income, political, religious beliefs, etc. any direct question about the age of a stranger or a person one does not know well is improper. Anything that my remind an old person of his/her age might be offensive. Person income is also taboo. Questions about their love and marriage should be avoided. It is also improper to ask directly other people’s religious beliefs. Racism is too.

The calmest husbands make the stormiest wives丈夫懦弱妻子凶

The mother-in-law remembers not that she was a daughter-in-law 作了婆婆忘了作媳妇的苦

妖evil spirits, alluring.

媚flattering

奸wicked, treacherous

婪greedy

嫉妒jealous, envious

姘to have illicit sexual relations with

嫖to visit prostitutes

婊prostitute

Topics for consideration

Chapter 8. Culture in Texts

1. introduction to some fundamental concepts of the text

it refers to any piece of spoken or written language, which expresses a complete meaning. In a normal text the sentences are connected in one way or another. Not any collection of sentences can become a text. Only those collections of sentences that

consist of sentences connected in certain ways can be regarded as texts. A group of sentences that are juxtaposed in a random fashion can never be treated as a text.

We shall not go into details of cohesion and coherence. However, we should remember that the sentences in a text are connected either by grammatical and/ or lexical means or by meaning alone. They are not just a random collection of unrelated sentences.

A normal text also has structures which refer to the ways in which the parts of a text are organized and related to one another to form a meaningful whole.

We can find cross-culture difference in texts.

2. Textual connectives

In a normal text sentences are connected either hypotactically or paratactically. And paratactic relations refer to constructions which are linked through juxtaposition and punctuation/intonation and not through the use of conjunction.

The notion of hypotactic and paratactic relations can also be applied to the study of the connection between sentences in texts. If two or more sentences in a text are linked by textual connectives, they are hypotactically related. It is important to note that textual connectives include not only conjunctions (and, or, but, etc) but also words of other word classes or even phrases.(however, furthmore, next, secondly, for example, as a matter of fact.) that function as linkages between sentences in a text. Textual connectives explicitly represent the logical relations between sentences.

Although hypotactic and paratactic relations can be found in either English of Chinese is a paratactic one. It is generally accepted that ate the sentential level hypotactic relations are observed far more frenquently in English than in Chinese. At the textual level hopotactic relations are also observed more frequently in English than in Chinese. English still has more textual connectives than Chinese. than Chinese and these textual connectives are used more frequently in English than in Chinese. It is also important to remember that when two or more sentences in a text are paratactically related. They are connected by meaning and , in most cases, by cohesive devices other than textual connective.

As said in the previous paragraph, paratactically related sentences are connected by meaning and other cohesive devices. And compared with English texst. Chinese ones

are less dependent on hypotactic relations for textual cohesion. This means that the Chinese people rely heavily on meaning for textual cohesion, while the English speaking people rely on both meaning and textual connectives for text cohesiveness. Just as they emphasize grammatical explicitness. They lay stress. On cohesive explicitiness as well. In contrast, the Chinese people emphasize simplicity. If the intended meaning can be clearly converyed and unambiguously received, explicit markers are not necessary.

1.1 Additive relations

It holds when the second sentence adds come additional information to the first one, the second part is an explanation of the first part.

1.2 Adversative relations

The basic meaning of adversative relations is “contrary to expectation”. The expectation may be derived form what is being said or from the communication process, the speaker-hearer situation.

1.3 Causal relations

In causal relations two parts are involved: cause and effect. In logic, cause precedes effect. But in texts, effect may precede cause. No matter which one is located before the other, the causal relation remains the same.

1.4 Temporal relations

The relation between two or more successive sentences may be simply one of sequence in time: one thing is subsequent to the other.

Textual connectives are only one of several means commonly used to achieve textual cohesiveness. They are used frequently as explicit, cohesive markers in either speech or writing. The English people emphasize explicit cohesiveness, so English relies heavily on textual connectives for textual cohesiveness. In contrast, the Chinese people values simplicity, therefore in Chinese texts if the logical relations between sentences can be understood,