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What does that mean? 你真的瞭解這個慣用語嗎?
【英文學習】
很多字詞並非表面所見的意思，字詞的組合會產生不同的解釋。這樣的慣用法，我們稱之為「比喻」。一個成功的比喻，作者本身必須相當瞭解字詞的源起。以下的句子為讀者介紹一個比喻及其來源。
Imagery buries itself in language and takes on new meaning. The transplanted and transformed sets of words are called “figures of speech.” For a figure of speech to be effective, however, a writer must first understand the original meaning of the phrase. The following sentence contains a common figure of speech. Its original meaning is explained.
“The cannonball arrived moments later, rolling down the sky and scattering the bowling pins lined up in their new uniforms on the parade lawn.”
「不久砲彈抵達，從天空落下，將列隊在檢閱草坪上，穿著新軍服的士兵，像保齡球瓶般擊倒在地。」
Bowling balls, as anyone knows who has bowled, are dense and heavy. The mass of a rolling bowling ball is greater than the mass of the pins in geometric formation at the end of the bowling alley. Consequently, the pins are knocked aside whenever struck by the ball, or by a ricocheting pin. The game would be pointless and not much fun at all if the mass of the pins withstood the impact of the ball and sent it bouncing away. The physics of the game are on display with every roll of the ball.
打過保齡球的人都知道，保齡球密度大，相當沉重，滾動的保齡球比球道底端排成三角形的球瓶重多了。因此，球瓶如果被保齡球或其他彈跳的球瓶擊中，就會被打飛。如果球瓶重到足以承受保齡球的撞擊，讓球反彈，球賽就打不下去了。每次保齡球滾動，球賽進行的物理原則就展露無遺。
In writing about a tragic Civil War incident, the writer uses the metaphor of bowling, substituting a cannonball for a bowling ball. The writer describes the impact of the cannonball on soldiers who were standing in review, referring to the soldiers as “bowling pins lined up in their new uniforms.” The projectile clearly tore through the assembled soldiers, “scattering” them as it struck. Because the soldiers were lined up on “the parade lawn,” the metaphor also sparks an image of lawn bowling. Nothing was lost in translating the tragedy into metaphorical language.
作者描寫一場內戰的悲劇事件，以保齡球隱喻砲彈，描寫砲彈撞擊草坪上接受檢閱的士兵，將士兵描寫為 “bowling pins lined up in their new uniforms”（列隊在檢閱草坪上，穿著新軍服的保齡球瓶），遭砲彈狠狠炸得四散。士兵在 “the parade lawn”（檢閱草坪）上列隊，也令人聯想起草地保齡球的意象。這場悲劇所應用的隱喻可說是非常貼切、擬真，是引用隱喻句法的最佳例子。
Imagery buries itself in language and takes on new meaning. The transplanted and transformed sets of words are called “figures of speech.” For a figure of speech to be effective, however, a writer must first understand the original meaning of the phrase. The following sentence contains a common figure of speech. Its original meaning is explained.
“The cannonball arrived moments later, rolling down the sky and scattering the bowling pins lined up in their new uniforms on the parade lawn.”
「不久砲彈抵達，從天空落下，將列隊在檢閱草坪上，穿著新軍服的士兵，像保齡球瓶般擊倒在地。」
Bowling balls, as anyone knows who has bowled, are dense and heavy. The mass of a rolling bowling ball is greater than the mass of the pins in geometric formation at the end of the bowling alley. Consequently, the pins are knocked aside whenever struck by the ball, or by a ricocheting pin. The game would be pointless and not much fun at all if the mass of the pins withstood the impact of the ball and sent it bouncing away. The physics of the game are on display with every roll of the ball.
打過保齡球的人都知道，保齡球密度大，相當沉重，滾動的保齡球比球道底端排成三角形的球瓶重多了。因此，球瓶如果被保齡球或其他彈跳的球瓶擊中，就會被打飛。如果球瓶重到足以承受保齡球的撞擊，讓球反彈，球賽就打不下去了。每次保齡球滾動，球賽進行的物理原則就展露無遺。
In writing about a tragic Civil War incident, the writer uses the metaphor of bowling, substituting a cannonball for a bowling ball. The writer describes the impact of the cannonball on soldiers who were standing in review, referring to the soldiers as “bowling pins lined up in their new uniforms.” The projectile clearly tore through the assembled soldiers, “scattering” them as it struck. Because the soldiers were lined up on “the parade lawn,” the metaphor also sparks an image of lawn bowling. Nothing was lost in translating the tragedy into metaphorical language.
作者描寫一場內戰的悲劇事件，以保齡球隱喻砲彈，描寫砲彈撞擊草坪上接受檢閱的士兵，將士兵描寫為 “bowling pins lined up in their new uniforms”（列隊在檢閱草坪上，穿著新軍服的保齡球瓶），遭砲彈狠狠炸得四散。士兵在 “the parade lawn”（檢閱草坪）上列隊，也令人聯想起草地保齡球的意象。這場悲劇所應用的隱喻可說是非常貼切、擬真，是引用隱喻句法的最佳例子。