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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.
“Unable to wait, the docent jumped the gun and began his museum tour before the last of the tourists got off the bus.”
「導覽員迫不及待，最後一位觀光客還沒下遊覽車，就先偷跑而開始介紹博物館。」
“Jumped the gun” is a phrase originating in the sports world, specifically, in track and field competition. Some foot races are started by a race official pointing skyward a gun loaded with blanks and pulling the trigger. The runners can leave their blocks or the starting line upon hearing the blast. Should a runner try to anticipate the shot and inadvertently start running too soon, the gun is fired again to cancel the first firing. The errant runner than is disqualified from the race, which is restarted. Thus, jumping the gun connotes doing something too quickly.
“Jumped the gun”（偷跑）源自運動用語，特別用於田徑比賽。有些賽跑須由裁判拿了裝空包彈的槍，對空鳴槍，表示比賽開始，選手聽到槍響，才可以從起跑台或起跑線出發。如果選手估計槍響時間，不小心太早起跑，裁判就會再度對空鳴槍，取消第一次起跑；先跑的選手會被取消資格，比賽重新開始。因此，“jump the gun” 有倉促採取行動的涵義。
In the sentence above, a museum tour guide is said to have jumped the gun. Obviously, this is not literally true, no weapon having been fired, shattering the museum’s tranquility. Rather, the anxious docent, perhaps worrying about completing his tour on schedule, begins it before the last of the tour participants to be on the tour has arrived. This use of the “gun” figure of speech is apt because it accurately conveys the idea of a premature start that undoubtedly will not end well for the docent, nor for the disappointed tourists.
以上句子形容博物館導覽員 “jumped the gun”，顯然並非字面上的意思，因為並沒有裁判對空鳴槍，劃破博物館寧靜的氣氛。應該是解說員心裡焦急，可能擔心不能及時完成導覽，所以在參加導覽的觀光客還沒到齊前就先開始解說了。用 “gun” 形容解說很貼切，確實傳達出一場倉促開始的講解，無論對解說員或失望的觀光客來說，想必效果都不理想。
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.
“Unable to wait, the docent jumped the gun and began his museum tour before the last of the tourists got off the bus.”
「導覽員迫不及待，最後一位觀光客還沒下遊覽車，就先偷跑而開始介紹博物館。」
“Jumped the gun” is a phrase originating in the sports world, specifically, in track and field competition. Some foot races are started by a race official pointing skyward a gun loaded with blanks and pulling the trigger. The runners can leave their blocks or the starting line upon hearing the blast. Should a runner try to anticipate the shot and inadvertently start running too soon, the gun is fired again to cancel the first firing. The errant runner than is disqualified from the race, which is restarted. Thus, jumping the gun connotes doing something too quickly.
“Jumped the gun”（偷跑）源自運動用語，特別用於田徑比賽。有些賽跑須由裁判拿了裝空包彈的槍，對空鳴槍，表示比賽開始，選手聽到槍響，才可以從起跑台或起跑線出發。如果選手估計槍響時間，不小心太早起跑，裁判就會再度對空鳴槍，取消第一次起跑；先跑的選手會被取消資格，比賽重新開始。因此，“jump the gun” 有倉促採取行動的涵義。
In the sentence above, a museum tour guide is said to have jumped the gun. Obviously, this is not literally true, no weapon having been fired, shattering the museum’s tranquility. Rather, the anxious docent, perhaps worrying about completing his tour on schedule, begins it before the last of the tour participants to be on the tour has arrived. This use of the “gun” figure of speech is apt because it accurately conveys the idea of a premature start that undoubtedly will not end well for the docent, nor for the disappointed tourists.
以上句子形容博物館導覽員 “jumped the gun”，顯然並非字面上的意思，因為並沒有裁判對空鳴槍，劃破博物館寧靜的氣氛。應該是解說員心裡焦急，可能擔心不能及時完成導覽，所以在參加導覽的觀光客還沒到齊前就先開始解說了。用 “gun” 形容解說很貼切，確實傳達出一場倉促開始的講解，無論對解說員或失望的觀光客來說，想必效果都不理想。
