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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.
“Some of Shakespeare’s plays were ghosts of earlier penmen, original in content but not in theme.”
「有些莎士比亞的劇作是過去作品的鬼魂，內容獨創，但主題不然。」
A “ghost” is a disembodied individual, an apparition of a person previously alive. It lacks flesh and blood so it does not occupy space exclusively. Whether one believes in ghosts or not, they have been a part of the human experience for as long as history has been kept. The standing of a ghost in a society varies among cultures and levels of civilization, but encounters with a ghost always are sensory experiences in keeping with a ghost’s insubstantial nature. A lack of universal awareness of ghostly presences has produced widespread skepticism and disbelief.
“Ghost”（鬼魂）是無形的，是以前活著的人的幽靈，沒有血肉，因此不占據實際空間。不論人信不信鬼，有史以來鬼魂一直是人類經驗的一部分，鬼魂在社會中的地位依文化與文明程度而定。鬼魂沒有實體，遇到鬼魂只會是一種「感覺」。由於不是所有人都能感應到鬼魂，所以談到是否有鬼，許多人總是有所保留。
In giving ghostly attributes to some of William Shakespeare’s works, the writer is saying that the works in question had a previous life. That is, the theme and general plot of a Shakespearean production had been previously conceived and staged, an earlier playwright’s work revived, garbed in new language. Like ghosts, the resurrected nature of the dramas was not universally recognized. Describing Shakespeare’s works as ghostly is particularly interesting because some scholars argue that many of The Bard’s plays were ghost-written by an unknown person.
本句談到莎士比亞部分作品就像鬼魂，意指這些作品有其前身，作品的主題與大致情節過去曾有人構思、演出過。過去劇作家的作品，藉由新的文字還魂重生。並非所有人都相信這些劇作重生自過去作品，就像並非所有人都相信有鬼魂一樣。把莎士比亞的作品描述為鬼魂，還有另一層趣味，因為有些學者認為，莎士比亞許多作品是由不知名人士捉刀代寫 (ghost-written) 的。
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.
“Some of Shakespeare’s plays were ghosts of earlier penmen, original in content but not in theme.”
「有些莎士比亞的劇作是過去作品的鬼魂，內容獨創，但主題不然。」
A “ghost” is a disembodied individual, an apparition of a person previously alive. It lacks flesh and blood so it does not occupy space exclusively. Whether one believes in ghosts or not, they have been a part of the human experience for as long as history has been kept. The standing of a ghost in a society varies among cultures and levels of civilization, but encounters with a ghost always are sensory experiences in keeping with a ghost’s insubstantial nature. A lack of universal awareness of ghostly presences has produced widespread skepticism and disbelief.
“Ghost”（鬼魂）是無形的，是以前活著的人的幽靈，沒有血肉，因此不占據實際空間。不論人信不信鬼，有史以來鬼魂一直是人類經驗的一部分，鬼魂在社會中的地位依文化與文明程度而定。鬼魂沒有實體，遇到鬼魂只會是一種「感覺」。由於不是所有人都能感應到鬼魂，所以談到是否有鬼，許多人總是有所保留。
In giving ghostly attributes to some of William Shakespeare’s works, the writer is saying that the works in question had a previous life. That is, the theme and general plot of a Shakespearean production had been previously conceived and staged, an earlier playwright’s work revived, garbed in new language. Like ghosts, the resurrected nature of the dramas was not universally recognized. Describing Shakespeare’s works as ghostly is particularly interesting because some scholars argue that many of The Bard’s plays were ghost-written by an unknown person.
本句談到莎士比亞部分作品就像鬼魂，意指這些作品有其前身，作品的主題與大致情節過去曾有人構思、演出過。過去劇作家的作品，藉由新的文字還魂重生。並非所有人都相信這些劇作重生自過去作品，就像並非所有人都相信有鬼魂一樣。把莎士比亞的作品描述為鬼魂，還有另一層趣味，因為有些學者認為，莎士比亞許多作品是由不知名人士捉刀代寫 (ghost-written) 的。
