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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.
“Cystic fibrosis cooks up a bitter syrup in the body, blocking lung, pancreatic and other organ functions and leaving the sufferer vulnerable to fatal infections.”
患有囊腫纖維症的患者，如同體內正熬煮劇苦的糖漿一般，阻塞肺部與胰臟，並且破壞其他器官機能，使患者無力抵抗致命的感染。
“Cooks up a bitter syrup” alludes to stovetop creation of syrup through cooking of sugar or sap, water, and various flavoring agents. Syrup is notable for its dense viscosity, which is evident in its slow, even spread across the top of a pancake. Syrup is sticky and tends to uniformly coat whatever surface it encounters.
「Cooks up a bitter syrup」暗指用爐子熬煮混合了砂糖、植物汁液、水與其他調味料以製成的稠狀糖漿。糖漿的特點在於濃稠黏滯，若在鬆餅上淋上糖漿，就能觀察到它緩慢、均勻的流動特質。糖漿具有黏性，往往會鋪滿所接觸的平面範圍。
As used in an academic paper, the figure of speech denotes the slow spread of a thick coat of mucus across the interior surface of lungs and other organs, thus impairing the function of the organs and threatening the life of an individual. To say the disease “cooks up” the mucus refers to the disease’s creative process in which an unusually thick mucus is secreted. To call it a “bitter syrup” both distinguishes the mucus from sweet edible syrup and acknowledges the unhappy impact on an individual’s health.
在學術文章中，這個用法表示體內濃稠的有害黏液已逐漸緩慢的擴散至人體肺部與其附近的器官，破壞了原本器官的功能，更危及生命。“cooks up” 這個動作意指疾病逐漸發展，也就是異常濃稠的黏液是逐漸分泌所造成。作者使用 “bitter syrup”一詞，則是將黏液與一般既定印象中香甜味美的糖漿作出區別，點出此疾病對患者健康的衝擊與不利影響。
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.
“Cystic fibrosis cooks up a bitter syrup in the body, blocking lung, pancreatic and other organ functions and leaving the sufferer vulnerable to fatal infections.”
患有囊腫纖維症的患者，如同體內正熬煮劇苦的糖漿一般，阻塞肺部與胰臟，並且破壞其他器官機能，使患者無力抵抗致命的感染。
“Cooks up a bitter syrup” alludes to stovetop creation of syrup through cooking of sugar or sap, water, and various flavoring agents. Syrup is notable for its dense viscosity, which is evident in its slow, even spread across the top of a pancake. Syrup is sticky and tends to uniformly coat whatever surface it encounters.
「Cooks up a bitter syrup」暗指用爐子熬煮混合了砂糖、植物汁液、水與其他調味料以製成的稠狀糖漿。糖漿的特點在於濃稠黏滯，若在鬆餅上淋上糖漿，就能觀察到它緩慢、均勻的流動特質。糖漿具有黏性，往往會鋪滿所接觸的平面範圍。
As used in an academic paper, the figure of speech denotes the slow spread of a thick coat of mucus across the interior surface of lungs and other organs, thus impairing the function of the organs and threatening the life of an individual. To say the disease “cooks up” the mucus refers to the disease’s creative process in which an unusually thick mucus is secreted. To call it a “bitter syrup” both distinguishes the mucus from sweet edible syrup and acknowledges the unhappy impact on an individual’s health.
在學術文章中，這個用法表示體內濃稠的有害黏液已逐漸緩慢的擴散至人體肺部與其附近的器官，破壞了原本器官的功能，更危及生命。“cooks up” 這個動作意指疾病逐漸發展，也就是異常濃稠的黏液是逐漸分泌所造成。作者使用 “bitter syrup”一詞，則是將黏液與一般既定印象中香甜味美的糖漿作出區別，點出此疾病對患者健康的衝擊與不利影響。
