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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 word or set of words is called a “figure of speech.” For a figure of speech to be effective, however, a writer must first understand the original meaning of the word or phrase. The following sentence contains a common figure of speech. Its original meaning is explained.
“When the morning sunlight struck the fallen snow, tiny explosions of light made me turn away and shake my eyes free of dazzlement.”
晨光照在皚皚白雪上，有如無數火光迸發，逼得我轉過頭、拼命眨眼而無法直視。
Explosions are marked by violent change. A settled piece of soil suddenly is sent skyward by TNT. A quiet room instantly is rocked by a gunshot that leaves ringing in our ears. The altered state not only is dramatic in its sweep—from zero to 10 on a 10-point scale of change—it occurs in a split second. The human reaction to such change is protective. Our instinctive response to a percussive explosion, whether or not it actually threatens us, is to tense our muscles and senses. We wince, crouch, turn and run, protect our ears or eyes, sometimes cry out or gasp in alarm.
爆裂是霎時劇烈的改變，例如炸彈一引爆，泥土瞬間向空中飛散，或靜悄悄的房間突然傳出一聲槍響，震耳欲聾。狀態驟變程度之大，若以零到十的量尺比喻，便是瞬間從零變到十，一切發生在電光石火之間。人類對突如其來改變的本能反應是保護自己。面對爆炸，不論是否直接威脅生命安全，我們總會不自主的繃緊神經，張開所有感官嚴陣以待。我們會弓起身子、蹲伏壓低、轉身跑離，護著眼睛和耳朵，有時還會大叫、驚魂未甫地喘氣。
To describe the glint of sunlight off a blanket of fresh, white snow as “explosions of light” conveys several properties of the light. First, it is bright. Nothing in the imagery, nor in our experience, suggests that a bright sun and snow produce soft light. It is piercing in its intensity. Furthermore, when the angle of the sunlight and pitch of the earth is just right, the ricocheting light beams strike our retinas and the effect is dazzling. What do we do? We blink our eyes, turn our head, exclaim about the brightness—as if our eyesight had been assaulted by an… explosion.
將太陽照射在雪白大地的閃耀金光形容為「迸發的火光」，傳達出這種光線的若干特性。首先，光線很刺眼。不論想像或實際經驗皆告訴我們，太陽和白雪不可能組合出柔和的光線，絕對是如同針般刺眼。況且當陽光和地面角度剛好時，光束直射到視網膜上，會產生目眩神迷的效果。我們的反應呢？我們會拼命眨眼，撇過頭，口裡嚷著好刺眼—與我們眼睛受到爆炸突襲的反應不正如出一轍嗎。
Imagery buries itself in language and takes on new meaning. The transplanted and transformed word or set of words is called a “figure of speech.” For a figure of speech to be effective, however, a writer must first understand the original meaning of the word or phrase. The following sentence contains a common figure of speech. Its original meaning is explained.
“When the morning sunlight struck the fallen snow, tiny explosions of light made me turn away and shake my eyes free of dazzlement.”
晨光照在皚皚白雪上，有如無數火光迸發，逼得我轉過頭、拼命眨眼而無法直視。
Explosions are marked by violent change. A settled piece of soil suddenly is sent skyward by TNT. A quiet room instantly is rocked by a gunshot that leaves ringing in our ears. The altered state not only is dramatic in its sweep—from zero to 10 on a 10-point scale of change—it occurs in a split second. The human reaction to such change is protective. Our instinctive response to a percussive explosion, whether or not it actually threatens us, is to tense our muscles and senses. We wince, crouch, turn and run, protect our ears or eyes, sometimes cry out or gasp in alarm.
爆裂是霎時劇烈的改變，例如炸彈一引爆，泥土瞬間向空中飛散，或靜悄悄的房間突然傳出一聲槍響，震耳欲聾。狀態驟變程度之大，若以零到十的量尺比喻，便是瞬間從零變到十，一切發生在電光石火之間。人類對突如其來改變的本能反應是保護自己。面對爆炸，不論是否直接威脅生命安全，我們總會不自主的繃緊神經，張開所有感官嚴陣以待。我們會弓起身子、蹲伏壓低、轉身跑離，護著眼睛和耳朵，有時還會大叫、驚魂未甫地喘氣。
To describe the glint of sunlight off a blanket of fresh, white snow as “explosions of light” conveys several properties of the light. First, it is bright. Nothing in the imagery, nor in our experience, suggests that a bright sun and snow produce soft light. It is piercing in its intensity. Furthermore, when the angle of the sunlight and pitch of the earth is just right, the ricocheting light beams strike our retinas and the effect is dazzling. What do we do? We blink our eyes, turn our head, exclaim about the brightness—as if our eyesight had been assaulted by an… explosion.
將太陽照射在雪白大地的閃耀金光形容為「迸發的火光」，傳達出這種光線的若干特性。首先，光線很刺眼。不論想像或實際經驗皆告訴我們，太陽和白雪不可能組合出柔和的光線，絕對是如同針般刺眼。況且當陽光和地面角度剛好時，光束直射到視網膜上，會產生目眩神迷的效果。我們的反應呢？我們會拼命眨眼，撇過頭，口裡嚷著好刺眼—與我們眼睛受到爆炸突襲的反應不正如出一轍嗎。
