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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.
“Critics of Reynolds’ early literature found themselves swimming against the tide of support for everything the young writer conceived.”
「Reynolds早期文學評論，在所有年輕作家認知上，是沒有幫助的。」
Swimming against the tide alludes to the physical difficulty of battling a resisting force, in this case, swimming in the opposite direction of the flow of tidewater. The movement of the entire body of water in one direction can hinder a swimmer’s movement through the water in the opposite direction.
「逆潮流而動、有違常理(Swimming against the tide) 」在此舉例中是指在順流的潮水中卻以反方向游去，暗指在長期的爭戰中身體的不堪負荷。水流的流動只向著一個方向，將阻礙了游泳者往反方向行進。
As used in an academic paper about a literary phenomenon, the figure of speech denotes futility. That is, the critics of the writer were described as making no headway against the public support enjoyed by the writer. Their criticism was ineffectual.
在學術文章的文學應用上，此慣用語比喻為「徒勞無功、浪費氣力」。也就是說，作者的評論對作家普遍支持的聲浪沒有影響。這樣的評論是無法獲得成效的。
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.
“Critics of Reynolds’ early literature found themselves swimming against the tide of support for everything the young writer conceived.”
「Reynolds早期文學評論，在所有年輕作家認知上，是沒有幫助的。」
Swimming against the tide alludes to the physical difficulty of battling a resisting force, in this case, swimming in the opposite direction of the flow of tidewater. The movement of the entire body of water in one direction can hinder a swimmer’s movement through the water in the opposite direction.
「逆潮流而動、有違常理(Swimming against the tide) 」在此舉例中是指在順流的潮水中卻以反方向游去，暗指在長期的爭戰中身體的不堪負荷。水流的流動只向著一個方向，將阻礙了游泳者往反方向行進。
As used in an academic paper about a literary phenomenon, the figure of speech denotes futility. That is, the critics of the writer were described as making no headway against the public support enjoyed by the writer. Their criticism was ineffectual.
在學術文章的文學應用上，此慣用語比喻為「徒勞無功、浪費氣力」。也就是說，作者的評論對作家普遍支持的聲浪沒有影響。這樣的評論是無法獲得成效的。