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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.
“African music continued to be heard, including the use of drums, rattles and contrapuntal vocals, with the musical influences swinging wide on the hinge of forced relocation.”
非洲音樂持續受到各界關注，包括鼓、搖鈴與對位聲樂的使用等，其音樂影響力隨著被迫遷徙而廣佈。
A “hinge” is the mechanism with pivot points that allows one plane to swing away from another without losing its other spatial orientation. A door is connected to a wall by hinges, which allows the door to open and close smoothly without losing its connection to the wall. Most hinges—which date back several thousand years—are comprised of two sets of short tubular fittings, each attached to a separate plane, which interlock and are joined by a hinge pin. The planes are connected yet move within a certain radius of each other, pivoting on the pin.
樞紐 (hinge) 是一種有軸點的機械裝置，讓平板可以朝一端開啟，但另一端保持固定。一扇門的門板是利用樞紐與牆相接，因而可順利開關，又不會從牆上脫離。樞紐可以追溯到數千年前，多數包含著兩組短管零件，每組接在不同平面上，兩組零件由樞紐插銷相連。在兩平面相連之下，於一段旋轉半徑內，藉由插銷的樞紐為中心轉動。
In writing about African music spreading in a non-African society, the writer employs the metaphor of the hinge to illustrate how the music’s influence was “swinging wide on the hinge of forced relocation.” In other words, the music of one place moved to another place when a slave was sold to another master, the music being carried with him to his new home. The “hinge” to the movement of the music was the practice of slaves being moved from place to place. That such movement occurred around the country resulted in the music’s “wide”-ranging influence.
作者使用樞紐的隱喻，敘述非洲音樂在非洲外流傳，說明非洲音樂的影響力如何隨著 (on the hinge of) 被迫遷徙而廣佈。也就是說，當非洲奴隸被賣給另一個主人，帶著音樂到新的住處，非洲音樂就從一地散佈到另一地。音樂移動的樞紐 (hinge) 就是奴隸從一地被移至另一地。這種移動發生在美國各地，使音樂影響「廣」佈，流傳於各地。
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.
“African music continued to be heard, including the use of drums, rattles and contrapuntal vocals, with the musical influences swinging wide on the hinge of forced relocation.”
非洲音樂持續受到各界關注，包括鼓、搖鈴與對位聲樂的使用等，其音樂影響力隨著被迫遷徙而廣佈。
A “hinge” is the mechanism with pivot points that allows one plane to swing away from another without losing its other spatial orientation. A door is connected to a wall by hinges, which allows the door to open and close smoothly without losing its connection to the wall. Most hinges—which date back several thousand years—are comprised of two sets of short tubular fittings, each attached to a separate plane, which interlock and are joined by a hinge pin. The planes are connected yet move within a certain radius of each other, pivoting on the pin.
樞紐 (hinge) 是一種有軸點的機械裝置，讓平板可以朝一端開啟，但另一端保持固定。一扇門的門板是利用樞紐與牆相接，因而可順利開關，又不會從牆上脫離。樞紐可以追溯到數千年前，多數包含著兩組短管零件，每組接在不同平面上，兩組零件由樞紐插銷相連。在兩平面相連之下，於一段旋轉半徑內，藉由插銷的樞紐為中心轉動。
In writing about African music spreading in a non-African society, the writer employs the metaphor of the hinge to illustrate how the music’s influence was “swinging wide on the hinge of forced relocation.” In other words, the music of one place moved to another place when a slave was sold to another master, the music being carried with him to his new home. The “hinge” to the movement of the music was the practice of slaves being moved from place to place. That such movement occurred around the country resulted in the music’s “wide”-ranging influence.
作者使用樞紐的隱喻，敘述非洲音樂在非洲外流傳，說明非洲音樂的影響力如何隨著 (on the hinge of) 被迫遷徙而廣佈。也就是說，當非洲奴隸被賣給另一個主人，帶著音樂到新的住處，非洲音樂就從一地散佈到另一地。音樂移動的樞紐 (hinge) 就是奴隸從一地被移至另一地。這種移動發生在美國各地，使音樂影響「廣」佈，流傳於各地。
