日积月累学口语:和喵星族学英文表达

Cats hide their claws.
“猫藏利爪而不露”，意思是，告诫那些与人交往毫无戒备之心的人，意思与“知人知面不知心”差不多。

The cat shuts its eyes when stealing cream.
这一句是嘲笑那些掩耳盗铃者。（猫咪喜欢偷奶油吗？这好像是老鼠喜欢做的事情哦。）

The cat did it.
做错了事情，用“这是猫干的”来推卸责任。可能是因为猫咪喜欢到处乱跑吧，难免会造成一点小乱子啦！

When the cat's away, the mice will play.
猫是老鼠的天敌。没有猫，老鼠就会肆意妄为。在中世纪的欧洲，基督教徒曾认定猫是魔鬼附身的动物，数以万计的猫因此被处死。不料，猫的厄运招致老鼠的猖獗。很快，鼠害成灾，黑死病一波接一波的横扫欧洲大陆。这段惨痛的历史教训充分证明“狸猫不在，老鼠闹债”——When the cat's away, the mice will play.

类似谚语也出现在其他欧洲语言中。在法国，人们说“只要猫上了房，老鼠就在地上忙”——When the cat runs on the roofs, the mice dance on the floors.

德国人则说“家里没了猫，老鼠伸懒腰”——Cat outside the house, response for the mouse.

A cat may look at a king.

“猫也可以傲视国王”，意思是，“既然猫都可以傲视国王，那么人人平等更是理所当然，小小老百姓也应该有说话的权利。”这一成语来源于德国。据说16世纪巴伐利亚国王马克西米利安一世曾造访一家木雕作坊。作坊主的猫一直懒洋洋地卧在桌上看着这个国王，脸上满是猜疑的神情。这只猫能肯定想不到，一句谚语会因它而生——“猫也能傲视皇帝”（Darf doch die Katze den Kaiser ansehen. "Even a cat may look at an Emperor."）。到了法国，这句话成了“狗也能傲视主教”（Un chien regarde bien un eveque. "Even a dog may look at a bishop."）

A cat has nine lives.

英语国家的人相信，猫这种动物命大，福大，造化大。2001年，美洲动物医疗协会杂志刊登过一份研究报告，研究人员调查了132起猫从高空坠地的事件，坠地的平均高度是六层楼，结果百分之九十的猫坠地后都存活下来了。它们在空中灵活地翻转身体，四肢着地，爪子上的肉垫大大缓解了坠地时的冲力。古人对此肯定也有所了解，认为“猫有九条命”（A cat has nine lives.）。下面这段故事讲一条名叫“船长”的小猎狗如何命大，就以“猫有九条命”做对照：

Mischief was Captain's middle name. One time, I remember he decided to take a look at the roof of the conservatory. Portly little Captain found his way out on to the roof much to Mr Woolley's dismay. He then followed in the Captain's foot-step, or should I say paw prints, in order to rescue his poor hound. Unfortunately Mr Woolley slipped and spent the next a few days unconscious in hospital. But Captain was fine. Talk about a cat's nine lives!

He's like a cat; fling him which way you will. He'll light on his legs.

猫之所以摔不死，是因为它们高超的着地本领。过去形容一个人大难不死或逢凶化吉，就说“他像一只猫，不管怎么扔，都会以腿着地”（He's like a cat; fling him which way you will. He'll light on his legs.）。

There are more ways of killing a cat than by choking it with cream.

“杀猫的方法很多，不必非用奶油呛死它”，有点类似于中国的“不要非在一棵树上吊死”。