“鼻子”和“耳朵”的故事

何苗

There are many expressions with the words “nose” and “ear”. Lets talk about “nose” first. A persons nose is important for breathing and smelling. Some people are able to lead other people by the nose. For example， if a wife leads her husband by the nose， she makes him do whatever she wants him to do.

语言中有很多表达使用了“鼻子”和“耳朵”这两个词。我们首先来说一说“鼻子”这个词。鼻子对人的呼吸和嗅觉来说非常重要。有些人能够牵着别人的鼻子走。例如，如果一位妻子牵着丈夫的鼻子走，她想让他干嘛，他就干嘛。

Some people are said to be hard-nosed. They will not change their opinions or positions on anything. If someone is hard-nosed， chances are （有可能） that he will never pay through the nose， or pay too much money， for an object or service.

有些人被称为顽固派。他们不会改变他们对任何事情的观点或立场。如果某人很顽固，有可能他从来不会付大价钱，也就是说不会为某件东西或者某项服务付出太多钱。

It is always helpful when people keep their nose out of other peoples business. They do not interfere （干涉；妨碍）. The opposite of this is someone who noses around all the time. This kind of person is interested in other peoples private matters. He is considered nosey.

避免插手他人的事情总是有好处的，他们不会干涉别人。相反的，有些人总是喜欢打听别人的事。这种人对别人的私事非常感兴趣。这种人被认为是爱管闲事的。

Someone who keeps his nose to the grindstone （磨刀石） works very hard. This can help a worker keep his nose clean or stay out of trouble.

那些鼻子对着磨刀石的人工作非常勤奋。这有助于工人循规蹈矩，避免惹什么麻烦。

One unusual expression is no skin off my nose. This means that a situation does not affect or concern me. We also say that sometimes a person cuts off his nose to spite （向……泄愤） his face. That is， he makes a situation worse for himself by doing something foolish because he is angry.

有一个不太寻常的说法是我的鼻子没有擦破皮。这个说法的意思是某件事情不影响我，或者与我无关。我们还会说，有时有人割掉自己的鼻子去报复自己的脸。也就是说，因为他很生气，做了一些愚蠢的事情，使情况更加糟糕了。

More problems can develop if a person looks down his nose at someone or something. The person acts like something is unimportant or worthless. This person might also turn up his nose at something that he considers not good enough. This person thinks he is better than everyone else. He has his nose in the air.

如果一个人对某人或某事不屑一顾，会产生很多问题。这种人的表现就好像是其他事情都不重要或没有价值。这种人还会对他认为不够好的东西非常不屑。这种人认为他比其他任何人都好。他非常自大。

In school， some students thumb their nose at their teacher. They refuse to obey orders or do any work. Maybe these students Now， its your turn to guess the meanings of the expressions using the words “nose” or “ear”！

do not know the correct answers. My mother always tells me， if you study hard， the answers should be right under your nose or easily seen.

在学校，有些学生不尊重老师。他们拒绝服从任何命令或者做任何工作。或许这些学生不知道正确的答案。我的母亲经常告诉我，如果你努力学习，答案就在你鼻子下面，很容易发现。

I think we have explained the expressions with“nose”. What about ear？ Well， I hope you are all ears or very interested in hearing more expressions. We might even put a bug （昆虫；窃听器） in your ear or give you an idea about something. We also advise you to keep your ear to the ground. This means to be interested in what is happening around you and what people are thinking.

我想，我们已经讲了很多关于鼻子的短语。那么耳朵呢？我希望你们全神贯注地倾听更多的短语。我们可能甚至针对某事为你提出建议。我们还建议你注意各方面的动向。也就是说要关注发生在你周围的事情和人们的所思所想。

If you are a good person， you will lend an ear to your friends. You will listen to them when they have a problem they need to talk about. Our last expression is to play it by ear. This has two meanings. One is to play a song on a musical instrument by remembering the tune （曲调） and not by reading the music. It also means to decide what to do at the last minute instead of making detailed plans.

如果你是一个好人，你会倾听朋友的话。如果他们遇到问题，需要找人谈一下时，你应该倾听他的诉说。我们的最后一个短语是通过耳朵去演奏。这有两个意思。一个是通过记忆曲调而不是读谱来用乐器演奏音乐。还有一个意思是，随机应变，而不是做出详细的计划。

下面，你来猜一猜文中含有词语“鼻子”或者“耳朵”的表达方式的意思吧！

参考释义：

1. lead sb. by the nose 牵着某人的鼻子走；完全操纵某人

2. be hard-nosed 顽固的；铁石心肠的

3. pay through the nose 付出过高的价钱；被敲竹杠

4. keep ones nose out of 不干涉（他人的事）

5. nose around 管闲事；打听别人的事

6. be nosey 好管闲事的；爱追问的

7. keep ones nose to the grindstone 埋头苦干

8. keep ones nose clean 循规蹈矩

9. no skin off ones nose 不在乎；不影响某人；与某人无关

10. cuts off ones nose to spite ones face 损人不利己

11. look down ones nose at someone or something 对某人或某事不屑一顾，看不入眼

12. turn up ones nose at 对……嗤之以鼻；不屑；瞧不起

13. has ones nose in the air 非常自大；目中无人

14. thumb ones nose at 不尊重 （注：在说英语的国家，把拇指放在鼻子上并摆动其它手指是对某人的嘲弄、蔑视）

15. be right under ones nose 一目了然；显而易见

16. be all ears 洗耳恭听；全神贯注地倾听

17. put a bug in your ear 提醒；提出建议

18. keep ones ear to the ground 保持警惕；注意周围变化

19. lend an ear to sb. 倾听某人的心声

20. play it by ear 见机行事；随机应变