与猫有关的成语|Don't Take a Cat Nap! This Story's the Cat's Meow!

Transcript：TXT   From：Words and Their Stories  Update:June 4,2017

Don't Take a Cat Nap! This Story's the Cat's Meow!

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

现在是VOA特别英语，词语典故时间。

Cats are the most popular pets among Americans. So it is not surprising that there are many expressions about cats. Some cats like to catch small birds, like canaries. If someone looks very proud or satisfied with himself, we say he looks like the cat that ate the canary.

在美国，猫是最受欢迎的宠物。所以，有许多关于猫的短语就不足为奇了。有些猫喜欢抓小鸟，比如金丝雀。如果有人看上去非常自豪，或者说对自己非常满意，我们可以说，他非常得意洋洋，像抓住金丝雀的猫一样(looks like the cat that ate the canary)。

Sometimes, a cat likes to play with a small animal it catches.

有时，猫喜欢跟它抓住的小动物玩耍。

So if you play cat and mouse with someone, you change between different kinds of behavior when dealing with another person. For example, a child might offer something sweet to her little brother and then take it away when he reaches for it.

所以，如果你对某人欲擒故纵(play cat and mouse with someone) ，也就是说你在和某人打交道时行为反复。例如，一个小朋友可能给他的小兄弟一些糖果，但是小兄弟刚刚伸手够到的时候他就拿开了。

A cat will often catch a small animal and present it to its owner. The saying that looks like something the cat dragged in describes something in bad condition.

猫通常抓到小动物之后会拿给主人看。looks like something the cat dragged in这个短语描述的就是一些状态不好的东西。

Two old and funny expressions describe something that is the best or finest. Americans might say that something is the cat's meow and the cat's pajamas.

两个古老而且有趣的短语描述了一些最好的东西。美国人可能会说某件东西不同凡响，非常时尚(cat's meow和the cat's pajamas)。

Children might call a child who is easily frightened a fraidy cat or a scaredy cat. A copycat is someone who acts just like someone else or copies another person's work. A fat cat is a person with a lot of money.

孩子们可能会把一个很容易受到惊讶的孩子叫做fraidy cat或者scaredy cat。copycat指的是盲目的模仿他人的举动或工作的人。fat cat是指很有钱的人。

You may have known that cats spend most of their time sleeping. Sometimes people sleep for a short time during the day. This is called a cat nap.

你可能知道，猫的大部分时间都在睡觉。有时，人们白天会小睡一会儿，这叫做cat nap。

If you tell about something that was supposed to be a secret, we say you let the cat out of the bag. If you are not able to speak or answer a question someone might ask if the cat has got your tongue.

如果你说出了原本应该保密的事情，我们说你let the cat out of the bag(泄漏秘密)。如果你不能说话或者不能回答某个问题，人们会问你哑巴了？为什么不吭声？(if the cat has got your tongue?)

Have you ever watched children in a classroom when their teacher leaves for a few minutes? When the cat's away, the mice will play means people sometimes misbehave when there is no supervision.

你有没有见过老师离开教室几分钟的时候孩子们的状况呢？When the cat's away, the mice will play 意思是，当没有监管的时候，人们会做不恰当的事情，也就是通常所说的猫儿不在，老鼠成精。

You may have heard this expression: curiosity killed the cat. This means being too concerned about things that are not your business might cause problems.

你也可能听说过这个短语：curiosity killed the cat(好奇害死猫)。这个短语的意思是说，过于关心与自己无关的事情会造成麻烦。

If your home is very small, you might say there is not enough room to swing a cat. But you probably should not try this at home!

如果你的家非常小，你可能会说，there is not enough room to swing a cat(连摇摆猫的空间都不够，窄的难以转身)。当然你可不能在家里尝试着摇摆猫哦！

If you ever had cats as pets, you know it is difficult to train them or to get them to do something. Cats are not like sheep or cows that can be moved in a group. So we say a difficult or impossible job is like herding cats.

如果你曾经养猫作为宠物，你知道要训练它们或者让它们做某件事非常困难。猫不像羊或者牛一样群体行动。所以，我们通常会称一件困难或者不可能完成的工作为like herding cats。

We leave you with a song from the musical play, "Cats."

最后，让我们以音乐剧《猫》中的一首歌曲结束今天的节目。