原标题：鼠牛虎兔龙…生肖里边学英语

十二生肖 Chinese Zodiac[?zo?di?k]

鼠Rat

英语中鼠分为mouse和rat，mouse指比照小的老鼠，rat指身形较大的老鼠。鼠年就是Year of the rat。

to rat on (someone)打小陈述: to report someone’s bad behavior to other people.

ex.The little boy ratted on his friend at school.

那小男孩打他兄弟的小陈述了。

to smell a rat感到不妙: to be suspicious [s??sp???s] 猜忌的of someone or something, to feel that something is wrong

ex.I smell a rat. There is something wrong with the free credit card offer.

我觉得不队棰。这种免费的诺言卡必定有猫腻。

牛 Ox

咱们从大学习的cow其实指的是奶牛，而吃的牛肉一般用buffalo[?b?f?lo?]，十二生肖中的牛咱们用ox。牛年就是year of the ox.

a cash cow摇钱树: a product or service that makes much money (This idiom is a metaphor for a “dairy [?deri] 奶制的; 乳品的cow” which is used on farms to produce milk, thus offering a steady stream of income to its owner).

常识联接：【BCG Matrix】波士顿矩阵（叫现金牛，用以判别产品/事务类型）

ex. Our new business is a cash

cow. We are making much money now.

新事务能连绵不断地为咱们挣钱。

have an ox on the tongue:三缄其口To be unable to talk, often because one has been bribed贿赂into silence.

ex. Don’t worry. He won’t say anything. I slipped him some money to make sure he has an ox on the tongue.

别忧虑，他不会说出去的。我给他塞了点钱，他会三缄其口的。

虎Tiger

a paper tiger纸山君:refers to a person or

thing that appears threatening but isineffectual [??n??f?kt?u?l] 无效的/无用的人.

看起来很吓人，实践上没啥身手。

tiger mom虎妈:refers to a ‘strict or demanding mother who pushes her children to high levels of achievement’.

指对子孙需求很高致使于严苛的母亲。

A tiger cannot change its stripes江山易改，赋性难改:A variation[?veri?e??n]演化on the more common “a leopard [?lep?rd]豹子 cannot change his spots”, which means ‘people can’t change their basic nature’.

兔Rabbit

英语中标明兔子的单词首要有rabbit，bunny，和hare[her]。hare一般比rabbit要大，而bunny一初步指的是心爱的女郎，如今也指兔子，最闻名的莫过于the Easter Bunny——复生节兔子啦。

to pull a rabbit out of a hat:To do something surprising and seemingly impossible; to produce something in a way that has no obvious explanation, as if done by magic.就像变戏法儿相同，结束不凶咴思议的作业

A reference to the magician’s [m??d????n] 戏法师 trick of literally pulling a live[laiv] rabbit out of a hat.经典的戏法套路。

龙Dragon

tickle [?t?k?l] （使）发痒；撩拨 the dragon’s tail: 山君屁股摸不得To do something risky or dangerous

ex.You know dad has a temper! Stop tickling the dragon’s tail unless you want to be grounded for weeks!

你晓得老爸的脾气不好！别再影响他了，除非你想接下来几个星期都没得出门！

蛇Snake

snake in the grass茅草屋里的毒蛇——私自伤人: one who feigns[fe?n] 假装，假装friendship with the intent to deceive 欺诈

ex.Did you hear that Daria’s（读音？） best friend stole money from her bank account? What a snake in the grass.

你传闻Daria最佳的兄弟从她银行账户里偷钱的事了吗？真是个险峻的小人啊。

马 Horse

Horse of another color:Something completely different or separate, especially in comparison to something else.

Dark Horse黑马:

Someone who unexpectedly wins a competition.

can eat a horse: to be extremely hungry.

ex.I feel like I can eat a horse right now.

我如今真是饿极了。

羊 Goat

goat山羊 sheep绵羊

play the goat:

To behave comically or playfully, often to amuse others.

ex. Joe never plays the goat–he’s always serious.

Joe老是很正派，从不开玩笑。

black sheep of the family害群之马（英文里是害群之羊）: the worst member of the family.

睡觉前数绵羊在英语里也就是count sheep

猴 Monkey

monkey tricks: mischievous [?m?st??v?s]顽皮的 behaviour.

monkey around: To waste time or procrastinate [pro??kr?st?ne?t] 推迟，耽搁 by doing something unproductive or unhelpful; to fool around or spend time idly [?a?dl?] 无所事事地.

就是拖磨蹭沓，净干些捣乱的事儿。

鸡 Rooster

千万不要在别人问你属啥的时分答复”I’m a chicken”啊兄弟们。chicken在英语中有胆怯鬼的意思。

be no spring chicken: 老迈不小

To no longer be youthful. A “spring chicken” is in fact a young chicken.

ex. I’m no spring chicken anymore. I’m a grown man already.

我不再是小毛孩啦。我现已是一个男人汉了。

狗 Dog

dog-tired:very tired.

dog-eat-dog有你没我:a situation that is very competitive in a cruel and selfish way.

ex.Working on Wall Street is dog-eat-dog.

在华尔街作业是很严格的。

猪 Pig

eat like a pig饥不择食:Perhaps the most common idiom that uses the word pig. Eating like a pig is simply to eat food in a very passionate way and/or ignoring social rules of engagement.饥不择食，根柢不留心吃相。

If pigs had wings they would fly（你说的要是真的），母猪都上树:A proverb used to express disbelief or to criticize someone’s claim.用来对某事不认为然的一个俗话。

piggy bank：也是一个有关猪的词语，意思就是存钱罐。

However,a guinea pig [?ɡ?ni p?ɡ]is not a real pig!一般指实验用的小白鼠或是作宠物的豚鼠。

reference:

https://www.easypacelearning.com/english-books/animal-idioms-from-a-to-z/977-animal-idioms-beginning-with-d-and-meanings

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/

https://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/6-dog-idioms

http://english-ingles.com/en/pig-idioms/

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