??It Never Rains but It Pours!谚语趣谈：不雨则已，一雨倾盆

An hour before midnight is worth two after or so my

mother used to tell me as I sat down to breakfast after a particularly late night. But is it really true that sleep before 12 p.m. is twice as good for you as sleep after that hour? At the time, like most young people, I regarded this proverb as an old wive’s tale with no relevance to my own life. I mean, an hour is an hour … it’s 60 minutes, a.m. or p.m. However, now older and wiser, I remember my mother’s words as I scramble into bed at 11 o’clock. I am now a firm believer in the value of getting at least one hour’s sleep before midnight! 每当在头一天晚上我睡得特别晚，第二天早晨坐下往来不断吃早餐时，我母亲曩昔老是会对我说”上深夜睡一个小时胜过下深夜睡两小时”之类的话。可是深夜12点早年的睡觉质量真的会比深夜12点今后的睡觉要好一倍吗？其时，我像绝大大都年青人相同，认为这一句谚语是跟我自个的日子毫无联络的，这是一句老太婆们瞎编的愚笨的话。我认为，一小时就是一小时，不管是上深夜仍是下深夜，横竖都是60分钟。可是如今，因为我年纪大了，也比早年更明理了，每当我在晚上11 点钟爬进被子里时，我就想起了我妈所说的话。如今我深信在深夜零点早年至少要提前一个小时入眠，这的确大有优点。

Advice about how to live a healthy life is one example of the type of received wisdom which is condensed and passed on to the next generation in the form of proverbs. Proverbs also serve to express general truths in a short and colourful way, for example, There’s no smoke without fire, meaning that there is generally some truth in even the wildest rumours. 关于如何才干活得安康的劝告就是公认的才智的一个很典型的比方，并把这些才智浓缩成谚语的方法代代相传。条条谚语都能用简明生动五颜六色的方法表达广泛的真理。例如：”无火不生烟，无风不起浪。”说的就是，即就是夸大其词的谣言蜚语，一般说来也总会有点真实的成分在里边的。

Another type of proverb acts as a reminder of the correct way to behave, for example, Don’t wash your dirty linen in public. This means don’t discuss personal or family problems in front of strangers or in public. Other proverbs are offered to people as means of comfort in times of trouble, for example, It’s no use crying over spilt milk. This proverb advises that it really is a waste of time to weep over mistakes that have already been make. Instead, it is much better to Make the best of a bad job – to do your best whatever the situation. 还有一品种型的谚语，它所起的作用就是提示我们行为行为要稳当。例如，”别在大众面前洗你的脏衬裤–家丑不可以外扬。”这意思就是说，不要在陌生人群中或当着我们的面来谈论自个隐私或许家务事。还有一些谚语在我们处于窘境时给人以抚慰，例如：”牛奶洒了，哭也没用。–木已成舟，悲有何益？”这条谚语?滴颐牵讶幌忠炎龃硗曜饕担纯蘖骼帷⒊び醵烫臼导隙际窃诶朔咽笨獭Ｓ氪讼喾矗?要尽最大的尽利巴坏事干成功德–随遇而安，转祸为福。”这种情绪要好得多–不管遇就任何情况总要用最大的尽利巴作业做好。

Some English proverbs are native to Britain, for example, It never rains but it pours, a reference to the joys of the British weather! This proverb means that when one thing goes wrong, many other things go wrong as well. Another home-grown proverb is Every dog is allowed one bite. This proverb Is based on an old English law dating back to the 17th century. The law said that the first time a dog bit somebody, its owner did not have to pay compensation to the victim because one bite did not prove that the dog was vicious. Hence the idea carried in the proverb, that everyone should be allowed to make a mistake without being punished for it. 有些英文谚语来自英国。例如，”不雨则已，一雨倾盆–福无双至，祸不单行。”这阐明英国人都喜爱谈气候。这条谚语的意思是假定一件事出了过失接连着许多其他事也都出了过失。还有一条出自英国本乡的谚语是”每条狗初度咬人都是可以宽恕的–人非圣贤孰能无过。”这条谚语是17世纪时的一条陈旧的英王法令为基础而衍化出来的。这条法令说，狗初度咬人，狗的主人不必向受害人付出抵偿金，因为仅咬一口并不能证明这条狗就是一条恶狗。因而，这种主意，即答应任何人初度犯差错，不必给予赏罚，就包括在这条谚语傍边了。

Other proverbs have come into the language from Latin or Greek. Lucretius, a classical Roman author, created the proverb One man’s meat is another man’s poison, meaning that what is good for one person can be harmful to another. And the proverb let sleeping dogs lie meaning don’t cause trouble when it can be avoided, came into English form the French in the 14th century. 还有一些谚语是从拉丁文或希腊文移植到英语里边的。一位古典时期的古罗马作家留克利希阿斯创造了下面这一条谚语：”同一块肉，吃肥了张三却毒死了李四– 穿衣戴帽各好一套，萝卜白菜各有所爱。”意思是对某一自个有优点的可以对另一自个有害。而这一条谚语：”让睡觉的那群狗持续躺着吧睡吧。–别捅马蜂 窝。”意思是能避免就尽量避免，不要去惹费事。这条谚语是从14世纪的法语移植到英语中来的。

As Britain came into contact with other countries and cultures, English became enriched with the words and wisdom of different languages. From the Chinese, we borrowed the colourful proverb He who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount, meaning that if you start on a dangerous enterprise, it is often easier to carry it through to the end than to stop halfway. 因为英国逐步同其他一些国家和其他一些文明打交道，

不一样言语的词汇和才智使英语逐步丰厚起来。从汉语，咱们借用了这条活活络现的谚语”进退两难”，意思就是假定你创始了一项风险而又艰巨凌乱的作业，与其功败垂成，倒不如进行究竟会更顺畅一些。

Some proverbs have been in the language for 1,000 years, for example, A friend in need is a friend indeed. The message here is that someone who stays with you and helps you in times of trouble, rather than turning their back, is a true friend. Other proverbs, however, are much more recent, and reflect changes in the way that we live. 有些谚语在言语中现已撒播有1000多年了，例如，”祸殃中相助的兄弟才是真实的兄弟。–祸殃见真交”。这条谚语是说，你在祸殃时这位兄弟仍然不脱离 你，仍然协助你，而不是掉转脊背就走开了，这样的兄弟才是真实的兄弟。可是，也有些谚语恰当现代，这些新时兴的谚语反映出咱们的日子方法的一些改变。

From the United States come the following two pieces of new wisdom, Garbage in – garbage out, from the computer world, reminds people that computers are only as good as their programs. Form big business we have There’s no such thing as a free lunch, meaning nothing

is free. If someone buys you lunch, they will expect a favour in return. 从美国传来了下列两句绝妙的好词：”无用信息输入–无用信息输出，–废料进，废料出。”这源出自电子核算机的赋闲用语。它提示我们只需输入核算机的程序编制得好电子核算机才干输出好。从干大作业的人那里，咱们学到一句话”根柢就不会有白白请你吃顿饭那回事。–礼下于人必有所求。”意思是没有任何时是 可以不付出价值的。假定将来有人给你买了一份便餐，那自个必定想从你那里得到优点以便作为酬谢。

Some English people are reluctant to sue proverbs in their every day conversation because they see them as vehicles of too much used wisdom. Nevertheless, proverbs are still quite common in both written and spoken English and continue to provide a homely commentary on life and a reminder that the wisdom of our ancestors may still be useful to us today. 有有些英国人在往常说话中不大情愿运用谚语，因为他们认为这些谚语过于陈词滥调了。可是，谚语在书面英语和口语英语中仍是运用得很广的。谚语可持续用在以家常话来谈论的往常日子傍边，因而让咱们想到咱们祖先的才智在今日对咱们仍是非常有用的。