英语的惯用语有什么特点?我们*好举几个*常引用的例子来看看: kick the bucket(死),例如:The cowboy kicked the bucket. spill the beans(泄露秘密),例如:He spih the beans overmy plans to find a new job.
(as)sound as a bell(情况**;十分健康),例如:Even atthe age of 80 the old man’S heart was as sound as a bell. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.(谚语:双鸟在林不如一鸟在手。)
我们可以看到,上面例句中的惯用语没有结构变化。但在下面的句子中,惯用语的结构改变了,kick和bucket也就只表示“踢”和“水桶”这些字面意义了:
The cowboy kicked the pail.
The two cowboys kicked the buckets.
The bucket has been kicked by the cowboy.
The cowboy’S kicking the bucket surprised US all.
I expected him to kick the bucket and kick it he did.