Proverbs and idioms are a key part of learning a language! Instead of saying directly what you mean, proverbs can help you paint a picture of it instead, and allow you to help the person you are talking to understand you better.

諺語和習語是學習一門語言的關鍵部分！諺語可以幫助你描繪一幅圖畫，而不是直接說出你的意思，讓你幫助你說話的人更好地理解你。

 

Common phrases can be used in the conversations you have with other people every day, in the TV shows and newspaper articles you watch and read, and even at work or in class. In order to fully understand a language, you must know all these phrases and sentences.

常見的短語可以用在你每天和別人的談話中，在你看和讀的電視節目和報紙文章中，甚至在工作或課堂上。為了完全理解一門語言，你必須知道所有這些短語和句子。

 

What better topic to paint a picture about than food? All of these proverbs have to do with food! Do not read this if you are hungry – it may only make you hungrier! Wait until you have eaten to go through this list.

還有什么比食物更好的話題來描繪呢？所有這些諺語都與食物有關！如果你餓了就不要讀這本書，它只會讓你更餓！等你吃完飯再看這個清單。

 

1. An apple a day keeps the doctor away!

一天一蘋果，醫生遠離我！

 

 

Many proverbs do not mean what they literally say, but in some cases, this proverb is used this way.

許多諺語并不是字面上的意思，但在某些情況下，這句諺語是這樣使用的。

 

Especially for children who do not like to eat their fruits, parents can tell them “An apple a day keeps the doctor away!” to convince them that they will not have to see any doctor if they eat their fruits.

尤其是對于不喜歡吃水果的孩子，家長可以告訴他們“一天一個蘋果，醫生遠離你！”“讓他們相信，如果他們吃了水果，就不必去看醫生。

 

In other situations, the speaker may mean this generally – in that, if you eat healthy foods and take care of yourself, you will not have any health problems or have to visit the doctor.

在其他情況下，演講者通常會這么說——如果你吃健康的食物并且照顧好自己，你就不會有任何健康問題或者必須去看醫生。

 

My sister only eats her fruits and vegetables if my mom reminds her that “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

我姐姐只吃水果和蔬菜，如果我媽媽提醒她“一天一個蘋果，醫生遠離你！”。

 

If you ask your doctor for some advice on how to stay healthy, they might make a joke and tell you that “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

如果你向你的醫生請教如何保持健康，他們可能會開個玩笑，告訴你“一天一個蘋果可以讓醫生遠離你”。

 

2. A hungry man is an angry man!

餓漢易怒！

 

While this proverb specifically talks about a man, this actually applies to all people – women and children included. When someone is hungry, whether they are grown or not, they are likely to be angry.

雖然這句諺語專門談到一個男人，但這實際上適用于所有人——包括婦女和兒童。當有人餓的時候，不管他們是否長大了，他們都可能會生氣。

 

When someone uses this proverb, they mean that someone who is hungry and has not had his needs met (whether it is specifically related to food or not) is more likely to be emotional.

當有人使用這句諺語時，他們的意思是饑餓的人，沒有滿足他的需要（無論是否與食物有關）更有可能是情緒化的。

 

People are only in their right mind and can make complex decisions if they are full and have their needs met.

人們只有在正確的頭腦中，如果他們吃飽了，并且滿足了他們的需求，他們才能做出復雜的決定。

 

When you are trying to have a meeting right before lunch, you are likely to get some people who will not pay attention or will give you pushback for trying to force them into a meeting by saying, “A hungry man is an angry man!”

當你想在午飯前開會時，你很可能會讓一些人不注意你，或者因為你試圖強迫他們開會而推倒你說：“饑餓的人是憤怒的人！“

 

When I was younger, I would never ask my mother whether I could go to my friend’s house if she had not yet eaten lunch or dinner, because I knew that she would always say no if she hadn’t eaten! A hungry man is an angry man!

在我小的時候，我從來不會問我媽媽，如果她還沒吃午飯或晚餐，我是否可以去我朋友的家，因為我知道她總是說不，如果她沒有吃！饑餓的人是憤怒的人！

 

3. Eat to live but do not live to eat!

吃飯是為了活著,但活著不是為了吃飯。

 

Some people love eating so much that they make their entire existence about finding the most delicious food for them to have.

有些人太愛吃東西了，以至于他們為了找到最美味的食物而自食其力。

 

They wake up thinking about what they want to have for breakfast, and then they spend as much time as possible figuring out which restaurants are the most delicious, and making sure that they go there and eat the best dishes.

他們醒來后會想早餐想吃什么，然后會花盡可能多的時間找出哪家餐館最好吃，并確保他們去那里吃最好的菜。

 

This is great for most people who love eating, but this proverb warns against people who might take this a step too far.

這對大多數喜歡吃東西的人來說是很好的，但是這句諺語警告人們不要走得太遠。

 

Instead of finding some “greater purpose” for their lives, such as educating younger people or working for the poor, they think that their purpose is to eat as much as possible.

他們沒有為自己的生活找到一些“更大的目標”，例如教育年輕人或為窮人工作，而是認為自己的目標是盡可能多地吃飯。

 

If someone uses this proverb, it means that you should not put so much importance on eating. Instead, you should only eat enough to live, but you should not spend too much time thinking about food.如果有人用這句諺語，那就意味著你不應該把吃飯放在那么重要的位置。相反，你應該只吃夠活，但你不應該花太多時間思考食物。

 

Once someone is overweight, they should think about eating to live, but not living to eat.

一旦有人超重了，他們就應該考慮吃飯是為了生存，而不是為了吃飯而活著。

 

My friend Ted absolutely has to find the best restaurants in every city that he travels to, so he ends up doing more research about food than research about places to stay or things to do. His wife always gets frustrated with him, saying that he should think about eating to live, but not living to eat.

我的朋友特德必須在他去的每一個城市都找到最好的餐館，所以他最終做的是關于食物的研究，而不是關于住的地方或事情的研究。他的妻子總是對他感到沮喪，說他應該考慮吃飯來生活，而不是活著來吃飯。

 

4. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket!

不要把一切希望寄托在一件事上

 

If you are in a position to invest in something, or you want to take a chance, it is tempting to believe everything you hear. However, you never really know what is good and what will work, so that is a dangerous thing to do.

如果你有能力投資某件事，或者你想冒險，那么相信你所聽到的一切是很有誘惑力的。然而，你永遠不會真正知道什么是好的，什么會起作用，所以這是一件危險的事情。

 

In cases like these, this proverb is good to keep in mind. It means that you should not put all your money in one investment if you are talking about investing or stocks.

在這種情況下，這句諺語很好記住。這意味著，如果你在談論投資或股票，你不應該把所有的錢都投在一項投資上。

 

If you are talking about a job, the proverb means that you should not think that everything will be perfect with that single job. You should instead look for several ways to make money.

如果你在談論一份工作，諺語的意思是，你不應該認為每件事都會完美的與單一的工作。相反，你應該尋找幾種賺錢的方法。

 

This proverb comes from the idea that, in older times, people would buy groceries and bring them home in a basket.

這句諺語來源于這樣一種觀念：在老年人，人們會買雜貨，然后把它們放在籃子里帶回家。

 

If you bought eggs, you should not put them all in the same basket, because if you accidentally drop the basket or bump into something, the basket could fall on the floor and all your eggs would break.

如果你買了雞蛋，你不應該把它們都放在同一個籃子里，因為如果你不小心掉到籃子里或撞到什么東西，籃子會掉在地上，你所有的雞蛋都會碎。

 

Instead, you should be more conservative and put some eggs in multiple baskets, so that if one fails, you can still rely on the others to still be there.

相反，你應該更加保守，把一些雞蛋放在多個籃子里，這樣，如果其中一個失敗了，你仍然可以依靠其他雞蛋繼續留在那里。

 

When my sister came to me for investment advice, she was thinking about putting all her money in her friend’s start up. However, I knew that that would be foolish, and told her to split her money in many different stocks. “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket!” I said. Luckily, she listened to me, because her friend went bankrupt two years later.當我姐姐向我尋求投資建議時，她正在考慮把所有的錢都投到她朋友的初創公司里。然而，我知道那是愚蠢的，告訴她把錢分給許多不同的股票。“不要把所有的雞蛋放在一個籃子里！“我說。幸運的是，她聽了我的話，因為她的朋友兩年后破產了。

 

Most people should think about getting a side job to bring in some income, because it is hard to know if or when you will be let go from your main job. If that happens, do not come back crying to me! I told you not to put all your eggs in one basket!

大多數人應該考慮找一份兼職工作來賺取一些收入，因為很難知道你是否或何時會從你的主要工作中解脫出來。如果那樣的話，不要回來哭我！我告訴過你不要把所有的雞蛋放在一個籃子里！

 

5. It’s no use crying over spilt milk!

覆水難收

 

When you see a child who has spilled something – such as their milk – you will likely see them crying about it as well. The classic image of a crying child is one that has the ice cream part of his ice cream cone on the ground.

當你看到一個孩子灑了一些東西，比如他們的牛奶，你可能會看到他們也在哭。哭鬧的孩子的典型形象是把冰淇淋的一部分放在地上。

 

When you are a child, crying like this is okay, because you do not understand much. However, when you are an adult, this is much less acceptable.

當你還是個孩子的時候，像這樣哭是可以的，因為你不太明白。然而，當你是一個成年人，這是不可接受的。

 

This proverb tells people not to cry over spilt milk – or not to cry (or wallow in sorrow, or stay on another negative emotion) over something that has already happened.

這句諺語告訴人們不要為灑下的牛奶哭泣，也不要為已經發生的事情哭泣（或沉浸在悲傷中，或停留在另一種消極情緒中）。

 

Since there is no way to change the past, what has happened, has happened. Instead, you should move on and try to fix the problem, or just forget it.

既然沒有辦法改變過去，發生了什么，發生了什么。相反，你應該繼續努力解決這個問題，或者干脆忘掉它。

 

The company wants us to try to fix all the problems that we have had with our new product, but I honestly think that it’s no use crying over spilt milk! We should just move on and work on our next product.

公司希望我們設法解決新產品出現的所有問題，但我真誠地認為，為灑出來的牛奶哭泣是沒有用的！我們應該繼續做下一個產品。

 

I know Jim feels that he will never love again after the girl he was going to propose to broke up with him. But, as I keep telling him, it’s no use crying over spilt milk! We love and we learn.

我知道吉姆覺得在他打算和他分手的那個女孩之后，他再也不會愛她了。但是，正如我一直告訴他的，為灑出來的牛奶哭泣是沒有用的！我們愛學習。

 

6. One man’s meat is another man’s poison!

蘿卜青菜，各有所愛！

 

Someone that loves to eat meat could bring their friend to their favorite steak or BBQ restaurant – only to remember that their friend is vegetarian! Even if they look at the same dish, they will have very different perspectives on what it is.

喜歡吃肉的人可以帶他們的朋友去他們最喜歡的牛排或燒烤餐廳，但要記住他們的朋友是素食者！即使他們看的是同一道菜，他們對它的看法也會大相徑庭。

 

One might think that the steak looks absolutely delicious and cannot wait to try it. However, the other may be utterly repulsed by it! In other words, what they think about that dish depends entirely on their personal situation.

人們可能會認為牛排看起來絕對美味，迫不及待地想嘗嘗。然而，另一個可能會被它完全擊退！換句話說，他們對那道菜的看法完全取決于他們的個人情況。

 

Likewise, this proverb means that something that is delicious meat in one man’s eyes will be like poison in the other man’s eyes.

同樣，這句諺語的意思是，一個人眼中的美味佳肴，另一個人眼中的毒藥。

 

Ken was shocked to hear that there are people who do not like to drink bubble tea! However, he probably should have expected that because one man’s meat is another man’s poison.

聽說有人不喜歡喝泡茶，肯大為震驚！然而，他也許應該預料到，因為一個人的肉是另一個人的毒藥。

 

When my father announced to our family that we would be taking a two week vacation to Japan, I was completely ecstatic and excited to go. However, my brothers looked like they could not care less about it – and might even prefer to stay home! I guess one man’s meat really is another man’s poison.

當我父親向我們全家宣布要去日本度假兩周時，我欣喜若狂，很興奮要去。然而，我的兄弟們似乎對此毫不在意，甚至寧愿呆在家里！我想真是蘿卜青菜，各有所愛。

 

（來源：滬江英語）