无论是习惯还是玩笑,我们常常把胆小的人称作“老鼠”,把脑子不好使的人称作“笨猪”,把愚蠢的人称作“蠢驴”。英文和中文一样喜欢用动物的名称来形容人。下面就介绍三种动物,它们都各自对应一类人:
    1 crab
    螃蟹有许多腿,还有一双很厉害的钳子。大概是由于它的相貌,人们都认为它是一种性情急燥、容易动怒的动物。正因为这样,美国人把那些性格暴燥,脾气很坏的人叫做crab。
    例如,学生经常把老师叫做crab,特别是当老师要执行学校规章制度的时候:
    I don't like any of my teachers much,but the one I hate the most is Missus Gray. She's such an old crab,always scolding us for making noise,chewing gum,not doing our homework.
    所有的老师我都不太喜欢。但是,我最恨的是格雷小姐。她真是只老螃蟹,老骂我们不安静、吃口香糖、不做家庭作业。
    美国人不仅把crab用于妇女,而且有时也用在男人身上。例如:
    My neighbor is such an old crab. He practically does not allow me to listen to music and watch TV. Whenever I turn on my radio or television set,he knocks on my door and angrily orders me to stop.
    我的邻居可真是只老螃蟹。他不让我听音乐和看电视。每当我打开收音机或电视机,他就会来敲我的门,怒气冲冲地要我把它们关掉。
    2 shrimp
    大约八百年前,shrimp这个字首先是用来指那些个子矮小的人,后来人们才把虾称为shrimp。现在人们还是经常叫个子矮小的人为shrimp。
    例如:
    Basketball is a game for tall people. But once in a while a player like Mugsy Bogues comes along. Mugsy is a real shrimp--only 1.6 meters tall. But he's so quick and clever he can play on equal terms with all those giants.
    篮球是适合个子高的人打的球。可是偶然也会出现像马格西博格这样个子矮小的球员。马格西博格体格实在是矮小,身高只有一米六。但是他机智灵活,和那些个子高大的球员一样地打球。
    又如:
    The great French leader Napoleon was shorter than everybody around him,so you'd have to call him a little shrimp. But for a shrimp,he certainly made the rest of Europe tremble.
    法国伟大的领导人拿破仑比他周围的人都矮,所以你可以说他像只小虾。但是作为一只小虾,他却震憾了整个欧洲。
    3 turkey
    美国人很喜欢吃turkey火鸡。每逢感恩节和圣诞节,火鸡总是家家户户节日盛宴的主菜,有时人们甚至把感恩节称为“火鸡日”。尽管美国人很喜欢吃火鸡,但是大多数人认为火鸡不仅很难看,而且还笨头笨脑的。所以,要是你把某一个人叫做turkey,那就等于说那个人无能、很笨。
    例如:
    I wouldn't go out on a date with Mary if she was the last woman in the world. She's such a turkey with that boring personality and stupid grin.
    即便我在世界上找不到其他女人,我也不想约玛丽一起出去玩。她那性格很让人讨厌,还有她那傻笑。她真是个笨蛋。
    又如:
    This man came with a good recommendation from his last job,but it turns out he's just a turkey who simply can't do anything right!
    这个人来的时候,他原来工作的公司还给他写了很好的推荐信。可是,他原来是个笨蛋,干什么都不对。