PAGE16=1\*Arabic1IntroductionIdiomisderivedfromtheGreek“Idioma”and“idiomatikos”,whichmeanspeculiarorpeculiarity.AlthoughlinguistsofdifferentagesdifferfromeachotheronthescopeofEnglishidiom,inabroadsense,idiomswithagreatnumberofvocabularies,mayinclude“setphrases,proverbs,sayings,epigrams,slangexpressions,colloquialisms,quotations,two-partallegoricalsayingsofwhichthefirstpartisalwaysdescriptive,whilethesecondpartoftencarriesthemessage”[1].NotonlydothelinguistsofdifferentagesdisagreewitheachotheronthescopeofEnglishidiom,theyhavealsomadedifferentdefinitionsofit.ButwhilestudyingsomanydocumentsaboutEnglishidiomofdifferenttimes,youcanfindthattheolderthedocumentsare,themoreindistinctthedefinitionsare.Forexample,somelinguistsjustdefinedtheidiomas“anacceptedphrase,construction,orexpression,whichisdifferentfromtheliteral”[1].Englishidiomsarefixedexpressionsorphrases,oftencarryingspecialmeaningsthatcannotbeguessedfromtheirindividualparts.Theyoftenhaveadistantoriginandalongdevelopment,fullofrelativelystrongnationalcoloringorlocalfeatures,widelyusedamongthepeopleandestablishedbythepeoplethroughlongsocialpractice.Someoftheidiomsarevivid,humorousandexplicit,whileothersareimplicit,containingmorethanonemeaning,andcanbringvarietiesofassociations.Soyouhavetojudgethemeaningfromthewholetext.Idiomsarethelanguageordialectofpeople,ofaregionandaclass,etc.Andtheyarethespecialwayofpeopleexpressingtheirculture,region,ideasandlifepatterns,etc.Theyhavecharacteristicsofnationality,regionalism,andfixednessofstructures.Collocatedbymorethantwowordscustomarily,theyarefixedphrases,prohibitinganychangeofwordsorofeachindividualpartoftheidiomfromeachotheratwill.Forexample,“kickthebucket”ismadeupofthreemorphemes,andcannotbeaddedorreducedfreely.Itcannotbechangedtobe“kickthebigbucket”,or“kickthepail”.Besides,vividandaffluentdevicesofrhetoricarealsotheidioms’characteristics.RhetoricisacommondevicewidelyusedintheEnglishidioms.Idiomitselfistheapplicationandexpressionofrhetoric,whilewritersoftenviewtheidiomasafigureofspeechtoclarifyandenhancetheimages,soastoenrichthefascinationoftheirarticles.Thewordsofeachidiomarebriefbutvivid,exotericbutvital.Bytheformofmetaphor,simile,orotherkindsoffigureofspeeches,idiomsabstractlybutvividlyshowusapieceoflivelyandglorioushistoryasiftheantiquityweretalkingwithus.Forexample,“speechissilvern,silenceisgolden”appliesthedeviceofalliteration.Sodoes“asredasrose”,“firstcome,firstserved”.“Morehaste,lessspeed”usesantithesis.Allthesecharacteristicsareallduetothedevelopmentofhistoryandculture.Englishidioms,withrichconnotationsanddistinctiveculturalfeatures,aretherefinedlanguagehandeddownbyhistory,andthefertilefruitsofpeople’slongsocialpractice.AstheessenceofEnglishlanguage,EnglishidiomsreflecttheEnglish-speakingnations’longhistory,andpenetratedifferentnations’culturalandgeographicalfeatures,psychology,tradition,andwaysofthinking.Idiomsmostobviouslyandobjectivelyconveyonenationorcountry’sculturalpeculiarity.Thoughtheyareoftenbriefandterse,justinseveralwords,Englishidiomscanconveyclearlyandlucidlywhatyouwanttoexpress,whichissounforgettablethatitoftenleavesadeepimpressiononyourmind.2ThestatusandstrategiesofEnglishidioms’translationThethesishereshowsthefunctionandthestatusofidioms’translation,analyzesthetwostrategies—literaltranslationandfreetranslationrespectivelyanddiscussesitsextensionanddevelopmentbasedonliteralandfreetranslation.2.1ThestatusofEnglishidioms’translationMutualtranslationbetweenlanguagesisafinemeansofculturalcommunication.However,asamatteroffact,itismuchmorebeneficialforthedevelopmentandflourishingofthelanguageitselfthanfortheculturalcommunicationbetweendifferentcountriesallovertheworld.Thefunctionofidiomsasalinguisticexpressionwithprofoundculturalfoundationappearsparticularlyoutstanding.AsthecomplexityandvarietyofEnglishidioms,thetranslationofEnglishidiomsissurelyfeaturedinthewholetranslation.However,thetranslationofidiomshasbeenconsideredtobecomparativelydifficultbythetranslatorsallalong.That’sbecausethequalifiedtranslatorsarerequirednotonlytobeconversantwiththemeaningofidiomsinthetext,butalsotopossessabundantofidiomsintargetlanguageasforreference.Whatismore,thetranslationofidiomsplacesadirectinfluenceonthequalityofthewholetext.Undoubtedlyitisdifficultforthetranslatortokeepboththeoriginalflavorandmeaninginthetranslation.AsYanFusaid,thetranslationofEnglishidiomsshouldcomplywiththreebasicprinciples,that’s“faithfulness,expressiveness,andelegance”.Befaithfultothecontent,meaning,andspiritoftheoriginal;makeitsmoothandexpresstheoriginalwhollyandprecisely;reappearthestyleandthefigureofspeechoftheoriginal.Thetranslationofidiomsisnotonlytotranslatethelanguage,ortosay,simplyreproducetheoriginal,butalsotransmittheconnotationsofoneculturetothoseofanotherone.ManyEnglishtranslatorsregardtheidiomsasroadblocks,sincetheyareverycomplicatedbutinevitable.Agoodtranslatorshouldnotonlyfaithfullyrepresentthecontentoftheoriginalidioms,butalsokeeptheflavoroftheidioms,suchasthefigureofspeech,culturalcoloringandnationalfeatures.WhiledealingwiththeEnglishidioms,youshouldundoubtedlypayattentiontotheimpactofculture.Literateswhoemphasizeculture-exportoftenadvocatekeepingtheoriginalformoftheidiomssincetheythinktheculturalfeaturesofidiomslieintheirformsofexpression.Forexample,“talkofthedevil,heissuretoappear.”O(jiān)nlyitcouldbetranslatedas“說人人到，說鬼鬼到”,butnot“說曹操，曹操到”complyingwiththeChineseculture.Becausetheyview“曹操”asawordflashingbrightChinesefeature,whileEnglishhasnotsuchaword.Nowadays,manytranslationsofEnglishidiomsareonlythewords’equivalenttransformation,justdecodingidiom’ssurfacemeaningbutdeprivingoftheiroriginalculturalfeatures.Indeed,differentculturesrespectivelyenjoytheirownparticularhistoricalandgeographicalfeatures.Inpractice,itisofquitedifficultyforthetranslatorstoguaranteeaccordingwithbothoftheoriginalregulationsoffigureofspeech,andstandardsofthetargetlanguagecompletely.Thusyoumustbecautiouswhiletranslatingandkeeptheseinmind:first,setbaseontheaccuracyoftheidioms’meaningandfigureofspeech;second,takingintoaccountthereadership’sabilityofcomprehension;third,payattentiontothedifferencebetweentheoriginalandthetargetcultures.Inaddition,imaginationorcreationisalsonecessaryforthetranslatorstopossess.Thenyoumustbeawareofnotoverusingitregardlessofidioms’originalmeaning.2.2ThestrategiesofEnglishidioms’translationTobespecific,therearetwobasicstrategiesintheidioms’translationtraditionally:oneisliteraltranslation,theotherisfreetranslation.Theformerreferstothetranslationinwhichboththecontentandtheformareequivalenttotheoriginalwhilethelattermeanskeepingthecontentbutnottheformandtransmittingflexibly.ThecentralargumentonwhethertotranslateliterallyorfreelyhasbeengoingonsinceatleastthefirstcenturyBC.Literaltranslationisafullrepresentationoftheoriginal.Especiallywhentheoriginalcoincideswiththetargetidiomintermsofwording,phrasing,andcontent,itisappropriatetouseliteraltranslation.Tokeeptheidioms’originalstylesandforeignculturalfeatures,sometranslatorswhoemphasizeontheidioms’divergencebetweennationsorregionsadvocatethiskindofstrategy.Letuslookatsomeexamples:Oneis“Sherefusedseveraloffersofmarriage,andthen,attheageofforty,foundherselfleftontheshelf.”Here“ontheshelf”isliterallytranslatedas“束之高閣”.Inthisway,thetranslationexpressesthecontentofthesentencefaithfullyandsmoothly,atthesametimeretainstheoriginalfigureofspeech.Ifitistranslatedfreelyas“沒有結(jié)婚希望了”,thoughcorrectly,thetranslationlosestheoriginalformandfigureofspeech,andisnotvividastheformer.Theotheris“Hewhofollowstwoharesissuretocatchneither(追逐兩只兔子，兩頭都落空)”.Thisliteraltranslationrepresentstheoriginalvividimageandfigureofspeech,meanwhileconveysthemeaningofsentence.Ifitistranslatedas“同時干兩件事，全都干不好”,thoughclearlyandbrief,thetranslationisnolongervividandcharming,sinceitlosestheoriginalfigureofspeech.Moreover,thereare“tostriketheironwhileitishot(趁熱打鐵)”,“fishintroubledwater(渾水摸魚)”,“aboltfromtheblue(晴天霹靂)”,“misfortunesnevercomesingle(福不雙至，禍不單行)”,“tohaveawell-oiledtongue(油腔滑調(diào))”,“(there’s)norosewithoutathorn(沒有不帶刺的玫瑰)”andsoon.Theliteraltranslationcouldretainthespirit,nationalcoloringandfigureofspeechoftheoriginalidioms.Whentranslatedvividlyandperfectly,itiseasierforthetranslatorstoaccepttheforeigntraditionandculture.Bywayoftheliteraltranslation,someEnglishidiomshavebeencompiledinChinesedictionaryandbecomeanimportantcomponentofChineselanguage.Forexample,“armedtotheteeth(武裝到牙齒)”,“ivorytower(象牙塔)”,“allroadsleadtoRome(條條道路通羅馬)”,etc.However,theapplicationofliteraltranslationoftenbringsaboutthenegativeinfluenceofharmingthedeviceofrhetoricofidioms,evenaffectingtheproperexpressionoftranslation.Forexample,thefamousAmericanauthorPearlS.BuckhasoncemadesuchamistakewhenshewastranslatingtheChineseclassicAllMenareBrothers.Sheinsistedontranslatingthisworksbytheprincipleofliteraltranslation.Andinitspreface,shewrote:“Itrymybesttotranslatethisnovelbytheprincipleofliteraltranslation,sinceinmyopinion,thestyleandcontentoftheoriginalcoincideappropriately.Thesolegoalofmyexertionistomakethetranslationresembletheoriginalnovelasmuchaspossible.Ihopethatatleastthereaderswhoareforeignersmightgenerateanillusionthatwhathereadistheoriginalversion…”[3].Hermotiveisreasonable,butsheignoresthedifferencesbetweenthetwocultures.Inconsequence,hertranslationseemsstiffandobscure,inlackofvitality.Furthermore,thereismuchdistortionofconceptfromtheoriginal,nottomentionkeepingthestyleandculturalfeaturesoftheoriginalworks.Forexample,shetranslated“你不在家時，誰敢來放個屁”as“whenyouwerenotathome,whodaredtocomenearandpasshiswind?”[3]Here“passone’swind”isnomorethanaphysiologicalfunction,whichisquitedifferentfromthemeaningoftheoriginalversion.J.H.Jacksontranslateditas“whenyouwerenotathome,whodaredtocomeandinsultme?”[3]Thoughtherindoftheexpressionchanged,theconnotationkeptconsistentwiththatoftheoriginal,whichwasmuchmoreappropriatethanPearl’s.BritainandChinahavedifferentkindsofcultures,customsandconventions,itisnearlyimpossibletomakeacompletelyequivalenttransformationbetweenthetwolanguages.Weoftenfeelitdifficulttofindtheproperexplanationsofsomewordsindictionaries.Thenwecantryanotherstrategy—freetranslation,inwhichthetranslatorexpressesthesamemeaningastheoriginalbyadoptingdifferentwording,phrasing,style,orfigureofspeech.Most“culture”wordsareeasytodetect,sincetheyareassociatedwithaparticularlanguageandcanbeliterallytranslated,butmanyculturalcustomsaredescribedinordinarylanguageandmightbedistortedthemeaningbytheprincipleofliteraltranslation.Freetranslationcouldsolvethedifficulty.Itreproducesthematterwithoutthemanner,orthecontentwithouttheformoftheoriginal.Forexample,“anewbroomsweepsclean”literallyistranslatedas“新掃帚打掃得干凈”.Thoughitkeepstheoriginal“posture”,thereadersmaynotunderstanditclearly,whileusingfreetranslation“新上任者急于除弊圖變”ismuchmoresuperior.Inaddition,“murderwillout(紙包不住火)”,“rollingstonegathersnomoss(滾石不生苔，或者：流水不腐，戶樞不蠹)”,“togodownthedrain(失敗，每況愈下)”,“twoheadsarebetterthanone(三個臭皮匠，頂個諸葛亮)”andthelike.Eitherofthetwostrategieshasitsadvantagesanddisadvantagesrespectively.Theliteraltranslationappearsbriefandvivid,butmaybeobscure,stiffandannoying,whilefreetranslationisclearandauthenticinexpressingtheoriginalmeaning.Butitmaybeaparaphrasemuchlongerthantheoriginal,aso-called“intralingualtranslation”,oftenprolixandpretentious,onthecostoflosingvividdescriptionorappropriatefigureofspeech.InChineseandEnglishlanguage,therearecommonnessanddifferenceinthewordingandthehabitualexpression.Soitisquitewisertoadoptbothofthetwostrategiesoftranslation.Thatisliteralplusfreetranslation.Forexample,“makehaywhilethesunshines(趁著晴天曬干草，莫失良機)”.Theformerhalfsentence,belongingtoliteraltranslation,successfullyexpressesthecontentandkeepstheflavoroftheoriginal.However,thereadermaynotpayattentiontotheimplication.Thus“莫失良機”freelytranslationisadded.“Aredragtothebull”istranslatedas“對公牛搖晃一塊紅布，火上加油”.AsnotalltheChineseknowtheeffectofaredragtothebull,itisnecessarytoaddthephrase“火上加油”toshowtheeffect.Thecombinationofthetwostrategiesnotonlysuccessfullykeepsthevividdescriptionandspiritoftheoriginal,butalsosmoothlyandfaithfullyexpressesitsconnotations,whBesidesliteraltranslationandfreetranslation—thetwomajorstrategiesofEnglishidiomstranslation,therearesomesupplementsafterlinguists’researchforsuchalongtime.HereIjustlisttwokindsoftheidiomstranslationmethods.Differentculturesmayenjoytheircommonnessorsimilarities,whetherinmodernorancientnations.SomeofEnglishandChineseidiomsareinterchangeable,havingthegeneralsamemeanings,stylesandevensimilarfigureofspeech.Thetwogroupsofidiomsbelongingtotwodifferentcountriescouldberegardedasalmostequivalentpartners.Thenwecanadoptanotherstrategy—loantranslation.Forexample,“strikewhiletheironishot(趁熱打鐵)”,“beautyisintheeyeofthebeholder(情人眼里處西施)”,“oldfriendsandoldwinearebest(姜是老的辣，酒是陳的香或陳酒味醇，老友情深)”,“beastswordsintoploughshares(偃武修文或罷兵歇刀，偃旗息鼓)”.ConsideringtheparticularityofEnglishidioms:itsnationality,geographicalfeaturesanditsspecialdevicesofrhetoric,weshouldpayattentiontotheforeignfeaturesasmuchaspossible,whiletranslatingtheEnglishidioms.Theidiomofthesourcelanguagematchingwithitsequivalentpartnerthesynonymousidiomofthetargetlanguageisthebesttranslation.Theloantranslationsuchas“greatmindsthinkalike(英雄所見略同)”decreasesthereaders’unfamiliaritytothetranslationandreducestheirdifficultyofacceptingtheforeignculture,atthesametime,arousestheirinterestsofreadingforwards.However,weshouldbeawareofavoidingimposingtheinappropriateChineseidiomsontheoriginalEnglishidioms.OnlywhenwecanfindaChineseidiom,whichisquiteequivalenttotheoriginalEnglishidiom,canweadoptloantranslation.Thereareafewidiomswhichhavesimilarcharacteristicsandfunctionsuchas“burnone’sboats(bridges)”evenexistinbothEnglishandChinese,whichmaycausepeopletothinkwronglythatthetwolanguageshavethesameculturalbackgroundandtheyareinterlinked.XuShiGuhasstatedinhisChineseTranslation(1985.6):“NomatterhowcloseorsimilarthemeaningsofahomologouspairofChineseandEnglishidioms,theiraccurateconnotationsandemotionalcoloringaresuretomoreorlesshavedistinctions.Sotheyshouldnotbeusedatwill.”[2]Forexample,“evenawormwillturn”usuallytranslatedas“狗急跳墻”isquiteinappropriate.Because“狗急跳墻”enjoyssomewhatderogatorysense,whiletheoriginalmeaningoftheEnglishidiomisthatifhumiliatedandpersecutedexcessively,eventheweakestwillrebel(itcouldbetranslatedas“逼人入絕境，綿羊也會拼命”).Aswellaskeepingthenationalfeaturesandtheculturalcoloringoftheoriginalidiomstoavoidcontradictionorambiguity,weshouldalsobeawareofnotimposingChineseidiomswithdistinctivenationalfeaturesonthetargetidioms.Forinstance,“crocodiletears”translatedas“貓哭老鼠”ismoreacceptablefortheChinese.AccordingtotheWesternancientlegend,whenacrocodileeatsahumanbeingorabeast,itcrieswhileeating.Itusedtoexplainthatthebadpretendtofeelpityforthevictim.Sometimes,forthesakeofculturaltransmissionandretainingtheoriginalspirit,itisofnecessitytoaddsomeexplainednotesbesidetheliteraltranslation,that’sanothermethodofEnglishidioms’translationtranslationwithnotes.Forexample,“anolddogwilllearnnonewtricks/youcannotteacholddogsnewtricks(老狗學(xué)不出新把戲/老頑固不能學(xué)新東西)”,“agooddogdeservesagoodbone(好狗應(yīng)該得到好骨頭，有功者受獎)”,“badworkmenoftenblametheirtools(拙匠常怪工具差，不會撐船怪河彎)”.Themethodoftranslationwithnotesnotonlyshowsthereadershipidiomsoriginalmeanings,formsandstyles,butalsohelpsthereadersunderstandtheirunderlyingconnotationsbetter.Althoughthetranslationappearsalittleprolix,itdisplaysthenaturalcoloroftheEnglishidioms.Thismethodisoftenappliedtothecompilationofdictionaries.Inrecentyears,manyscholarsshifttheirattentionfromliteralandfreetranslationtoanothertwokindsoftranslationstrategies—semanticandcommunicativetranslation.Thenewconceptsintranslationfieldaretheextensionanddevelopmentofliteralandfreetranslation.Ingenerally,thesemantictranslationiswrittenattheoriginalidioms’linguisticlevel,thecommunicativeatthetarget’s.Theformergenerallyfocusesontheaspectoflanguage,whilethelatterbreaksthroughthescopeoflanguageandextendstoawiderfield,suchastoculture,language,aestheticsandsoon.3TheoriginsofEnglishidiomsanditstranslationEnglishlanguageisabundantinidioms.Foralongtime,Englishidiomsarewidelyusedamongthepeopleandcirculatedfromgenerationtogeneration.Ifwehavenoideaoftheiroriginsorallusions,itisoftenadifficultyforustocatchtheirmeaning,nottomentiontotranslatethem.Thus,itisquitenecessaryforustostudytheEnglishidioms’origins.VariousEnglishidiomswithclassicalallusionsarenotfabricatedbymankindbutmainlyoriginatedfrompeople’sdailylife.Cultureisthebaseandsourceforlanguagestodevelopandstrengthen.Equally,Englishidioms—theessenceofEnglish,withsimplestructuresbutprofoundmeaning,arelargelyaffectedbytheEnglishculture.ThereasonwhypeopleoftenmakemistakesinapplyingEnglishidiomswithclassicalallusionsmechanicallyismainlythattheyignorethegreateffectsculturemadeonidioms,nordotheypayanyattentiontotheirorigins.Differenthistoricalstagesproducedifferentkindsofidioms.Asweknow,inprimevalsociety,humanappearsveryweak,passiveinfightingagainstthepowerofnature.Insuchhopelesscase,theyturntocelestialforhelp.Asaresult,idiomsofthisperiodareoftenconcernedwithfairytalesorlegends.Thenintheagriculture-leadingsociety,idiomsmostlycomefromagriculturallife.Thegenerationoftheindustryalsogivesbirthtoabundantidiomsoriginatingfromindustriallife.Thereafter,idioms,suchasproverbs,epigrams,whichcomefromtheliteraryworksoffamouswriters,areusedtoeducateandenlightenthelatergenerations.Gradually,Englishidiomsofnowadayscomeintobeing.3.1EnglishidiomsinfairytalesanditstranslationFairytalesarestoriesaboutsupernaturalbeingsorimaginaryancientheroes.Onthemostpart,EnglishidiomscomefromGreekandRomanmyths.Forexample,“Amalthea’shorn”,theChinesetranslationofwhichis“吉祥之物”,comesfromaGreekfairytale.ItissaidthatAmaltheawasagoddesswhowastheheadgodZeus’snurse.WhenZeuswasababy,thegoddessAmaltheafedtheewe’smilktohim.Inordertothankher,Zeusknockedoffoneram’shornandsentittoher,promisingthathewouldletthemasteroftheram’shornrichforever.Anotherexample,“raincatsanddogs(大雨傾盆)”comesfromafairytaleofNorthernEurope,whichwasfirmlybelievedthatacathadgreatinfluenceontheweather.Itisallegedthatthesongtheswansingsbeforeitsdeathismostpleasingtotheear.Thelatergenerationsused“theswansongs”todescribethefinalworksofthepoets,composers,actors,etc.ItsChinesetranslationis“最后的作品”.3.2EnglishidiomsinliteraryworksanditstranslationInEnglish,therearerelativelymanyidiomscomingfromtheBible,Aesop’sFables,orotherliteraryworks,suchastheworksofW.Shakespeare.Forexample,“gotothewall”originatesfromW.Shakespeare’sworksRomeoandJuliet,whichsays:“thatshowstheeaweakslave,fortheweakestgoestothewall.”InChinese,itmeans“破產(chǎn)，垮臺，完蛋”.Anotherexample,Falstaff:IamaspoorasJob,mylord,butnotsopatient(福斯坦夫：我是像約伯一樣窮，大人，可是卻沒有像他那樣的好耐心).JobisamanintheBiblewhowaspatientinspiteofpovertyandmisfortunes.“Cherishasnakeinone’sbosom(養(yǎng)虎遺患，姑息惡人必將受害)”,“awolfinsheep’sclothing(披著羊皮的狼)”bothcomefromtheAesop’sFable.“CananygoodthingcomeoutofNazareth?”originatesfromtheBible,JohnI.TheChinesetranslationis“拿撒勒還能出好東西嗎？”.WhenPhilipfoundNathanael,heaskedhimtopayallegiancetoJesusandsaid:“wehavefoundhim,ofwhomMosesinthelaw,andprophets,didwrite,JesusofNazareth,thesonofJoseph.”AndNathanaelsaiduntohim:“CanthereanygoodthingcomeoutofNazareth?”Philipsaithuntohim,comeandsee.Besides,“theappleofsomeone’seye(掌上明珠)”,“pridegoesbeforeafall(嬌者必敗)”,“notknowsomeonefromAdam(素不相識)”,“forwebroughtnothingintothisworld,anditiscertainwecancarrynothingout(因為我們沒帶什么到世界來，也不能帶什么去)”alsocomefromtheBible.3.3EnglishidiomsinhistoricaleventsandstoriesanditstranslationInhistory,manyfamouseventsarefrequentlyappliedbythelatergenerations.Andgradually,theybecameidioms.Forexample,“burnone’sboats”,whichoriginatesfromahistoricalevent:TheRomanEmperorJuliusCaesarandhisarmycrossedtheRiverRubiconintheirboats,thenCaesarburnedtheboats,tellingthesoldiersthattheyhadnowaybackandhadtofightforwards.Later,itmeansas“破釜沉舟,下定決心干到底”inChinese.3.4EnglishidiomsinproverbsanditstranslationProverbsaresummariesofpeople’slifeexperience,whichfocusondemonstratingprofoundtruth.Forexample,“earlybird”comesfromtheproverb“theearlybirdgetstheworm”,whichmeans“捷足先登”inChinese.“Birdsofafeather”comesfrom“birdsofafeatherflocktogether(物以類聚，人以群分)”.3.5EnglishidiomsincustomsortraditionsanditstranslationInEnglish,“afeatherinyourcap(值得榮耀的事)”comesfromacustomoftheAmericanIndians:Afeatherwillbeaddedtoone’scapwheneverhekilledanenemy,whichshowshiscombatgainsandhonors.Besidesit,thereare“abovethesalt(尊為貴賓，位于上席)”,“l(fā)etthecatoutofthebag(泄漏秘密)”,“givesomebodytheAxe(解雇，開除)”andsoon.3.6Englishidiomsinpeople’sdailylifeanditstranslationSomephilosophicalidiomsthatpeoplegeneralizefromdailylifeexperiencesareoftenusedtowarnandencouragethelatergenerations.Forexample,“beoffthetrack(走入歧途)”,whichcomesfromhunting,“tomakeendsmeet(收支平衡)”,“ascoolascucumber(十分冷靜)”,“spillthebeans(泄漏秘密)”,“everycookpraiseshisownbroth(王婆賣瓜，自賣自夸)”,aspoorasthechurchmouse(一貧如洗)”.Peopleofdifferentprofessionscreatealargenumberofidiomswithregardtotheirwork.ThesameasChina,anagriculture-leadingcountry,hasavarietyofidiomsaboutcattle,whileBritain,withitsprosperousfishery,possessesabundantidiomsaboutfish,waterandboats.Forinstance,“allisfishthatcomestoone’snet(挖到籃里就是菜)”,“misstheboat(坐失良機)”,“inhotwater(進退維谷3.7EnglishidiomsfromanimalsandplacesGeographicalfeatureisoneoftheEnglishidioms’characteristics,whichmeanstherearenumerousidioms,tosomeextent,distinctlyreflectthetraitsofcertainregion.Forexample,“allDutch/Greektome(一竅不通)”,“romanholiday(欣賞別人受苦的娛樂)”,“whenGreekmeetsGreek,thenisthetugofwar(兩雄相遇，其斗必烈)”.Becauseofwolves’hungerandferocity,someidiomsarecreated,suchas“keepthewolffromthedoor(免于饑餓，勉強度日)”,“tohaveawolfinthestomach(形容一個人極度饑餓)”.“Abirdofillomen(不祥之兆)”originatesfromtheancientcustomsofpracticingdivination.Thedodohasakeensenseofsmellandisabletodeterminetheplaceofthedeadbody,sothedodosymbolizesdeath.Becausetheowlcriesbeforethecomingofterribleweather,whichoftenbringsaboutdisease,itisviewedasadishearteningbird,aghastlyone.Thelatergenerationsoftentranslate“abirdofillomen”as“不吉利的人，常帶來不幸消息”.ThedevelopmentandprosperityoftheEnglishidiomsdependonhistoryandculture.Englishidiom,withalargenumberofvocabularies,keepsonincreasingitsquantityandimprovingitsqualityasbefore,whetherinliteralorverballanguage.Asawayforlearningforeignlanguage,studyingandtranslatingEnglishidiomshasthespecialpurposeofdemonstratingone’sknowledgeoftheforeignlanguage,eitherasaformofcontrollingorexercisinghiswisdominordertodevelophiscompetence.AccuratelyproficientintheapplicationofEnglishidiomscouldpromoteone’sabilityoflanguageexpression,andalsomeasureone’slevelofgraspingEnglishlanguage.Inaddition,IsuggestedthatwhilestudyingEnglish,EnglishmajorsshouldconstantlyenlargetheirvocabulariesofChineseidioms,strengthentheirChineseliteraturefoundation,andimprovetheircompetenceoftranslation.TheEnglishwriterJohnO.Londonsays:“Theidiomlikeapixyplaysprankswithspeech,rejoicinginitsfreedomfromallconventionalists.Withouttheidioms,therecanbenovividcommunication.”[7]Thatistosay,withouttheidioms,thelanguagefeaturesofthetextwouldberebated,andtheemotionalandculturalcoloringwouldbedistinctlyaffe