English 中文網 漫畫網 愛新聞iNews 翻譯論壇
    中國網站品牌欄目(頻道)
    當前位置: Language Tips > Special Speed News VOA慢速

    Words and their stories: English expressions with kick

    [ 2011-07-28 11:56]     字號 [] [] []  
    免費訂閱30天China Daily雙語新聞手機報:移動用戶編輯短信CD至106580009009

    Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

    (MUSIC)

    From birth to death, the word kick has been given an important part in expressing human experience. The proud and happy mother feels the first signs of life kicking inside her womb. And that same life -- many years later -- comes to its end in a widely-used expression, to kick the bucket, meaning to die.

    The expression to kick the bucket is almost 200 years old. One belief is that it started when an English stableman committed suicide by hanging himself while standing on a pail, or bucket. He put a rope around his neck and tied it to a beam in the ceiling, and then kicked the bucket away from under him.

    After a while, to die in any way was called kicking the bucket.

    Another old expression that comes from England is to kick over the traces, meaning to resist the commands of one's parents, or to oppose or reject authority. Traces were the chains that held a horse or mule to a wagon or plow. Sometimes, an animal rebelled and kicked over the traces.

    The word kick sometimes is used to describe a complaint or some kind of dissatisfaction. Workers, for example, kick about long hours and low pay.

    There are times when workers are forced to kick back some of their wages to their employers as part of their job. This kickback is illegal. So is another kind of kickback: a secret payment made by a supplier to an official who buys supplies for a government or company.

    Kick around is a phrase that is heard often in American English. A person who is kicked around is someone who is treated badly. Usually, he is not really being kicked by somebody's foot. He is just not being treated with the respect that all of us want.

    A person who has kicked around for most of his life is someone who has spent his life moving from place to place. In this case, kicking around means moving often from one place to another.

    Kick around has a third meaning when you use it with the word idea. When you kick around an idea, you are giving that idea some thought.

    There is no physical action when you kick a person upstairs, although the pain can be as strong. You kick a person upstairs by removing him from an important job and giving him a job that sounds more important, but really is not.

    Still another meaning of the word kick is to free oneself of a bad habit, such as smoking cigarettes. Health campaigns urge smokers to kick the habit.

    (MUSIC)

    This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, was written by Marilyn Rice Christiano. Maurice Joyce was the narrator. I'm Shirley Griffith.

    kick: to hit somebody/something with your foot 踢;踹

    kick the bucket: to die 死;翹辮子;蹬腿兒

    kick over the traces: to start to behave badly and refuse to accept any discipline or control(開始)不聽話,不守規矩,不受管束

    kickback: money paid illegally to somebody in return for work or help(不合法的)回扣,酬金,傭金

    kick around: 1.【口】粗暴而輕率地對待;仗勢欺人;2. 流浪;常換行業;3. 從各個角度考慮(調查、討論)

    kick a person upstairs: 使某人明升暗降;以升遷為名排斥某人

    kick the habit: 戒除嗜好;戒除惡習

    Related stories:

    Words and their stories: all about eyes

    Words and their stories: expressions involving the nose and the ears

    Words and their stories: when the cat's away

    Words and their stories: Hobson's choice

    (來源:VOA 編輯:實習生高美)

     
    中國日報網英語點津版權說明:凡注明來源為“中國日報網英語點津:XXX(署名)”的原創作品,除與中國日報網簽署英語點津內容授權協議的網站外,其他任何網站或單位未經允許不得非法盜鏈、轉載和使用,違者必究。如需使用,請與010-84883631聯系;凡本網注明“來源:XXX(非英語點津)”的作品,均轉載自其它媒體,目的在于傳播更多信息,其他媒體如需轉載,請與稿件來源方聯系,如產生任何問題與本網無關;本網所發布的歌曲、電影片段,版權歸原作者所有,僅供學習與研究,如果侵權,請提供版權證明,以便盡快刪除。
     

    關注和訂閱

    人氣排行

    翻譯服務

    中國日報網翻譯工作室

    我們提供:媒體、文化、財經法律等專業領域的中英互譯服務
    電話:010-84883468
    郵件:translate@chinadaily.com.cn
     
     
    A狠狠久久蜜臀婷色中文网| 日本久久久久久中文字幕| 免费精品久久久久久中文字幕| 亚洲V无码一区二区三区四区观看 亚洲爆乳精品无码一区二区三区 亚洲爆乳无码一区二区三区 | 免费看又黄又无码的网站| 中文字幕久久精品无码| 久久亚洲精品无码AV红樱桃| 亚洲美日韩Av中文字幕无码久久久妻妇| 超清无码一区二区三区| 亚洲无码在线播放| 久久无码AV中文出轨人妻| 中文字幕无码人妻AAA片| 国产亚洲?V无码?V男人的天堂| 亚洲热妇无码AV在线播放| 人妻精品久久久久中文字幕| 中文字幕在线亚洲精品| 精品一区二区无码AV| 人妻丰满av无码中文字幕| 中文有码vs无码人妻| 无码任你躁久久久久久老妇App | 国产 亚洲 中文在线 字幕| 精品无码人妻一区二区三区品| 八戒理论片午影院无码爱恋| 欧美日韩中文在线| 中文一国产一无码一日韩| 在线观看免费无码视频| 久久精品无码一区二区三区日韩 | 亚洲av福利无码无一区二区| 狠狠躁天天躁中文字幕无码| 精品久久久久久久中文字幕| 国产中文字幕视频| 欧美日韩国产中文字幕| 国产一区三区二区中文在线 | 中文字幕日韩人妻不卡一区| 中文字幕视频免费| 久久精品中文字幕有码| 天堂最新版中文网| 日韩精品中文字幕第2页| 中文字幕亚洲图片| 中文字幕av无码专区第一页| 亚洲AV无码码潮喷在线观看|