谚语智慧：拙匠总怪工具差

谚语（中英对照） PROVERBS A bad workman always blames his tools 拙匠总怪工具差。Meaning: A person who has done something badly will try to blame their tools rather than admit they have no skill for the job.意思：做事做得不好的人，总会想方设法怪罪工具，而不肯承认自己本事不行。 A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush 一鸟在手，胜过双鸟在林。Meaning: It is better to keep what you have than risk losing it for something better.意思：珍惜已拥有的，总好过为了追求看似更好、却不一定能得到的东西，而冒失去一切的风险。 Example: I have £10,000. If I invest it to try to double it, I may risk losing all of it. It is safer to keep what you have and not try to risk going after something you are unsure of.例句：我现在有1万英镑。如果拿去投资想翻倍，有可能血本无归。守住现有的、不去冒险追求不确定的东西会更稳妥。 A fool at forty is a fool forever 四十不惑仍愚钝，终身难改是愚人。Meaning: If a person isn’t mature by the time they reach the age of 40, then there is no hope of them ever changing.意思：如果一个人到了40岁还不成熟，那他基本也就不会再有什么改变了。 A fool and his money are easily parted 愚人守不住钱财。Meaning: This proverb has the literal meaning. Money does not last long with foolish people. They spend it all very unwisely on stupid things.意思：这句谚语字面意思即可理解。愚蠢的人留不住钱，总会不明智地把钱花在荒唐事上。 A leopard can’t change its spots 江山易改，本性难移。Meaning: This means that you cannot change a person’s character even more so if it is bad.意思：一个人的本性是很难改变的，品行不好的人更是如此。 A stitch in time saves nine 小洞不补，大洞吃苦。Meaning: This means that if there is a problem that needs to be solved today, then solve it as tomorrow it could be worse and take more time to solve. If there is a hole in your jeans, then you should stitch them now or the hole will be bigger tomorrow therefore taking up more of your time.意思：今天该解决的问题就要及时解决，拖到明天只会更糟，要花更多时间。比如牛仔裤破了个洞，现在就缝好，不然明天洞会更大，反而更费时间。 Take up (time or space) = occupy占用（时间或空间）= 占据 A watched pot never boils 心急水不沸。Meaning: If you want to heat water until it boils, and you watch it while you wait, then it seems to take a very long time. In the same way, anything that we wait for with eager attention seems to take a very long time: like waiting for someone to arrive, waiting for the phone to ring, waiting for a letter to come. It is better to do something to distract yourself while waiting.意思：你盯着水壶等水开，反而觉得时间特别漫长。同理，越是焦急地等待一件事，越觉得度日如年：比如等人、等电话、等信件。等待时最好找点事做分散注意力。