用词如画：理解明喻

SIMILES 明喻To have a memory like a sieveMeaning: This means that you keep forgetting everything. A sieve is full of tiny holes so a person’s memory is thought of as having many tiny holes which lets everything slip out.意思： 记性极差；丢三落四；记性像筛子一样（什么都记不住）Example:Person A: “Where did you park the car?”A：你把车停哪儿了？Person B: “Oh gosh! I don’t remember.”B：天啊！我不记得了。Person A: “You’ve got a memory like a sieve these days. You can’t seem to remember anything.”A：你最近记性真是差到家了 **，什么都记不住。**To hit you like a ton of bricksMeaning: If something not so good happens very unexpectedly then it ‘hits you like a ton of bricks’, like sudden shocking news.意思： 如晴天霹雳；突如其来、让人震惊Example:When she found out that her ‘so called sister’ was actually her mother, it hit her like a ton of bricks.** 例句：当她发现自己所谓的 “姐姐” 其实是她的亲生母亲时，对她来说简直是晴天霹雳。*Find out = become aware of/obtain information/discover意思：发现；查明To leap like a frogMeaning: To jump up very high.意思： 像青蛙一样跳得很高Example:He leapt up into the air like a frog when his lottery numbers came up. “We’ve won the lottery,” he cried out to his wife.例句：当他的彩票号码中奖时，他像青蛙一样跳了起来 **，对着妻子大喊：“我们中大奖了！”***To come up = be extracted from among many numbers.意思：（彩票）中奖；被抽中To run like the windMeaning: This refers to a person who is a very fast runner.意思： 跑得像风一样快Example:That American athlete can really run like the wind. He is amazing.例句：那位美国运动员跑得像风一样快 **，太厉害了。**To shake like a leafMeaning: This is used to describe a reaction when intense fear is felt.意思： 吓得浑身发抖；抖得像一片叶子Example:I was really shaking like a leaf when the boss called me into his office. I thought he was going to sack me for my late time-keeping but it turned out he wanted to put me in line for promotion. What a relief! All that panic and anxiety was for nothing.例句：老板叫我进办公室的时候，我吓得浑身发抖 **。我以为因为迟到要被开除了，结果他是想提拔我。真是松了一口气！白担心一场。***Turn out = reveal to be意思：结果是；原来是To sleep like a logMeaning: This means that you sleep very well.意思： 睡得像块木头；睡得很沉很香Example:Person A: “Did you hear the storm during the night?”A：昨晚听到暴风雨了吗？Person B: “No I didn’t. I slept like a log all night.”B：没有，我一整晚都睡得很沉。**To sting like a beeMeaning: A bee sting hurts you physically. This simile is also used to describe emotional pain.意思： 像被蜜蜂蜇一样疼；（情感上）刺痛Examples:It really stung like a bee to find out my husband had betrayed me.例句：发现丈夫背叛了我，我心里像被蜜蜂蜇一样刺痛。**Her words really stung like a bee. I will never forget what she said to me.例句：她的话像针一样扎心 **，我永远都忘不了。**To work like clockworkMeaning: If something works like clockwork, then it works perfectly well with no irregularities.意思： 运转精准；运行完美；像钟表一样准时可靠Example:My old radio is now about fifty years old but it still works like clockwork.例句：我的旧收音机已经差不多 50 年了，但仍然运转得非常好。**As agile as a monkeyMeaning: Monkeys are agile animals that are able to swing from tree to tree with so much ease.意思： 像猴子一样灵活敏捷Example:That new Swedish gymnast is as agile as a monkey.例句：那位瑞典新体操运动员像猴子一样灵活。**As alike as two peas in a pod / like two peas in a podMeaning: This means that two people look almost the same. They are so alike that at times you find it difficult to tell one from the other. Peas are identical so if you have two peas, it’s impossible to tell which one is which.意思： 一模一样；像一个模子刻出来的Example:He and his brother are as alike as two peas in a pod. I never know which one is which. They even have the same voices.例句：他和他哥哥长得一模一样 **，我总是分不清谁是谁，连声音都一样。**It is also common to say: He and his brother are like two peas in a pod.也常说：He and his brother are like two peas in a pod.