#EZTALK #你不知道的美國大小事 #ratVSmouse
🇺🇸 Idioms 美國生活用語：老鼠 rat╱mouse 🐁

說到美國老鼠，你會想到可愛的米老鼠，還是《料理鼠王》裡頭的老鼠？趁鼠年第一天，來介紹老美眼中的老鼠！

💪順便搞懂 rat 跟 mouse 的不同之處吧！

1⃣ rat
2⃣ rat out/on
3⃣ smell a rat
4⃣ the rat race
5⃣ quiet at a mouse
6⃣ poor as a church mouse
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As we enter the Year of the Rat, it’s a good time to think about rodents and their cultural significance. The first animal in the Chinese Zodiac, rats are associated with intelligence, diligence and ambition. And people born in the Year of the Rat can look forward to being wealthy and successful.

鼠年即將到來，正好來介紹一下鼠類跟其文化意涵。身為十二生肖排名第一，老鼠通常會讓我們想到聰明、勤勞且有野心。鼠年出生的人可望成功富有。

In America, however, rats don’t have such a positive image. They are seen as dirty pests that steal food and spread disease. It’s therefore no accident the rat-related idioms are all negative. 1⃣ First, the term “rat” itself. In colloquial American English, a rat is a deceptive, disloyal person or an informant. Ex: Don’t trust Tommy—he’s a rat!

不過在美國，老鼠可就沒有這麼正面的形象。牠們被視為髒東西，愛偷食物並且散播疾病，所以沒有意外地，跟老鼠有關的美國用語都是負面的。首先來看看 rat 這個字，在美式口語英文中，講某人是 rat，就是說他是「騙子、不忠實」，或是「告密者」。如：Don’t trust Tommy—he’s a rat!（別相信湯米，他是個騙子！）

2⃣ “Rat” can also be used in the verb phrase “rat out/on,” which means “to inform on sb.” Ex: The thief ratted out his accomplices to avoid jail time. 3⃣Another phrase is “smell a rat,” which means “to suspect an instance of wrongdoing, deception or betrayal.” Ex: The witness smelled a rat when he saw the suspect leaving the scene of the crime. 4⃣Finally, “the rat race” describes the intense competition and long hours of the urban work environment. Ex: Eric dreamed of leaving the rat race and buying a small farm.

因此 rat 也可延伸作為動詞：rat out/on，指「出賣某人」，如：The thief ratted out his accomplices to avoid jail time.（那個小偷出賣他的同夥逃避坐牢。）另一個片語則是 smell a rat，指「發覺有可疑之處」，如：The witness smelled a rat when he saw the suspect leaving the scene of the crime.（目擊者看到嫌犯離開案發現場時覺得行為可疑。）最後是 the rat race，用來形容職場競爭激烈且工時長的現象。如：Eric dreamed of leaving the rat race and buying a small farm.（艾瑞克夢想著離開這競爭激烈的工作環境，去鄉下種田。）

While the Chinese “shu” is usually translated as “rat,” it can also refer to mice. And mice have a slightly better reputation in English than rats. Mice are small, quiet and shy, so 5⃣ “quiet at a mouse” refers to someone who is shy and timid. Ex: The new student in our class is quiet as a mouse. 6⃣And if someone is “poor as a church mouse,” they’re really poor. This is because churches usually don’t usually store food, so mice who lived in them would have nothing to eat. Ex: My parents were poor as a church mouse when I was born.

雖然中文字「鼠」常常翻作 rat「大老鼠」，不過也可以指 mouse（複數形 mice）「小老鼠」。在英文中，小老鼠的形象比大老鼠稍微好些。小老鼠體型較小，安靜又害羞，所以 quiet as a mouse 可以用來形容某人「害羞膽怯的」，如：The new student in our class is quiet as a mouse.（我們班新來的學生很害羞。）要是說某人 poor as a church mouse，就是說他們「非常窮」。由來是因為教堂通常不會儲藏食物，所以住在教堂裡的老鼠根本沒東西可吃。如：My parents were poor as a church mouse when I was born.（我父母在我出生時候非常窮。）

【✍重點單字】
1. rodent「嚙齒類動物」
2. Chinese Zodiac「十二生肖」：zodiac指西洋占星的十二星座。
3. diligence「勤奮」：當名詞，形容詞 diligent。
4. it’s no accident that…「沒有意外，……」
5. colloquial「口語的」：相對於書寫文字而言，較不正式的說法。
6. deceptive「愛騙人、說謊的」：當形容詞，名詞 deception。
7. informant「告密者」
8. urban「都市的」：相反詞為 rural「鄉下的」。
9. reputation「名聲」

#鼠年行大運 #鼠錢鼠不完
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🔔 按下「搶先看」，每週五【美國大小事】，由 Judd 編審分享最即時美國新鮮事！想知道更多美國文化，請看 👉 http://bit.ly/EZTalk嚴選

在巴黎的第二天，繼續探索各種移民地景。早上來到亞洲移民區Belleville裡兼賣中式早餐的豆腐店，他們非常「不務正業」的做出了超級好吃、連在台灣都有辦法大賣的包子和鹹豆花，是前一兩個月來我妹一直向我推薦的愛店。附近的地景不意外的很有華人特色，帶點西洋古典味的典型歐洲樓房外面貼著中文招牌，人行道上還有把青菜攤在地上賣的小販，即使是在有著歐洲浪漫風情的巴黎，一看就知道是華人區。

Continued exploring immigration landscapes in Paris. We got breakfast in Belleville, an extended Asian neighborhood. A tofu shop made very impressive buns, soy milk and tofu pudding, even better than those I found in Taiwan and China. While the neighborhood is full of typical Paris architecture, shops here are marked with Chinese characters, and vendors spread out fresh vegetables on sidewalks. A very interesting mixture of the East and the West.

羅浮宮北部不遠處的Rue Sainte-Anne則是小東京所在，數十家日本餐廳沿著狹小的街道排列著，其中大部分店面都很小，門外都有法國人大排長龍，和在東京市區小巷裡所見有些神似。

Few blocks from Louvre is Paris' Little Tokyo. Dozens of Japanese restaurants sprawl along the narrow Rue Sainte-Anne, and most of them are quite small. Guests formed lines outside when I visited. Similar to what I saw in Tokyo's side streets.

下午來到巴黎的英語教會禮拜。在美國住久了，開始會不自覺的把英文當標準語言、將使用其他語言的人看成少數族群，但到了巴黎情況就反過來了，講英文的人是少數，這個教會的存在就如同美國的各種移民教會，是身為少數族群的英語使用者在異鄉的避風港。

We attended a worship service at a English-speaking church. Having been in the US for years, I often consider English as the only default language for everyone; in Paris, however, English-speaking people is minority. The role of an English-speaking church is very similar to the minority churches in the US, where people from English-speaking countries found their folks in a foreign country.

晚餐以四川烤魚結束這兩天很不巴黎的巴黎小旅行，準備明天一早明天正式踏上非洲大陸。

Ended the unique two-day excursion in Paris with Sichuan-style roasted fish. Will officially land my feet on Africa tomorrow!

I went out to Kazan with my friends who I met in the Chinese class.
Kazan is a history city which over thousands years.
There are two main churches here. One is Christian and the another is Muslim.
I am so happy that my friends taking me to show around this city.
They give me a sweet gift from cheboksary❤️️❤️️❤️️❤️️
How sweet you guys are.
Thank you guys so so much ❤️❤️

今天和中文班的四位俄羅斯美少女陪我一起去Kazan
這個聽說美到不行的城市逛逛❤️
與莫斯科和聖彼得堡同為三座A級超過1000年的歷史文化城市
也是俄羅斯的運動之都！
這裡有兩座主要的教堂，一個是基督教、一個是穆斯林。
我很感謝我的俄羅斯朋友帶我一起逛這裡❤️
還給我一個超驚喜的禮物。
我愛你們真的❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

*拼音*

Jīntiān hé zhōngwén bān de sì wèi èluósī měi shàonǚ péi wǒ yīqǐ qù Kazan
zhège tīng shuō měi dào bùxíng de chéngshì guàng guàng ❤️
yǔ mòsīkē hé shèngbǐdebǎo tóng wèi sān zuò A jí chāoguò 1000 nián de lìshǐ wénhuà chéngshì
yěshì èluósī de yùndòng zhī dū!
Zhè li yǒu liǎng zuò zhǔyào de jiàotáng, yīgè shì jīdūjiào, yīgè shì mùsīlín.
Wǒ hěn gǎnxiè wǒ de èluósī péngyǒu dài wǒ yīqǐ guàng zhèlǐ ❤️
hái gěi wǒ yīgè chāo jīngxǐ de lǐwù.
Wǒ ài nǐmen zhēn de ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️