#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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你對德國人的印象？嚴肅？冷漠？

昨天有人問恬恬是不是德國人真的比較嚴肅,包括恬恬以前對德國人的印象就是很愛喝啤酒然後是個嚴肅的民族～直到認識Fabian後接觸了更多德國人,確實發現德國人做事態度認真有效率,如果跟台灣人相比相對真的比較嚴肅一點.......

但當然我們不能就這樣概括所有的德國人,他們有的人工作很認真但是私下也是可以玩得很瘋狂～也有那種工作與生活都是一板一眼的人～還有很熱情會跟你打招呼的人:D

舉幾個例子:

1.工作一板一眼到同事跟你共事時感到無比的壓力

2.工作非常認真有效率,也儘量不讓自己加班這樣才有更多時間陪家人或情人

3.私下玩很瘋的(Fabian):工作績效也很好但是該玩的還是要玩啊！年假絕對要出國旅行或是國定假日一定要參加活動

4.有些人很熱情會跟你打招呼或是無來由就跟隔壁不認識的聊起天來的哈哈哈

5.德國跟法國人比的話, 法國人做事像鍋牛很慢德國人像馬跑很快哈哈哈,法國人的作業員慢到還可以跟隔壁同事聊天＝＝

以上其實就跟大家以為德國人常吃豬腳的刻板印象一樣,其實德國人不是都很嚴肅的喔,看Fabian那些搞笑的照片跟簡訊就知道了~想知道德國到地美食的看這邊喔！
http://tina791115.pixnet.net/blog/post/108795748
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Deutsch lernen:
Deutsche essen nur selten Schweinshaxen.
=德國人很少吃豬腳
1.Deutsch=德國人
2.essen=吃
動詞變化:
ich esse
du isst
er/sie/es isst
wir essen
ihr esst
sie/Sie essen
3.nur=only selten=seldom很少
4.das Schwein=豬 die Haze=蹄 德國很常合併好幾個單字變成一個新的詞彙！像這裡的豬腳就是由豬加蹄合併的噢！
*合併單字時,會看最後面一個單字的詞形來分陰陽性,這裡的蹄是陰性,所以豬腳是陰性喔～
btw 我有時打太長會出現錯字先說聲抱歉
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What do you think of Germans? serious? indifferent?

Yesterday someone asked me if it is true that Germans are more serious than other nationalities. In the past before I met Fabian, I also thought they were very serious and liked to drink a lot of beer. Now I find that they are really hard-working and work very effectively. And compared to Taiwan, they are really a little bit more serious.

However, we cannot generalize ppl like this. They do have ppl who are perfectionist or very correct. But they have also those who have fun. They even have ppl who are too friendly :)

Let me make some examples:

1.Some ask for perfection and correctness at work. Even their colleagues feel very pressured.

2.Some are very hard-working and diligent. But they don't like to work extra hours. They prefer spending time with their family, friends and lovers.

3.Ppl who have a lot of fun. They like to travel around the world when they have vacations. When they have holidays, they like to participate in some activities.

4.Some ppl are so friendly that they will say hi or smile to you. Some can even talk to strangers who sit next to them on train or on bus.

We always think that Germans eat lots of pork knuckles. It's the same idea here. We have too many stereotypes of them :P If you are interested in German dishes, you can read my blog!