#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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大家晚安！
今天的影片是名詞複數的教學，我整理了七個重點，涵蓋字尾加上s的規則和發音。網路上已經有很多規則的資料，這支影片我會著重在發音的教學上。英文單字字尾加上s的變化，不是只有複數的情況，還有動詞和所有格。謝謝觀看，歡迎分享與訂閱我的Youtube頻道。

單字字尾 s, sh, ch, x, z + es 發音[ɪz]
1. 單字字尾 s + es
(1) bus 公車 - buses
(2) kiss 親吻 - kisses
(3) glass 玻璃杯 - glasses
(4) dress 洋裝 - dresses

2. 單字字尾 sh + es
(1) dish 盤子 - dishes
(2) wish 願望 - wishes
(3) wash 洗 - washes
(4) brush 刷子 - brushes

3. 單字字尾 ch + es
(1) watch 手錶 - watches
(2) peach 水蜜桃 - peaches
(3) church 教堂 - churches
(4) teach 教書 - teaches

4. 單字字尾 x + es
(1) box 盒子 - boxes
(2) fox 狐狸 - foxes
(3) fix 修理 - fixes
(4) mix 混合 - mixes

5. 單字字尾 z + es
(1) buzz 嗡嗡聲 - buzzes
(2) quiz 小考 - quizzes

單字字尾子音+y，去y加上ies
(1) city 城市 - cities
(2) cherry 櫻桃 - cherries
(3) study 研讀 -studies
(4) dictionary 字典 - dictionaries

單字字尾o + s / es
(1) potato 馬鈴薯 - potatoes
(2) mango 芒果 -mangoes
(3) zoo 動物園 - zoos
(4) photo 照片- photos

單字字尾f/fe + s 或是去掉f/fe加上ves
(1) chief 首領 - chiefs
(2) roof 屋頂 - roofs
(3) knife 刀 - knives
(4) thief 小偷 - thieves

單字字尾發音 [ʒ] 和 [dʒ] 加上的s，發音[ɪz]
(1) garage [gəˋrɑʒ] n. 車庫
複數：garages [gəˋrɑdʒɪz]
(2) orange [ˋɔrɪndʒ] n. 柳橙
複數：oranges [ˋɔrɪndʒɪz]
(3) bridge [brɪdʒ] n. 橋
複數：bridges [ˋbrɪdʒɪz]
(4) language [ˋlæŋgwɪdʒ] n. 語言
複數：languages [ˋlæŋgwɪdʒɪz]

http://lnk.pics/v-2842393

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名詞複數的課程，我整理了七個重點，涵蓋字尾加上s的規則和發音。網路上已經有很多規則的資料，這支影片我會著重在發音的教學上。英文單字字尾加上s的變化，不是只有複數的狀況，還有動詞和所有格。

單字字尾加上s的七個重點：
單字字尾 s, sh, ch, x, z + es 發音[ɪz]
1. 單字字尾 s + es
(1) bus 公車 - buses
(2) kiss 親吻 - kisses
(3) glass 玻璃杯 - glasses
(4) dress 洋裝 - dresses

2. 單字字尾 sh + es
(1) dish 盤子 - dishes
(2) wish 願望 - wishes
(3) wash 洗 - washes
(4) brush 刷子 - brushes

3. 單字字尾 ch + es
(1) watch 手錶 - watches
(2) peach 水蜜桃 - peaches
(3) church 教堂 - churches
(4) teach 教書 - teaches

4. 單字字尾 x + es
(1) box 盒子 - boxes
(2) fox 狐狸 - foxes
(3) fix 修理 - fixes
(4) mix 混合 - mixes

5. 單字字尾 z + es
(1) buzz 嗡嗡聲 - buzzes
(2) quiz 小考 - quizzes

單字字尾子音+y，去y加上ies
(1) city 城市 - cities
(2) cherry 櫻桃 - cherries
(3) study 研讀 -studies
(4) dictionary 字典 - dictionaries

單字字尾o + s / es
(1) potato 馬鈴薯 - potatoes
(2) mango 芒果 -mangoes
(3) zoo 動物園 - zoos
(4) photo 照片- photos

單字字尾f/fe + s 或是去掉f/fe加上ves
(1) chief 首領 - chiefs
(2) roof 屋頂 - roofs
(3) knife 刀 - knives
(4) thief 小偷 - thieves

單字字尾發音 [ʒ] 和 [dʒ] 加上的s，發音[ɪz]
(1) garage [gəˋrɑʒ] n. 車庫
複數：garages [gəˋrɑdʒɪz]
(2) orange [ˋɔrɪndʒ] n. 柳橙
複數：oranges [ˋɔrɪndʒɪz]
(3) bridge [brɪdʒ] n. 橋
複數：bridges [ˋbrɪdʒɪz]
(4) language [ˋlæŋgwɪdʒ] n. 語言
複數：languages [ˋlæŋgwɪdʒɪz]