蛇年說“蛇”

今年是蛇年。英語表示“蛇”，有 snake(蛇), serpent(巨蛇), viper(蝰蛇), cobra(眼鏡蛇)等對應(yīng)詞。例如：1. A snake is a crawling animal with a very long thin body and no legs.蛇是一種身體非常細(xì)長而無足的爬行動物。在西方文化中，蛇常使人聯(lián)想到陰險、兇惡和奸詐。例如： 2. Everyone knows the story of how Eve was tempted by the Serpent in Eden.人人都知道夏娃如何被伊甸園之蛇誘惑的故事。snake/viper in one's/the bosom源自伊索寓言，字面意思是“懷中的蛇”，比喻意義是“忘恩負(fù)義的人”。例如：3.Never cherish a serpent in your bosom. 永遠(yuǎn)不要施惠于忘恩負(fù)義之徒。 snake in the grass的比喻意思是“陰險小人”。例如：4. A snake in the grass reported me to my boss.有個陰險小人在老板那里給我打小報告。漢語中有些帶“蛇”的成語，如蛇蝎心腸(have a heart as malicious as snakes and scorpions)，毒如蛇蝎(to be as venomous as snakes and scorpions)，牛鬼蛇神(all sorts of bad characters, wicked people of all descriptions)，地頭蛇(local villain, local bully )等，具有陰險兇惡的含義。另有些帶“蛇”的成語則與陰險兇惡無關(guān)?；㈩^蛇尾( fine start and poor finish)，比喻先緊后松、有始無終的明顯反差。人心不足蛇吞象(to be greedy like a snake that tries to swallow an elephant)比喻人心的貪婪。畫蛇添足(to ruin the effect by adding sth superfluous)和蛇足(sth superfluous)比喻多余的事物。杯弓蛇影(to be extremely nervous or suspicious)比喻緊張猜疑的心情。蛇并不總是負(fù)面的。中國民間故事和傳統(tǒng)戲曲《白蛇傳》(A Tale of the White Snake)塑造了白蛇(the White Snake)和青蛇(the Black Snake)兩個動人的正面藝術(shù)形象。在埃及和印度等國家，耍蛇(snake charming)是一種傳統(tǒng)的民間技藝。這些國家具有與蛇相關(guān)的文化。▲ （本欄目供稿：王逢鑫教授）