了解西方文化西方文化论文

Don't swap (change) horses in midstream.
    过河不可中途换马。一旦决定做一件事情，就要保持方法的连续性，切忌中途换将。这就要求人们“ look before you leap ”，三思而后行，想好了再做决定。
    e.g. “It is not a good idea to swap horses in midstream”, he said. “Unless your appointee, the top manager, has made a terrible mistake, it is better to stick it out with him for the moment. Otherwise, the staff of the entire office will feel unsafe.”
    The child is the father of the man.
    三岁看小，七岁看老。一个人日后的性格特征、兴趣爱好，其实在孩提时代就已有所显露，家庭和学校环境对孩子人格的形成有着巨大影响。这一谚语出自英国诗人 John Milton 的“ The childhood shows the man, the morning shows the day. ”
    e.g. No wonder he is such a nuisance and is disliked by his colleagues. At school, he was already a mean and nasty tough, constantly engaged in fist fights with his peers. Rightly they say the child is the father of the man.
    When the cat's away, the mice will play.
    猫一不在家，老鼠就造反了。这也就是中文里常说的“山中无老虎，猴子称大王”。在提及这句谚语的时候，人们往往批评猴子和老鼠的造次，却不曾想过它们得以造次的原因在于监督机制的失效。与之同理的是遏制腐败问题。有人说权力导致腐败，绝对权力导致绝对腐败，这话不无道理。同样，要遏制腐败，依靠“用笔在心，心正则笔正”的道德力量远远不够，完善制约机制、使权力时刻处在众人的监督之下才能防患于未然——听起来很不浪漫，但历史就是这样。
    e.g. That the mice will play when the cat's away is no fault of the mice. Absence of monitoring is responsible for corruption.
    If every man would sweep his own doorstep, the city would soon be clean.
    这句意大利谚语与中谚的“各人自扫门前雪，休管他人瓦上霜”有着完全不同的含义。前者强调的是：只要每个公民都尽自己的义务，整个社会就会受益。而后者谴责的是一种事不关己，高高挂起的态度。与此有关的，还有另一句谚语： Every man for himself, and the devil takes the hindmost.
    e.g. It appears to be hard to draw a clear distinction between deciding a question of right and wrong for oneself and deciding it for others. If every man would sweep his own doorstep, the city would be clean.
    The pen is mightier than the sword.
    笔有时比剑更有力，思想和宣传的力量不可低估。古往今来江南文人的“刀笔利”文风使历代统治者想尽办法笼络和控制知识分子，不敢轻怠。类似的西谚还有： A goose quill is more dangerous than a lion's clout.
    e.g. Don't ever neglect the role of the press. Always bear in mind the old adage, “The pen is mightier than the sword.”
    Don't teach your grandmother to suck eggs.
    姜是老的辣；酒是陈年香。我们提倡独立思考，要敢于创新，但却不应该“班门弄斧”。有人问牛顿“为什么你比别人看得远？”牛顿答“因为我站在巨人的肩膀上。”这句名言应该引以为鉴。
    e.g. In our trade, there are always thousands of young women who want to teach their grandmothers to suck eggs. You should know better and not repeat their mistakes.
    If the sky falls, we shall catch larks.
    lark 是“云雀”。这句谚语与中文的说法“异想天开；天上掉馅饼”意思相似。
    e.g. He thought the authorities will approve of his grandiose project and he will receive their generous funding, but it can't be possible just as we shan't catch larks unless the sky falls.
    Greatest talkers are the least doers.
    “爱叫的麻雀四两肉，爱叫的母鸡不生蛋。”我国类似的俗语和谚语颇多，说明现实生活中总不免有这类只动嘴不动手的人，切不可为他们的花言巧语所迷惑。
    e.g. You're making the biggest mistake in your life if you fall for his empty talk. He never bothers to carry out his words. Remember, greatest talkers are the least doers.
    Kill the goose that lays the golden egg.
    西谚这一说法类似中文中的“杀鸡取蛋”，指的是那些急功近利，不顾一切后果的短视做法，结果往往适得其反。道理看似简单，然而这种愚蠢的做法在现实中却屡次上演。
    e.g. He thought he was very clever downsizing his company to lay off some of his promotion staff, actually he was “killing the goose that lays the golden egg”.