3/31/2008

嚥一下,跳不起來(那,多嚥幾下總行吧?)One Swallow Doesn't Make a Spring…

益友們談到亞里斯多德有言:One swallow does not make a summer, nor does one day.

啊?嚥一下夏天不來?那嚥他個好幾下,夏天總要來報到了吧?這鶯鶯燕燕,哦不!中英「燕」「嚥」,swallow、swallow,顯然似是循著同一造字原則誕生的嘛!

一燕不成夏,一天都不成。然而余光中大師也說了,西班牙人、英國人都說一隻燕子不能成為夏天,法國人、意大利人卻說一隻燕子不能成為春天。這隻南來燕的飛行路徑還真迂迴古怪,會不會是英國佬英譯亞氏《尼克馬可斯倫理學》(Nicomachean Ethics*)時,為配合本土北國氣候,偷春換夏,把希臘的春改成了英格蘭的夏?

* 此書書名來歷,眾說紛紜。不知是因為亞里斯多德寫給兒子Nicomachus,還是因為兒子Nicomachus將之編纂成書。

一花獨放不是春、一燕飛來不是夏、單絲不成線、獨木不成林、孤陰不生、獨陽不長。反正 statistically,偏不能概全,單個兒就是不行,一定要百花怒放、群燕嬉春、眾志成城、集腋成裘、中西合璧、內外交加、裡應外合...sorry, whenever playing with words, 丁丁 always tends to get carried away(興奮激動得手舞足蹈,失控 high 到不行,不知節制,玩得過火)…

言歸正傳,照例請出姑姑 (google) 教我們句型練習:

One Whatever Doesn't Make A(n) Whatever

正用、反用、變用,妙在一心。句型在手,其用無窮!

先來句正面的:
One man with courage makes a majority (一夫當關,萬夫莫敵。一個好漢勝無數)

春花秋月用:
One crow/raven does not make a winter (一鴉不成冬)
One flake does not make a winter season (一片雪花不成冬)

應付不同意見者用:
One opinion doesn't make a consensus (你一人見識不是共識,我的意見才是公論)
One example does not make an argument(個例說服不了人,你給我多舉幾個例子看看!)
One visit does not make an expert (蜻蜓點水走馬看花,稱不了專家)

團結力量大勵志用:
One grain does not make a heap (單米難成倉)
One drop does not make an ocean (滴水不成海)
One player doesn't make a team(單兵不成軍)
One musician does not make an orchestra (一個樂師不成樂團)
One person does not make an organization (單人不成單位)

以此類推,敬請愛用者自由發揮...

打擊樂用:(這裡的「樂」是破音字)
One hot line does not make a verse(半句激情不成詩)
One line does not make a song (區區一句算不得歌)
One song does not make an album (單曲不成集、發不了片...誰說的?)
One good book does not make an author good (寫一本好書算不得好,本本都好才好)
One piece of a broken vase does not make a vase (破瓶不瓶、破鏡不鏡)

阿Q專用:
One defeat does not make a bad team (輸一次算什麼?--別忘了可以屢敗屢戰嘛)
One case does not make an outbreak (個別案例哪算疫情爆發?防疫局、農會發言人最好的說法)
One poll does not make an election(區區一次民調不作數:早贏不算贏、早輸也算不得輸。民調落後者的最佳自我安慰...but two bullets do make a president!)

公司行號政府機關業績請用:
One data* point doesn't make a trend (賺/賠一次不是賺/賠,好一下不是從此太平)

* data point 可用 day、week、month、quarter、season、year等代入之。

對號入座自用:One-liner English does not make you a fluent speaker (會幾句俏皮話,不表示你英語就行~~噢噢,趕緊閉嘴!)

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