rat和mouse的区分(rat和mouse的短语也要学起来啦)

今年是农历鼠年,在英语里一般用the Year of the Rat来表示,当然用the Year of the Mouse来表示也没错。

rat和mouse的区分(rat和mouse的短语也要学起来啦)(1)

[Photo/unstamps.org]

不知道是不是因为米老鼠的形象太深入人心,大部分人看到mouse这个词就会觉得是可爱的,惹人喜爱的形象,而看到rat这个词就会想到“一只老鼠坏了一锅汤”之类的负面形象。

从体型上来说,rat的体型比mouse稍大,一般有鸽子那么大,而mouse的体型较小,跟麻雀差不多。

Rat多生活在室外,最常见的有褐鼠(brown rat)、黑老鼠(black rat),还有田鼠(field rat)、大足鼠(Himalayan field rat)等,一般破坏性较强,且会引发并传播鼠疫(bubonic plague)。

Mouse则多指家鼠(house mouse),一般藏在家中偷吃食物,如今也有人将mouse当作宠物来养。

值得注意的是,rat的复数形式是rats,而mouse的复数形式是mice,可不要搞错了呀。

下面就跟着我们学几个rat和mouse相关的英语短语吧。

rat和mouse的区分(rat和mouse的短语也要学起来啦)(2)

Photo by Zdeněk Macháček on Unsplash

rat race 激烈的竞争;残酷、高压的生存环境

He decided to get out of the rat race, and went to work on a farm.他决定摆脱这种高压的工作状态,去一个农场工作。

smell a rat 觉得哪里不对,起疑心

He's been working late with her every night this week - I smell a rat!他这周每天晚上都跟她工作到很晚,我觉得不对劲!

lab rat (实验室里的)小白鼠;长期泡在实验室的研究生;实验对象

He is in love with a lab rat and they haven't seen each other for three months.他爱上了一个实验室狂魔,他们已经3个月没见面了。

Not all the human lab rats in this study fully understood the potential consequences.并不是所有的人类实验对象都完全了解这个实验可能导致的后果。

rat's nest 一团乱麻;乱作一团;乱得像猪窝

We just moved in, and the place is a rat's nest.我们刚搬进去,这地方简直是个猪窝。

rat和mouse的区分(rat和mouse的短语也要学起来啦)(3)

Photo by Kyle DeSantis on Unsplash

mouse potato 电脑狂人(长时间使用电脑的人)

I can't believe I spend 10 hours a day on the internet. I'm such a mouse potato!真不敢相信我一天在网上的时间有10个小时,我真是个电脑狂人!

poor as a church mouse 穷得叮当响;一贫如洗

You want to borrow money from him? He is as poor as a church mouse.你想从他那里借钱?他可是一贫如洗。

quiet as a mouse 悄无声息;沉默寡言

She was as quiet as a mouse that nobody noticed her presence. 她不声不响,以至于没人意识到她也在场。

play cat and mouse 玩猫捉老鼠

Stop playing cat and mouse with me and tell me what you really want.别跟我玩猫捉老鼠了,直接告诉我你想要什么。

Mickey Mouse 业余的;小儿科的;毫无价值的

His Mickey Mouse assignments soon bored the students.学生们很快就对他那些小儿科的作业生厌了。

(中国日报网英语点津 马文英)

来源:中国日报网

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