live and learn
Profit from experience, as in I ignored the garden book, planted my beans in March, and they all rotted--live and learn . [Second half of 1500s]底下這樣解釋有點勉強
(文化差異)活到老，學到老？
Ruby發表於2007-2-7 9:38:00 陳德彰：北京外國語大學英語系教授 看到live and learn，有人會不假思索地說:“活到老，學到老。”目前國內部分英漢辭典就是這樣譯的，難道這還有錯嗎？但是它確實是錯了。 我們先來看看新版的Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English （Longman出版公司，2003年）是怎麼說的。該詞典live條下的第20條釋義即是you live and learn，其解釋為:used to say that you have just learned something that you did not know before，還註明是spoken（口語）。這是在學到某個新東西（知識）後的一句感嘆。分析一下其結構，等於As long as one lives one can always learn new things.（只要活著，不管年齡多大，總能學到新東西）。 這句話多是那些上歲數的人，尤其是他們本以為自己在某個方面的知識已積累得很多，卻意外地學到新東西時說的。《英漢大詞典》（上海譯文出版社，1991年）提供了三種譯文:“真是活一天學一天”，“真是活到老，學不了（學不完）”，“真想不到”，都比較確切。其實不妨可以譯為:“真沒想到我又學到了一點新東西”或“沒想到原來這裡還有名堂呢！” 漢語中“活到老，學到老”是勸勉人要堅持終生學習，不要自滿的一句諺語，重在“學”的動作或過程，譯成英語應該是“keep studying as long as you live/all your life”。英語中的learn是一個“結果動詞”，強調的是“學會”、“學到”。其實，英語中的連接詞and有很多意思，可以引導出轉折、結果、原因、讓步等等，遠不是一個“和”能概括的。比如把live and learn倒過來，learn and live隱含了不同的結構，相當於“Only after you have learned how to live can you live a good life.”意思是:“只有學會瞭如何生活才能活得有意義”。而live and let live這句英語諺語的意思卻是勸人要互相容忍，尤其要寬容別人:“自己好好活，也要讓別人好好活。” 學英語最難的不是背語法條條，也不是要記許多單詞，而是對看似簡單的詞語有正確的理解，特別要注意英語和漢語不同的習慣用法所表達的意思。一個and就可以有好多意思，你是不是要感嘆live and learn呢？
"Bonnie and Clyde, they lived a lot together/And finally together they died."
"I think there is quite a lot of worry in the health service that these changes are too much too fast," she said.
a lot
Very many, a large number; also, very much. For example, A lot of people think the economy is declining , or Sad movies always made her cry a lot . It is sometimes put as a whole lot for greater emphasis, as in I learned a whole lot in his class . It may also emphasize a comparative indication of amount, as in We need a whole lot more pizza to feed everyone , or Mary had a lot less nerve than I expected . [ Colloquial ; early 1800s]
learn
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