中英之鑒 中式英語之鑒367

[誤] Do you think you could write something out of nothing? You cannot make a meal without rice. So gather some information first!

[正] Do you think you could write something out of nothing? You cannot make bricks without straw. So gather some information first!

注：米飯對西方人來說并不那么重要，所以把“無米之炊”直譯成英文他們是無法理解的。英語中地道的說法是拿 “磚”和“稻草”做比喻，而且據(jù)說還有來自《圣經(jīng)》的典故呢。