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What does that mean? 你真的瞭解這個慣用語嗎?
【英文學習】
很多字詞並非表面所見的意思，字詞的組合會產生不同的解釋。這樣的慣用法，我們稱之為「比喻」。一個成功的比喻，作者本身必須相當瞭解字詞的源起。以下的句子為讀者介紹一個比喻及其來源。
Imagery buries itself in language and takes on new meaning. The transplanted and transformed sets of words are called “figures of speech.” For a figure of speech to be effective, however, a writer must first understand the original meaning of the phrase. The following sentence contains a common figure of speech. Its original meaning is explained.
“She became such a staunch advocate for her children that, when confronted with the prospect of their criminality, she was blinded by allegiance and couldn’t see the forest for the trees.”
「她堅定地支持自己的子女，即使他們犯罪的可能橫在眼前，她卻被情義蒙蔽，見樹不見林。」
Forests cover about a third of the world’s land mass, so most people know about them. Yet a forest seen from a distance is less than a full exposure to it. What passing motorists see of a forest is its canopy of green and occasional patches of undergrowth in areas of thinning tree stands. A whole different picture emerges when you walk in a forest and the dense undergrowth, including scrub bushes and stunted trees. It is this close-up view that can obscure the grandeur of unbroken square miles of tall and crowded timber. That overall view is blocked by the trees!
森林覆蓋世界約三分之一的土地，所以大多數人對森林都不陌生。不過從遠處看森林，了解的不如深入接觸來得多。駕車開過一片森林，只能看到綠色的樹冠，偶爾在草木稀疏的林地有幾片矮樹叢。但走入森林與濃密的樹叢中（包括矮小的灌木和樹木），眼前浮現的景象將完全不同。這種近距離的觀察，會遮蔽原本延綿不絕、高聳茂密的宏偉樹林，整體景觀將被眼前的樹木掩蓋。
In comparing immersion in a forest with deep involvement in the lives of children, the writer leans on what admittedly is a cliché about trees. The allusion really is about perspective, about how getting too close to someone can render one’s view of the person incomplete and distorted. Emotional attachment and a personal relationship begin to weigh more heavily in judgment of a situation than do fact and reality. The figure of speech about being able to “see” the forest is strengthened in this usage when the writer says the person is “blinded” by her loyalty.
本句用深入樹林，比喻母親陷入子女的人生，所用的固然是關於樹林的陳腔濫調，但實際上要談的是洞察力，說明與人過份親暱，會讓人的觀點殘缺而扭曲。判斷情勢時，情感依附與人際關係的影響，將大於事實真相的重要。這個譬喻提到能 “see”（看到）樹林，由於句中提到母親因對子女的情義所 “blinded”（蒙蔽），因此更加強了這個譬喻的效果。
Imagery buries itself in language and takes on new meaning. The transplanted and transformed sets of words are called “figures of speech.” For a figure of speech to be effective, however, a writer must first understand the original meaning of the phrase. The following sentence contains a common figure of speech. Its original meaning is explained.
“She became such a staunch advocate for her children that, when confronted with the prospect of their criminality, she was blinded by allegiance and couldn’t see the forest for the trees.”
「她堅定地支持自己的子女，即使他們犯罪的可能橫在眼前，她卻被情義蒙蔽，見樹不見林。」
Forests cover about a third of the world’s land mass, so most people know about them. Yet a forest seen from a distance is less than a full exposure to it. What passing motorists see of a forest is its canopy of green and occasional patches of undergrowth in areas of thinning tree stands. A whole different picture emerges when you walk in a forest and the dense undergrowth, including scrub bushes and stunted trees. It is this close-up view that can obscure the grandeur of unbroken square miles of tall and crowded timber. That overall view is blocked by the trees!
森林覆蓋世界約三分之一的土地，所以大多數人對森林都不陌生。不過從遠處看森林，了解的不如深入接觸來得多。駕車開過一片森林，只能看到綠色的樹冠，偶爾在草木稀疏的林地有幾片矮樹叢。但走入森林與濃密的樹叢中（包括矮小的灌木和樹木），眼前浮現的景象將完全不同。這種近距離的觀察，會遮蔽原本延綿不絕、高聳茂密的宏偉樹林，整體景觀將被眼前的樹木掩蓋。
In comparing immersion in a forest with deep involvement in the lives of children, the writer leans on what admittedly is a cliché about trees. The allusion really is about perspective, about how getting too close to someone can render one’s view of the person incomplete and distorted. Emotional attachment and a personal relationship begin to weigh more heavily in judgment of a situation than do fact and reality. The figure of speech about being able to “see” the forest is strengthened in this usage when the writer says the person is “blinded” by her loyalty.
本句用深入樹林，比喻母親陷入子女的人生，所用的固然是關於樹林的陳腔濫調，但實際上要談的是洞察力，說明與人過份親暱，會讓人的觀點殘缺而扭曲。判斷情勢時，情感依附與人際關係的影響，將大於事實真相的重要。這個譬喻提到能 “see”（看到）樹林，由於句中提到母親因對子女的情義所 “blinded”（蒙蔽），因此更加強了這個譬喻的效果。