英语词汇典故(求:英文单词方面的典故)
1.求:英文单词方面的典故
cry wolf 虚发警报；慌报险情；危言耸听 bell the cat 自告奋勇去冒险；老虎头上拍苍蝇a dog in the manger 占着茅坑不拉屎的人 Fish in Troubled Waters浑水摸鱼；趁火打劫；陷于混乱cat's paw 被他人利用的人；受人愚弄者Pull the chestnuts out of the fire火中取栗；替别人冒险attic salt优雅的俏皮话；妙语john bull(s)约翰牛；英国佬Grin like a cheshire cat咧嘴傻笑；露齿嬉笑A storm in a Teacup杯水风波；小题大做；大惊小怪a tower of ivory 或an ivory tower象牙之塔；世外桃源have an axe to grind别有用心；另有企图；怀有私心separate the sheep from the goats区别好坏，分清良莠 a Cleopatra（克娄巴特拉），指绝代佳人——这是莎士比亚戏剧《安东尼和克娄巴特拉》中的人物。
a Shylock（夏洛克），指贪婪、残忍、追求钱财、不择手段的守财权——这是另一个莎士比亚戏剧《威尼斯商人》中的人物。a Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde（吉基尔医生和海德先生），指有双重性格的人；一方面善良、温和（吉基尔医生），另一方面凶恶、残暴（海德先生）——这是史蒂文生的小说《吉基尔医生和海德先生传》中的人物。
a Frankenstein（弗兰金斯坦；人们常说“制造一个弗兰金斯坦”），指杀伤原制造者的怪物或东西，也指制造这种东西的人以及可伯的怪物或人——这是玛丽·雪莱的小说《弗兰金斯坦》中的人物。这本书的主人公是医学院的学生。
他把尸体中的骨头取来，制造了一个似人的怪物，最后自己被这个怪物杀害。a Sherlock Holmes（歇洛克·福尔摩斯），指有非凡才能的侦探或敏锐精明的人，这种人善于通过仔细观察、科学分析和逻辑推理，进行追捕或解决疑难问题——歇洛克·福尔摩斯是阿瑟·柯南道尔著名侦探。
1. an apple of discordany subject of disagreement and contention, the root of the trouble, dispute不和之因；祸根eg: he throwing us an apple of discord, we soon quarreled again.The dispute about inheriting estate formed an apple of discord between themThis problem seem to be an apple of discord between the Soviet Union and the USA. 2. The heel of Achilles/the Achilles' heela week point in sth that is otherwise without fault; the weakest spoteg: The shortage of fortitude is his heel of Achilles.His Achilles' heel was his pride—he would get very angry if anyone criticized his work.English might be his Achilles' heel.3.Helen of Troy:a beauty who ruins her country. A terrible disaster brought by somebody or sth you like best.eg: It is unfair that historians always attribute the fall of kingdoms to Helen of Troy.She didn't think of the beautiful umbrella bought the day before should become a Helen of Troy in her family. Because of this she and her husband quarreled for a long time.4.The Trojan horse: the hidden danger; the covert wreckers; to engage in underhand activitiesThe superpowers are always sending the Trojan Horses to many countries in the world.They are defeated only because of the Trojan horse to many countries in the world.They are defeated only because of the Trojan horse in their country.5.Greek Gifts:a gift with some sinister purpose of the enemy. A gift sent in order to murder somebody. = when the fox preaches, take care of your geese.1.he is always buying you expensive clothes, I'm afraid they are Greek gifts for you.2.Comrades, be on guard against the Greek gifts.6.A Penelope's web, the web of Penelope:a chaste woman, a Penelope's web, the tactics of delaying sth on purpose; the task that can never be finished.1. Mr. Jones made a long speech at the meeting. Everyone else though it a Penelope's web.7.Swan Song: black swan. A last or fare well appearance; the last work before death.1. all the tickets have been sold for the singer's performance in London this week----the public clearly believes that this will be her swan song.2. The Tempest was Shakespeare's swan song in 1612.3. before turning over the gavel, he delivered the swan song as chairman of the board.4. this building turned out to be the swan song of Victorian architecture.8.Win/gain laurels: to win reputation; to acquire honor.9.To look to one's laurels: to beware of losing one's reputation; to keep one's record from being beaten by others. 卫冕。
2.英语单词的故事
January——1月在罗马传说中，有一位名叫雅努斯的守护神，生有先后两副脸，一副回顾过去，一副要眺望未来。
人们认为选择他的名字作为除旧迎新的第一个月月名，很有意义。英语January，便是由这位守护神的拉丁文名字January演变而来的。
February——2月每年2 月初，罗马人民都要杀牲饮酒，欢庆菲勃卢姆节。这一天，人们常用一种牛、草制成的名叫Februa的鞭子，抽打不育的妇女，以求怀孕生子。
这一天，人们还要忏悔自己过去一年的罪过，洗刷自己的灵魂，求得神明的饶恕，使自己成为一个贞洁的人。英语2月February，便是由拉丁文Februar-ius（即菲勃卢姆节）演变而来。
March-----3月3月，原是罗马旧历法的1 月，新年的开始。凯撒大帝改革历法后，原来的1月变成3月，但罗马人仍然把3 月看做是一年的开始。
另外，按照传统习惯，3月是每年出征远战的季节。为了纪念战神玛尔斯，人们便把这位战神的拉丁名字作为3月的月名。
英语3月March，便是由这位战神的名字演变而来的。April——4月罗马的4月，正是大地回春.鲜花初绽的美好季节。
英文4月April便由拉丁文April（即开花的日子）演变而来。May——5月罗马神话中的女神玛雅，专门司管春天和生命。
为了纪念这位女神，罗马人便用她的名字——拉丁文Maius命名5月，英文5月May便由这位女神的名字演变而来。June——6月罗马神话中的裘诺，是众神之王，又是司管生育和保护妇女的神。
古罗马对她十分崇敬，便把6月奉献给她，以她的名字——拉丁文Junius来命名6 月。英语6月June便由这位女神的名字演变而来。
也有学者认为，Junius可能是个代拉丁家族中一个显赫贵族的姓氏。July——7月罗马统治者朱里斯*凯撒大帝被刺死后，著名的罗马将军马克*按东尼建议将凯撒大帝诞生的7月，用凯撒的名字——拉丁文Julius（即朱里斯）命名之。
这一建议得到了元老院的通过。英语7月July由此演变而来。
August——8月朱里斯*凯撒死后，由他的甥孙屋大维续任罗马皇帝。为了和凯撒齐名，他也想用自己的名字来命名一个月份。
他的生日在9月，但他选定8月。因为他登基后，罗马元老院在8 月授予他Augustus（奥古斯都）的尊号。
于是，他决定用这个尊号来命名8月。原来8月比7月少一天，为了和凯撒平起平坐，他又决定从2月中抽出一天加在8月上。
从此，2月便少了一天。英语8月August便由这位皇帝的拉丁语尊号演变而来。
September——9月老历法的7月，正是凯撒大帝改革历法后的9月，拉丁文Septem是“7”月的意思。虽然历法改革了，但人们仍袭用旧名称来称呼9月。
英语9月September，便由 此演变而来。October——10月英语10月，来自拉丁文Octo，即“8”的意思。
它和上面讲的9月一样，历法改了，称呼仍然沿用未变。November——11月罗马皇帝奥古斯都和凯撒都有了自己名字命名的月份，罗马市民和元老院要求当时的罗马皇帝梯比里乌斯用其名命名11月。
但梯比里乌斯没有同意，他明智地对大家说，如果罗马每个皇帝都用自己的名字来命名月份，那么出现了第13个皇帝怎么办？于是，11月仍然保留着旧称Novem，即拉丁文“9”的意思。英语11月November便由此演变而来。
3.英语单词及其故事
Suffolk PunchThe Suffolk Punch, also historically known as the Suffolk Horse or Suffolk Sorrel,[1] is an English breed of draught horse. The breed takes the first part of its name from the county of Suffolk in East Anglia, and the name "Punch" from its solid appearance and strength.[2] It is a heavy draught horse which is always chestnut in colour, although the colour is traditionally spelled "chesnut" by the breed registries. Suffolk Punches are known as good doers, and tend to have energetic gaits.The breed was developed in the early 16th century, and remains similar in phenotype to its founding stock. The Suffolk Punch was developed for farm work, and gained popularity during the early 20th century. However, as agriculture became increasingly mechanised, the breed fell out of favour, particularly from the middle part of the century, and almost disappeared completely. Although the breed's status is listed as critical by the UK Rare Breeds Survival Trust and the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, there has been a resurgence in interest, and population numbers are increasing. As well as being used for farm work, the breed pulled artillery and non-motorised commercial vans and buses. It was also exported to other countries to upgrade local equine stock. Punches generally stand 16.1 to 17.2 hands tall (65 to 70 inches/165 to 178 centimetres),[3], weigh 1,980 to 2,200 pounds (900 to 1,000 kg),[4] and are always chestnut in colour. The traditional spelling, still used by the Suffolk Horse Society, is "chesnut" (with no "t" in the middle of the word).[1] Horses of the breed come in many different shades of chestnut, ranging from dark to red to light.[5] Suffolk horse breeders in the UK use several different colour terms specific to the breed, including dark liver, dull dark, red and bright.[6] White markings are rare and generally limited to small areas on the face and lower legs.[7] Equestrian author Marguerite Henry described the breed by saying, "His color is bright chestnut – like a tongue of fire against black field furrows, against green corn blades, against yellow wheat, against blue horizons. Never is he any other color."[8]The Suffolk Punch tends to be shorter but more massively built than other British heavy draught breeds, such as the Clydesdale or the Shire, as a result of having been developed for agricultural work rather than road haulage.[9] The breed has a powerful, arching neck; well-muscled, sloping shoulders; a short, wide back; and a muscular, broad croup. Legs are short and strong, with broad joints; sound, well-formed hooves; and little or no feathering on the fetlocks.[4] The movement of the Suffolk Punch is said to be energetic, especially at the trot. The breed tends to mature early, be long-lived, and is economical to keep, needing less feed than other horses of similar type and size.[10] They are hard workers, said to be willing to "pull a heavily laden wagon till [they] dropped."[11]In the past, the Suffolk was often criticised for its poor feet, having hooves that were too small for its body mass. This was corrected by the introduction of classes at major shows in which hoof conformation and structure were judged. This practice, unique among horse breeds, resulted in such an improvement that the Suffolk Punch is now considered to have excellent foot conformation.[3][12]HistoryThe Suffolk Punch registry is the oldest English breed society.[13] The first known mention of the Suffolk Punch is in William Camden's Britannia, published in 1586,[14] in which he describes a working horse of the eastern counties of England that is easily recognisable as the Suffolk Punch. This description makes them the oldest breed of horse that is recognisable in the same form today.[13] They were developed in Norfolk and Suffolk in the east of England, a relatively isolated area. The local farmers developed the Suffolk Punch for farm work, for which they needed a horse with power, stamina, health, longevity, and docility, and they bred the Suffolk to comply with these needs. Because the farmers used these horses on their land, they seldom had any to sell, which helped to keep the bloodlines pure and unchanged.[7]The foundation sire of the modern Suffolk Punch breed was a 15.2 hand (62 inches/157 centimetres) stallion foaled near Woodbridge in 1768 and owned by Thomas Crisp of Ufford.[14] At this time the breed was known as the Suffolk Sorrel.[15] This horse was never named, and is simply known as "Crisp's horse".[1] Although it is commonly (and mistakenly) thought that this was the first horse of the breed, by the 1760s, all other male lines of the breed ha。
4.哪些英语单词的背后有小故事
：词汇、语音和语法是构成语言的三大要素.其中，词汇是思维概念的基本单位，也是语言的基本构成单位，掌握好一门语言首先必须掌握一定量的词汇.如何学好英语单词，能够以较少的精力、较快的速度、较好的效果来大量识记英语单词，迅速扩大词汇量，这与有效的学习方法有密切关系. 希腊、罗马神话和《圣经》是西方文化的重要组成部分，其影响已渗透到整个西方社会的各种意识形态领域，对英语的发展同样产生重大影响，尤其是英语词汇的发展.另外，很多英文单词与中国成语一样，来源于某些典故，在英语里，从地理和时间的名称、科技术语，到日常对话、文学作品等，源于这些典故的词汇、短语和习语比比皆是.如果我们能够了解这些单词背后的故事，那对我们记忆它是有很大帮助的.。
5.英语单词的故事
罗马的英语原来只有10 个月，古罗马皇帝决定增加两个月放在年尾，后来朱里斯*凯撒大帝把这两个月移到年初，成为1月.2月，原来的1月.2月便成了3月.4月，依次类推。
这就是今天世界沿用的公历。January——1月在罗马传说中，有一位名叫雅努斯的守护神，生有先后两副脸，一副回顾过去，一副要眺望未来。
人们认为选择他的名字作为除旧迎新的第一个月月名，很有意义。英语January，便是由这位守护神的拉丁文名字January演变而来的。
February——2月每年2 月初，罗马人民都要杀牲饮酒，欢庆菲勃卢姆节。这一天，人们常用一种牛、草制成的名叫Februa的鞭子，抽打不育的妇女，以求怀孕生子。
这一天，人们还要忏悔自己过去一年的罪过，洗刷自己的灵魂，求得神明的饶恕，使自己成为一个贞洁的人。英语2月February，便是由拉丁文Februar-ius（即菲勃卢姆节）演变而来。
March-----3月3月，原是罗马旧历法的1 月，新年的开始。凯撒大帝改革历法后，原来的1月变成3月，但罗马人仍然把3 月看做是一年的开始。
另外，按照传统习惯，3月是每年出征远战的季节。为了纪念战神玛尔斯，人们便把这位战神的拉丁名字作为3月的月名。
英语3月March，便是由这位战神的名字演变而来的。April——4月罗马的4月，正是大地回春.鲜花初绽的美好季节。
英文4月April便由拉丁文April（即开花的日子）演变而来。May——5月罗马神话中的女神玛雅，专门司管春天和生命。
为了纪念这位女神，罗马人便用她的名字——拉丁文Maius命名5月，英文5月May便由这位女神的名字演变而来。June——6月罗马神话中的裘诺，是众神之王，又是司管生育和保护妇女的神。
古罗马对她十分崇敬，便把6月奉献给她，以她的名字——拉丁文Junius来命名6 月。英语6月June便由这位女神的名字演变而来。
也有学者认为，Junius可能是代表拉丁家族中一个显赫贵族的姓氏。July——7月罗马统治者朱里斯*凯撒大帝被刺死后，著名的罗马将军马克*按东尼建议将凯撒大帝诞生的7月，用凯撒的名字——拉丁文Julius（即朱里斯）命名之。
这一建议得到了元老院的通过。英语7月July由此演变而来。
August——8月朱里斯*凯撒死后，由他的甥孙屋大维续任罗马皇帝。为了和凯撒齐名，他也想用自己的名字来命名一个月份。
他的生日在9月，但他选定8月。因为他登基后，罗马元老院在8 月授予他Augustus（奥古斯都）的尊号。
于是，他决定用这个尊号来命名8月。原来8月比7月少一天，为了和凯撒平起平坐，他又决定从2月中抽出一天加在8月上。
从此，2月便少了一天。英语8月August便由这位皇帝的拉丁语尊号演变而来。
September——9月老历法的7月，正是凯撒大帝改革历法后的9月，拉丁文Septem是“7”月的意思。虽然历法改革了，但人们仍袭用旧名称来称呼9月。
英语9月September，便由 此演变而来。October——10月英语10月，来自拉丁文Octo，即“8”的意思。
它和上面讲的9月一样，历法改了，称呼仍然沿用未变。November——11月罗马皇帝奥古斯都和凯撒都有了自己名字命名的月份，罗马市民和元老院要求当时的罗马皇帝梯比里乌斯用其名命名11月。
但梯比里乌斯没有同意，他明智地对大家说，如果罗马每个皇帝都用自己的名字来命名月份，那么出现了第13个皇帝怎么办？于是，11月仍然保留着旧称Novem，即拉丁文“9”的意思。英语11月November便由此演变而来。
December——12月罗马皇帝琉西乌斯要把一年中最后一个月用他情妇的Amagonius的名字来命名，但遭到元老院的反对。于是，12月仍然沿用旧名Decem，即拉丁文“10”的意思。
英语12月December，便由此演变而来。与“星期”名称有关的习语1，与Sunday有关的： Sunday best , Sunday clothes , Sunday togs , Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes——高档、漂亮的衣裳；盛装。
Sunday run——长距离。Sunday painter——业余画家。
Sunday punch——（拳击中）最厉害的一击；（对付对手的）杀手锏。Sunday saint——伪善者。
Month of Sundays——很久。Sunday saint and Monday sinner——假道学，伪君子。
Sunday letter——（历书上为表示一年之星期日所用的）主日字母。Sunday school——（教堂中所设的）主日学校。
（美）扑克牌戏。Sunday school truth——众所周知的道理或事实。
Mid-Lent Sunday , Mothering / Refreshment Sunday——（牛津大学）校庆日前的星期日。Low Sunday——业余的；复活节后的星期日。
To look two ways to find Sundays——斜着眼看。2、与Monday有关的：black Monday——（学俚）放假后的开学第一天；执行死刑之星期一；黑色礼拜一（即复活节之后一日，因1360年的当天，天气严寒，爱德华三世之士兵都冻死于巴黎附近）。
Blue Monday——沮丧，闷烦（相对于欢乐的周末而言）。Saint Monday——（特指交易所）懒散，工作很少的星期一。
Mad Monday ——忙乱的星期一。Monday morning feeling , Monday feeling——美国人在周末休假后星期一不想工作的那样一种心情。
Monday morning quarterback——放马后炮的人。Monday morning quarterbacking——放马后炮。
6.50个单词的英语小故事
A Good Boy
Little Robert asked his mother for two cents. "What did you do with the money I gave you yesterday?"
"I gave it to a poor old woman," he answered.
"You're a good boy," said the mother proudly. "Here are two cents more. But why are you so interested in the old woman?"
"She is the one who sells the candy."
好孩子
小罗伯特向妈妈要两分钱。
“昨天给你的钱干什么了？”
“我给了一个可怜的老太婆，”他回答说。 “你真是个好孩子，”妈妈骄傲地说。“再给你两分钱。可你为什么对那位老太太那么感兴趣呢？”
“她是个卖糖果的。”
7.求1篇20个英语单词的小故事
My Mother My Mother isa kind and gentle woman. She is always very gentle. She takes good care of her children and keeps them all at school. I have one brother and two sistets. So she gets four children in all. She gives us every comfort. We all love her and she loves us also. My mother has too much to do in bringing us up. As our family is too poor to keep a servant, my mother has always to do very much work. She gets up very early and sleeps very late every day. She works hard, yet without complaining. She is also a thrifty, and industrious woman. She saves every cent that she can and keeps everything in order. As she has been busy eversince she was young, she looks older than she really is. Her face is wrinkled, her hair becomes silver white, but she works as hard as ever. Often she says to us, "work while you work, play while you play. If you do not work, you will become lazy and of no use to society." What piece of good advice this is! We must worth it well and always keep it in our mind. 我的母亲 我的母亲是一位心地善良、性情温和的女性。
她总是彬彬有礼。她细心地照顾孩子并使他们都上学读书。
我有一个哥哥，两个妹妹，所以她总共有四个孩子。她使我们做每件事时都感到舒适。
我们都爱她，她也爱我们。 为了抚养我们，母亲有太多的事要做。
因为我们家很穷，雇不起佣人，母亲总是必须做很多工作。她每天起早贪黑，辛苦地工作，从无怨言。
她又是一位节俭勤勉的妇女。她尽可能地节省每一分钱，并且使每一件事情都井井有条。
由于年轻时就一直忙碌，所以从外表看上去更见苍老。她的脸布满皱纹，头发也变成了灰白，但她仍像从前一样辛勤地操劳。
她常对我们说：“工作时工作，玩乐时玩乐，如果不工作，你将变得懒惰，从而无益于社会。”这是一番多么好的忠告啊！我们必须珍视它，并将它牢记心中。
Fox and cock One morning a fox sees a cock.He think,"This is my breakfast.'' He comes up to the cock and says,"I know you can sing very well.Can you sing for me?''The cock is glad.He closes his eyes and begins to sing.The fox sees that and caches him in his mouth and carries him away. The people in the field see the fox.They cry,"Look,look!The fox is carrying the cock away.''The cock says to the fox,"Mr Fox,do you understand?The people say you are carrying their cock away.Tell them it is yours.Not theirs.'' The fox opens his mouth ang says,"The cock is mine,not yours.''Just then the cock runs away from the fox and flies into the tree. 狐狸和公鸡 一天早上，一只狐狸看到了一只公鸡。他想：这是我的早餐。
他朝公鸡走来，对他说：“我知道，你能唱得非常好听，你能唱给我听么？”公鸡很高兴。他闭上眼睛开始唱歌。
狐狸看到这些抓住它放到自己的嘴里走了。 在田地里的人们看到了狐狸。
大喊大叫：“看，看！狐狸抓住公鸡逃走了。”公鸡对狐狸说：“狐狸先生，你能理解么？人们认为你叼走了公鸡。
告诉他们这是你的，不是他们的。” 狐狸张开她的嘴说：“公鸡是我的，不是你们的。”
就在那时，公鸡逃离了狐狸的嘴巴，跑到了树底下。 The City Mouse and the Country Mouse Once there were two mice. They were friends. One mouse lived in the country; the other mouse lived in the city. After many years the Country mouse saw the City mouse; he said, "Do come and see me at my house in the country." So the City mouse went. The City mouse said, "This food is not good, and your house is not good. Why do you live in a hole in the field? You should come and live in the city. You would live in a nice house made of stone. You would have nice food to eat. You must come and see me at my house in the city." The Country mouse went to the house of the City mouse. It was a very good house. Nice food was set ready for them to eat. But just as they began to eat they heard a great noise. The City mouse cried, " Run! Run! The cat is coming!" They ran away quickly and hid. After some time they came out. When they came out, the Country mouse said, "I do not like living in the city. I like living in my hole in the field. For it is nicer to be poor and happy, than to be rich and afraid." 【译文】 城里老鼠和乡下老鼠 从前，有两只老鼠，它们是好朋友。
一只老鼠居住在乡村，另一只住在城里。很多年以后，乡下老鼠碰到城里老鼠，它说：“你一定要来我乡下的家看看。”
于是，城里老鼠就去了。乡下老鼠领着它到了一块田地上它自己的家里。
它把所有最精美食物都找出来给城里老鼠。城里老鼠说：“这东西不好吃，你的家也不好，你为什么住在田野的地洞里呢？你应该搬到城里去住，你能住上用石头造的漂亮房子，还会吃上美味佳肴，你应该到我城里的家看看。”
乡下老鼠就到城里老鼠的家去。房子十分漂亮，好吃的东西也为他们摆好了。
可是正当他们要开始吃的时候，听见很大的一阵响。
