Reading Biblical idioms in English

LEAD-IN Please guess the meanings of the following 1.When the cat’s away,the mice will play. 2.beard the lion in his den(兽穴) 3.lick sb’s shoes 山中无老虎,猴子称大王 太岁头上动土 拍马屁

The Bible is often described as "the greatest book ever written The Bible is often described as "the greatest book ever written." This is because of its unending significance and influence on people throughout the ages. No other book in history has impacted peoples and cultures like the Bible.

God created the world.

The birth of Jesus Christ

The Garden of Eden

Many basic concepts and principles of Western culture have come down from the Bible. Many common English phrases and expressions have their origin in the Bible well. Though it was written more than 2,000 years ago, the Bible continues to influence people today. Let’s enjoy a story in it.

The Obstacle In Our Path In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it.

Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the big stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.

As the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many others never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one's condition.

Fast reading Go through the passage as quickly as possible and try to find answers to the three questions in part A on Page 50.

1. What is an idiom? An idiom is a group of words or an expression whose meaning often cannot be understood by looking at the meanings of the separate words in it. 2. Which language was the Bible first written in? In Hebrew. 3. Which idiom is often used to describe children? Apple of their parents’ eye.

Careful reading Read the article carefully and finish the following .

True or False Idioms often use many words to represent a single object ,a person or concept. The idiom “by and by” originally meant “immediately ”in the Bible. 3. The Bible was translated into English thousands of years ago. T T F

4.The idiom “feet of clay’’ means a person ’s feet are full of clay. 5.The animals “birds” and “cows” are mentioned in the idioms in the article. 6. The food apple and salt appear in the article. 7.Learning biblical idioms can improve our comprehension and develop a high level of competence in our communication skills. F F T T

Detailed reading Read the passage a second time and complete Part C1.

1. Why does the Bible have a lot of idioms? Because the Bible was first written in Hebrew and then translated into Greek, and many idioms are used in both of them. Because the Bible was translated into English hundreds of years ago, many Hebrew or Greek idioms have become part of the English language.

2. What did ‘by and by’ originally mean in the Bible? Immediately. 3. What does ‘by and by’ mean today? Before long. 4. How many years ago was the Bible translated into English? Hundreds of years ago.

5. What does ‘feet of clay’ mean? There is a hidden weakness in somebody whom we admire or respect. 6. Which animals are featured in the idioms in the articles? Bird and calf. 7. Which foods are included in the idioms in the article? Apple and salt.

8. How is studying idioms useful in language learning? You can improve your comprehension and develop a high level of competence in communication skills.

Work in pairs and fill in the form. Definition An idiom is a group of words or an expression whose ________ can be completely different from the meanings of its components, using words to _________ a single object, person or concept. Bible idioms Quite a few idioms used in English came from the Bible, which was first written in Hebrew and then translated into _____, both of which use many idioms. We call them Biblical idioms in English. meaning represent Greek

Examples of different kinds related to stories This kind of idiom underlines the ______ of a story and gives audiences an image to help them understand the story better, such as “feet of clay”. related to ________ This kind of idiom uses animals to create an image, such as “a little bird told me” and “________________”. moral animals kill the fatted calf

Examples of different kinds related to food This kind of idiom focuses on food or things related to food, like “___________________” and “the salt of the earth”. the apple of one’s eye

Conclusion Since idioms are an important part of a language as well as ________ of history and culture and studying them can help improve comprehension and develop a high level of ___________ in communication skills, it is necessary for learners to study them so as to better understand and appreciate the history and cultures of ________________ countries. carriers competence English-speaking

Read the text carefully and choose the best answer to each question. 1. How many idioms are mentioned in this text? A. 4. B. 5. C. 6. D. 7. 2. Which of the following idioms means that a person is very good and honest? A. Feet of clay. B. The salt of the earth. C. The apple of one’s eye. D. A little bird told me. C B

3. From the passage, we know that ________. A. an idiom can be understood easily by looking at the meaning of its separate words B. biblical idioms originally have vague meanings C. “by and by” means immediately at present D. there are many idioms in Hebrew and Greek D

Match each with its Chinese apple of their parents’ eye 设宴招待 feet of clay 掌上明珠 by and by 高尚的人，社会中坚 the salt of the earth 有人私下告诉我 kill the fatted calf 伟人的弱点 a little bird told me 不久,很快

Apply these idioms into practical usage. 1. Sarah’s grandmother adores her; Sarah is ______________________________. 2. Wilson was disappointed when he learnt that the coach had ___________. the apple of her grandmother’s eye feet of clay 3. She knew it might take a long time for her teammates to change their minds, but she believed that the new plan would work _________. by and by

4. The people in my village are very honest and hard-working; they are ____________________ 5. When my brother came back home from his trip to Europe, we ___________________ for him. 6. She would not say who told her about the surprise party. She just said, “_________________.” the salt of the earth. killed the fatted calf A little bird told me

Some Biblical idioms in English an eye for an eye 以眼还眼 as one man 一致地　 The teaching staff speak as one man on  this issue. 在这个问题上全体教员意见一致。 clean hands 廉洁、清白 He retired from office with clean hands. 他退休时两袖清风。　

doubting Thomas  指那些不肯轻易相信别人的人 He’s a real doubting Thomas-- he simply  wouldn’t believe I’d won the car until he saw it with his own eyes. 他是一个真正的怀疑主义者--在没有亲眼看到之前他就是不相信我赢得了那辆车。

Reading strategy: understanding analogies When trying to understand idiom, it is often helpful to consider the use of analogy, which is a particular type of comparison. Although analogy can be very hard to guess, clues can often be found in the context.

You should first look at the idiom and create an image in your mind. Then look at the context to find out the context to find out the analogy and the message.

Usage of reading strategy What do the phrases in red mean? 1. I took my mother’s car without asking for permission. She is angry at me. I am in hot water now! (in trouble) 2. Don’t tell anyone else that I am looking for a new job. Please keep it under your hat. (not tell anybody the secret)

3. We were not expecting to see Joan 3. We were not expecting to see Joan. When she suddenly arrived out of the blue, we were all surprised. (suddenly; unexpected)

坏蛋 a bad apple: Can you guess the meanings of the underlined words? A：Oh, my God! What happened? Why are you black and blue? B：I got beaten by Peter’s brother A：That’s a bad apple! Let’s think up a way and teach him a lesson 坏蛋 a bad apple:

a dog in the manger: 占着茅坑不拉屎 2. A：Give the skates to me! B：You shut up! A：If you don’t know how to skate, why don’t you give the skates to me? Don’t be a dog in the manger. a dog in the manger: 占着茅坑不拉屎

no point: 没理由 3. A：There’s no point in losing temper on me. It’s unfair! B：What did you do to him? A：If I did something bad, I wouldn’t blame him for getting angry with me. The point is that I did nothing wrong. B：Maybe he thought you reported him to the manager. no point: 没理由

Fat chance: 微小的机会；极少的可能 document. B：Fat chance! 4. A：I think it was Jason who stole my document. B：Fat chance! A：He’s the only one who left here late. B：I know him. He’ll never do that sort of thing. Fat chance: 微小的机会；极少的可能

Search me: (非正式)不知道 5. A：Where’s Annie? B：In the house. A：In the house? Where is she? B：Search me, I don’t know where she is now. Search me: (非正式)不知道

Guess these new words from the context. 1. swift (Line20) vague (Line12) loose (Line 12) straightforward (Line 14) 5. underline (Line 15) not closely related not clearly understood or expressed easy to understand very quick show clearly that something is important or true, emphasize

6. translated (L9) 7. mended one’s ways (Line31) 8. impure (Line 40) 9. oral (Line 46) 10. thorough (Line 50) stopped behaving badly spoken not pure, unclean complete, including everything that is possible or necessary changed from one language into another language

Part E on page 53 Wang Gong wrote a short passage about idiom from the Bible, but part of the page is smudged. Read the passage and help him fill the blanks with the words from the box below.

group An idiom is a ______ of words that has a special meaning which is not usually apparent. If you already have a good understanding of English and want to polish up and sharpen your language skills, studying _______ can be a good way to do so. idioms

Many of the idioms used in English are from the Bible Many of the idioms used in English are from the Bible. It is interesting to read how the original meanings of many of these idioms have changed over time. One of the reasons for this is that the Bible was ____________ from Hebrew into ______ and later into English. Take “by and by” as an example. It originally meant “immediately”, but now it means _________________. translated Greek before long

Idioms can be used to __________ the moral of a story Idioms can be used to __________ the moral of a story. One idiom about “feet of clay” stresses the ________ that things or people that seem perfect, like a person we admire or respect, can have hidden __________. Another idiom, “a little_____ told me”, is used to say that you know something but you do not want to tell others how you know it. Some Biblical idioms use things related to food such as salt or apples to make a point more clear. underline concept weaknesses bird

From now on, whenever I read an idiom, I will remember that there could be a ______ meaning in it. hidden

1.as wise as Solomon 2.spend money like water 3.water one’s hand More idioms for you to learn 1.as wise as Solomon 2.spend money like water 3.water one’s hand 4. a two-edged sword 5. doubting Thomas 6. Judas’ kiss 7. go bananas 8. fall to the ground 极有智慧 挥金如土 洗手不干 双刃剑 多疑的人 口蜜腹剑 大发雷霆 一败涂地

Useful expressions in this article 1.mend one’s ways 2.in honour of one’s return 3. after being gone for a very long time 4.another focus of biblical idioms 5.food or things related to food 6.for instance 7.refer to (mention, speak about)

9. sb. be often referred to as sb. 10. Salt was very precious when the bible was written. 11.pure salt and impure salt 12.the examples listed on this web page 13. in oral and written English 14. have a thorough understanding of the English idioms and their origins 15. be carriers of sth.

Step 5 Translation 1.众所周知, 他非常喜欢拍有权有势的人马屁. It is well-known that he _____ _____ likes to _____ _____ ______of a rich and powerful person. 2. 如果你不诚实, 你就一文不值了. If you are not _______ , you are worth _________ . very much lick the shoes honest nothing

3. 学完这篇网上的文章后, 我对英语中的圣经习语有了较好的理解. After learning this __________ _______, I have a ______ understanding of the _________ ______ in English. 4. 习语是历史和文化的载体. _______ are _________ of history and culture. Internet article better biblical idioms Idioms carriers

5. 改过自新者总会受到人们欢迎的. Anybody _____ is willing to _____ ___ _____ is always welcomed by people. who mend his ways

Consolidation Fill in the blanks with proper words according to the reading material.

W: Hi. I’d like to know something about idiom. Could you please tell me? M: With pleasure. An idiom is a group of words or an (1)e_________ whose meaning often cannot be understood by looking at the meanings of the (2)s_________ words in it. Its meaning can be completely different from the meanings of its (3)c_________ . It you can’t recognize when an idiom is being used, you can (4)m_________ what you read or hear spoken. xpression eparate omponents isunderstand

W: Then where do many idioms come from? M: They mostly come from the Bible which was first written in Hebrew and then translated in to Greek. However, many idioms have either lost their (5)o_________ meanings or have only a vague or loose (6)c_________ to Hebrew or Greek idioms. riginal onnection

M: Biblical idioms originally had (7)s_________ and clear meanings W: What meanings do Biblical idioms have? M: Biblical idioms originally had (7)s_________ and clear meanings because they were often meant to (8)u_________ the moral of a story and to give audiences an image to help them to understand the story better. And there are also many idioms from the Bible that use animals to create an image. Another focus of Biblical idioms is often food or things (9)r_________ to food. traightforward nderline elated

W: Should we master as many Biblical idioms as possible? M: Of course. Idioms are an important part of language and are used in everything. Studying them can help improve you comprehension, and by learning enough important idioms, you can develop a high level of (10)c_________ in your communication skills. ompetence

Discussion What do you think about English idioms that come from the Bible? Do you know the origins of any Chinese idioms? What are they? Do you think understanding idioms is an important part of language learning? Why or why not?