In 2014 we celebrate 450 years since the birth of William Shakespeare. Although his actual birthdate is unknown, it is largely accepted that his birth year was 1564 and so the occasion is marked on the date of his death, 23 April.
2014年我们庆祝威廉·莎士比亚诞辰450周年。虽然他的确切生日未知，但普遍认为他出生于1564年，而他的祭日4月23日被定为他的诞辰。



William Shakespeare Phrases: Wear one's heart on one's sleeve
威廉·莎士比亚短语：感情外露，直率坦诚，心直口快

This phrase may derive from the Middle Ages when knights are said to have worn the colours of the ladies that were cheering them on by tying ribbons around their sleeves during jousting matches. Today the phrase is usually used to describe someone who is very honest about their feelings, like a lovelorn teenager. The fact that these words are actually spoken by Iago during his famous soliloquy in Othello gives them a much more sinister quality, however.
中世纪时，女士在马上长矛比赛期间把丝带系在骑士的袖子上为骑士呐喊加油，据说骑士会佩戴这些女士化的多彩丝带，该短语可能由此而来。现在该短语通常用于描述某人对自己的感觉非常坦诚，像一个失恋的少年。事实上，这个短语出现在《奥赛罗》埃古的著名独白中，反而使得这一短语更邪恶。

William Shakespeare Phrases: Be in a pickle
威廉·莎士比亚短语：处境困难

This phrase has its origins in the 1400s – possibly from the Dutch phrase 'in de pekel zitten' – an allusion to feeling as helpless as the stewed vegetables in a pickle. Some stories of the day take this to the literal level, recounting tales of unfortunate peasants who found themselves on the menu of an evil noble lord. Here Shakespeare is probably also playing on the fact that alcohol, which is sometimes used in the pickling process, has contributed to the character of Trinculo's sticky situation. Whatever the origins, Shakespeare popularised the phrase in literature, and it is one of many culinary expressions he has contributed to the English language.
该短语始于15世纪——可能源于荷兰短语‘in de pekel zitten’——暗示像泡菜中腌制的蔬菜一样无助的感觉。现在的一些故事字面使用这一短语，讲述不幸农民发现自己任某邪恶贵族宰割的故事。有时用于腌制过程的酒导致了人物特林鸠罗的困难处境，莎士比亚可能也利用了这一事实。不管该短语的起源如何，莎士比亚在文学中将其流行化，该短语是他为英语贡献的许多烹饪表达之一。

William Shakespeare Phrases: Wild goose chase
威廉·莎士比亚短语：徒劳的寻找，无益的追求

Despite the images the expression may conjure up today, it is believed that in Shakespeare's day this expression related not to hunting but to horse racing. A 'wild goose chase' was a chase in which horses followed a lead horse mimicking the way wild geese would fly in formation. Today, the notion of a wild goose chase goes more hand in hand with a futile act, or time wasted rather than its earlier association with the erratic and the chaotic.
无论该表达现在引发怎样的意象，莎士比亚时代的人们认为该表达与打猎无关，而与赛马有关。‘无益的追求’就是马像列队飞翔的野鹅一样追随一只死马。现在，该短语的含义更多地与无效的行为或浪费的时间联系在一起，而不像更早前与不规则无秩序联系在一起。

William Shakespeare Phrases: Make your hair stand on end
威廉·莎士比亚短语：使你毛骨悚然

Shakespeare has used a wealth of imagery in his works; but few are more menacing than a fretful porcupine. Of course, while the ghosts that appear in Hamlet are more than enough to make your hair stand on end, these days the expression is synonymous with goosepimples or 'gooseflesh' as it is known across the Atlantic – brought on by the cold English winters perhaps.
莎士比亚作品中使用了大量意象；但是很少意象比烦躁不安的豪猪更具威胁性。当然，《哈姆雷特》中的鬼魂足以令你毛骨悚然，现在该表达成为享誉大西洋的鸡皮疙瘩——可能因英国寒冷的冬天而起——的同义词。

William Shakespeare Phrases: The world is your oyster
威廉·莎士比亚短语：尽情享受

You're most likely to see this Zen-sounding phrase written on the cover of every the Oyster Card. An expression that appeals not just to globetrotters but to positive-minded people across the world, 'the world is your oyster' shows that Shakespeare has had not just a literary influence over us, but a spiritual one too.
你更可能在每张交通卡表面看到这个禅宗意味的短语。作为一个同时吸引环球旅行者和全世界思想积极的人们的表达，‘尽情享受’表明莎士比亚不仅对我们有文学影响，也有精神影响。

William Shakespeare Phrases: Love is blind
威廉·莎士比亚短语：爱情是盲目的

In the The Merchant Of Venice, the character of Jessica disguises herself as a boy to see her beloved, Lorenzo, one of many occasions in Shakespeare's plays where cross-dressing is used as a device to separate lovers. Today the expression is used widely and has even inspired scientific research. In 2004 researchers at University College London proved that romantic love "suppresses neural activity associated with critical social assessment of other people". Who knew Shakespeare was a man of science?
在《威尼斯的商人》中，杰西卡这个人物将自己伪装成一个男孩看望自己的情人洛伦佐，莎士比亚戏剧中有许多这样的场景——使用换装分离情人。现在该表达被广泛使用，甚至激发了科学研究。2004年伦敦大学学院的研究员证明浪漫的爱情“压制了与对他人的关键社会评价相关联的神经行为”。谁能知道莎士比亚还是一个科学家呢？

William Shakespeare Phrases: Mum's the word
威廉·莎士比亚短语：保持安静，保守保密

This expression has nothing to do with mothers and everything to do with the noise you make when you close your mouth and try to speak. What we do know is that 'mumming', or 'miming', comes from the word 'mum'. In the past, a parade of characters would go to houses to dance or play games in silence. In the 17th century, 'Mum's the word' would later become the standard expression for asking a person to keep quiet – another expression that we still use today.学习英语的好方法