“black sheep”到底是啥意思？很多人都误解了

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black sheep

黑绵羊

败家子

害群之马

【解释】

If you describe someone as the black sheep of their family or of a group that they are a member of, you mean that they are considered bad or worthless by other people in that family or group.

【词源】

比较流行的一种说法是：

The phrase arose in the late 18th century, probably from an older proverb, "There's a black sheep in every flock."

这个短语出现于18世纪晚期，可能来源于一句古老的谚语，“每个群羊中都有一只黑的。”

Black sheep, in those days, were not as valuable as white sheep, because white wool could be dyed into any color while black wool was more limited. Thus, the black sheep was the unwelcome oddity in the flock.

在那个年代，黑羊没有白羊值钱，因为白色的羊毛可以被染成任何颜色，而黑色的羊毛则比较受限。因此，黑羊就是羊群中不受欢迎的异类。

【例句】

My uncle was the black sheep of the family and we were never encouraged to talk about him.

我叔叔是家里的败家子，从来没有人让我们谈论他。

She had different interests, and we stupidly thought of her as a black sheep.

她有不同的兴趣爱好，然后我们愚蠢地认为她是害群之马。

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like sheep

盲从

【解释】

If people behave like sheep, they all do what the others are doing, without thinking or deciding for themselves.

【例句】

If John says that something must be done, they do it. They just follow his orders like sheep.

如果约翰说必须做某事，他们就会做。他们就是盲目听从他的命令。

So many consumers are like sheep, buying the latest cars, computers, TVs, and the rest of it because the companies told them to.

所以呀，很多消费者很盲从，去购买最新款的汽车、电脑、电视和其他东西，就因为这些公司让他们买。

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scapegoat

/ˈskeɪpˌɡəʊt/

n.替罪羊

v. 使成为替罪羊

【解释】

If you say that someone is made a scapegoat for something bad that has happened, you mean that people blame them and may punish them for it although it may not be their fault.

To scapegoat someone means to blame them publicly for something bad that has happened, even though it was not their fault.

【词源】

1.scape = escape 逃跑，所以scapegoat字面意思是“逃走的羊”。“逃走的羊”为什么有“替罪羊”的意思呢？我们继续看第二点。

2. 这个词来自圣经中的宗教典故，古犹太人将每年的七月十日定为“赎罪日”。

犹太人都要挑出两只羊，一只作为祭品献给上帝，称为“the Lord's goat ”。

另一只则给绑在祭坛下，祭司用手按羊，代表众人向上帝忏悔这一年的罪过，然后把这只羊带到旷野中放掉，羊也就逃掉了（escape），表示它背负着人的罪恶离去，从而洗净了人的灵魂。这只羊就是 “替罪羊”，因为它承担了人的罪恶。

【例句】

Don't try to make me the scapegoat. I'll tell who really did it.

别想让我当替罪羊。我会告诉你是谁干的。

I don't think I deserve to be made the scapegoat for a couple of bad results.

我认为我不该为出现的一些不良后果充当替罪羊。

They scapegoated environmental laws as the problem of the economy, instead of looking for real problems.

他们把环境法当成经济问题的替罪羊，而不去寻找真正的问题。

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