摘 要：十二生肖，是中国传统文化的重要部分，由12种源于自然界的动物即鼠、牛、虎、兔、龙、蛇、马、羊、猴、鸡、狗、猪组成，用于记年，顺序排列为子鼠、丑牛、寅虎、卯兔、辰龙、巳蛇、午马、未羊、申猴、酉鸡、戌狗、亥猪，在中华文化圈内被广泛使用。有诸多描写十二生肖的文学作品，也有不少关于十二生肖的成语。2012年是龙年，当我们提到龙，我们就会想到“龙凤呈祥”、“生龙活虎”等成语，下面就介绍一些与动物有关的相关成语的英语翻译。
关键词：动物；成语；英语
一、与“龙”有关的
龙飞凤舞 lively and vigorous flourishes in calligraphy
龙盘虎踞 a forbidding strategic point
龙凤呈祥 excellent good fortune
龙蛇混杂 good and bad people mixed up
龙潭虎穴 a danger spot
龙腾虎跃 a scene of bustling activity
龙争虎斗 a fierce struggle between well-matched opponents
龙行虎步 majestic gait; imposing air
龙吟虎啸 dragons singing and tigers roaring
生龙活虎 full of vim and vigor
二、与“狗”有关的
狗胆包天 monstrous audacity
狗急跳墙 a corned beast will do something desperate
狗屁不通 unreadable rubbish
狗咬吕洞宾 to mistake a good man as a bad man
狗眼看人低 to be damned snobbish; to act as a snob
狗头军师 villainous adviser
狗皮膏药 quack medicine
狐狗党 a pack of rogues
狗屁不如 worse than a cur or a swine
狗拿耗子 to poke one s nose into other people s business
三、与“虎”有关的
虎背熊腰 tough and stocky
虎口拔牙 dare the greatest danger
虎口余生 be snatched from the jaws of death
虎里虎气 (of a young man ) strong and vigorous
虎视眈眈 eye covetously or menacingly
虎头虎脑 (of a boy) looking strong and good-natured
虎头蛇尾 a fine start and a poor finish
虎尾春冰 in a precarious position
南开大学在哪如虎添翼 with might redoubled
谈虎变 turn pale at the mere mention of something terrifying
四、与“鸡”有关的
鸡飞蛋打 all is lost
鸡毛蒜皮 trifles; trivialities
鸡鸣狗盗 get up to mean or petty tricks闹觉
鸡鸣犬吠 country sounds
鸡皮鹤发 advanced in age
鸡犬不宁 general turmoil
鸡犬不留 ruthless mass slaughter
闻鸡起舞 diligent and self-disciplined
鼠肚鸡肠 petty; narrow-minded
偷鸡摸狗 pilfer; (of a man ) always having affairs with women
五、与“马”有关的
马不停蹄 without a stop; nonstop有关虎的成语
马齿徒增 grow old with nothing accomplished
怎样去掉大眼袋马到成功 win success immediately upon arrival
生活的滋味作文马革裹尸 die on the battlefield
马路新闻 street-gossip; hearsay
马马虎虎 careless; not very good
follow sb. s lead
人仰马翻 badly battered; thrown into confusion
老马识途 an old horse knows the way
千军万马 a powerful army; a mighty force
六、与“牛”有关的
牛头不对马嘴 incongruous; irrelevant
牛刀小试 a master hand s first small display
牛年马月 a time that will never come
九牛二虎 tremendous effort
九牛一毛 a drop in the ocean
汗牛充栋 an immense collection of books
对牛弹琴 address the wrong audience; talk over sb s head
目无全牛 be supremely skilled
鸡口牛后 better to reign in hell than serve in heaven
如牛负重 like an ox carrying a heavy load
七、与“羊”有关的
羊质虎皮 outwardly strong, inwardly weak
羊肠小道 a narrow winding trail; a meandering footpath
羊毛出在羊身上 in the long run, whatever you re given, you pay for
挂羊头卖狗肉 try to palm off sth. inferior to what it purports to be
亡羊补牢 mend the fold after the sheep is lost
顺手牵羊 pick up sth. on the sly; walk off with sth.
歧路亡羊 go astray in a complex situation
十羊九牧 too many bosses
如狼牧羊 (of an oppressive official) ride roughshod over the people
如狼似虎 as ferocious as wolves and tigers; like cruel beasts of prey
八、与“鼠”有关的
鼠肚鸡肠 petty; narrow-minded
鼠目寸光 see only what is under one s nose; be shortsighted
鼠窃狗偷 play petty tricks on the sly
抱头鼠窜 scurry (or scamper) off like a frightened rat
洞中之鼠 bottled up; trapped
猫鼠同眠 act in collision; conspire; gang up
贼眉鼠眼 shifty-eyed; thievish-looking
过街老鼠 a person hated by people; a person of thing that provokes a hue and cry
胆小如鼠 as timid as a mouse; mouse like timidity
选择大于努力图片马捉老鼠 one is busy without useful results
九、与“兔”有关的
兔死狐悲 the fox mourns over the death of the hare—like grieves for like
兔死狗烹 the hounds are killed for food once all the hares are bagged—trusted aides are eliminated when they have outlived their usefulness
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