Read Biblical idioms in ing English LEADIN Please

Read Biblical idioms in ing English

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

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 1. Idioms often use many words to represent a single object , a person or concept. T 2. The idiom “by and by” originally meant “immediately ”in the Bible. T 3. The Bible was translated into English thousands of years ago. F

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

Detailed reading Read the passage a second time and complete Part C 1.

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 meaning expression whose ____ can be completely different from the meanings of its components, using words to _____ a single object, represent person or concept. Bible Quite a few idioms used in English idioms came from the Bible, which was first written in Hebrew and then Greek translated into _____, both of which use many idioms. We call them Biblical idioms in English.

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

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

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

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. C 2. Which of the following idioms means that a person is very good and honest? A. Feet of clay. B B. The salt of the earth. C. The apple of one’s eye. D. A little bird told me.

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 D Greek

Match each with its Chinese apple of their parents’ eye feet of clay by and by the salt of the earth 设宴招待 掌上明珠 高尚的人，社会中坚 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 the apple of her grandmother’s eye is _______________. 2. Wilson was disappointed when he learnt feet of clay that the coach had ______. 3. She knew it might take a long time for her teammates to change their minds, but she believed that the new plan would by and by work _____.

4. The people in my village are very honest and hard-working; they are __________ the salt of the earth. 5. When my brother came back home from his trip to Europe, we killed the fatted calf __________ for him. 6. She would not say who told her about the surprise party. She just said, 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 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. When she suddenly arrived out of the blue, we were all surprised. (suddenly; unexpected)

Can you guess the meanings of the underlined words? 1. A：Oh, my God! What happened? Why 2. 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 a bad apple: 坏蛋

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: 占着茅坑不拉屎

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

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

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 (Line 20) 2. vague (Line 12) 3. loose (Line 12) 4. straightforwar d (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 (L 9) 7. mended one’s ways (Line 31) 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 of words An idiom is a ______ 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 idioms can be a good way to do _______ so.

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 translated into Greek ______ and later into English. Take “by and by” as an example. It originally meant “immediately”, but now it means before long _________.

Idioms can be used to _____ underline the moral of a story. One idiom about “feet concept that of clay” stresses the ____ things or people that seem perfect, like a person we admire or respect, can weaknesses Another have hidden _____. bird told me”, is used to idiom, “a little_____ 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.

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

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

Step 5 Translation 1. 众所周知, 他非常喜欢拍有权有势的人马屁. very _____ much likes It is well-known that he _____ lick _____ the ______of shoes a rich and to _____ powerful person. 2. 如果你不诚实, 你就一文不值了. honest , you are worth If you are not _________ 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 Internet _____article _______, I better understanding of the have a _________ in English. biblical idioms 4. 习语是历史和文化的载体. Idioms are _____ carriers of history and _______ culture.

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

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 xpression whose of words or an (1)e_____ meaning often cannot be understood by looking at the meanings of the (2)s_____ words in it. Its meaning eparate can be completely different from the meanings of its (3)c_____ omponents. It you can’t recognize when an idiom is being used, you can (4)m_____ isunderstand what you read or hear spoken.

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 riginal or have only a vague or loose onnection to Hebrew or Greek (6)c_____ idioms.

W: What meanings do Biblical idioms have? M: Biblical idioms originally had traightforward and clear meanings (7)s_____ because they were often meant to (8)u_____ the moral of a story nderline and to give audiences an image to help them to understand the story better. And there 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. 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_____ ompetence in your communication skills.

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?