在自然界中，绿色是一个重要的颜色。它是草和树叶的颜色， 也是大多数生长植物的颜色。
有时候， 英语中“绿色” 这个词， 意思是年轻， 新鲜和生机。 另外，它还描述一种未熟或者未完成的状态。
比如说，英语中“绿牛角”是指一个初来乍到，没有经验的人。在十五世纪的时候，绿牛角的意思是小牛犊---小奶牛或者还没长角的小公牛。一个世纪后，绿牛角指一个还没有战斗经历的战士。 到了18世纪， 绿牛角就演变成了今天的意思，一个没有经验新就职的人。
100 多年前，绿牛角在美国西部是一个很常用的词，那时候它被用在刚从东部大城市来的人。在艰苦的中西部生存，绿牛角们往往缺乏基本的技能。
很会种庄稼的人被成为“ 绿拇指”。 这个表达方式来自19世纪早期。
一个有着绿拇指的人似乎有一种神奇能力， 所触之处，庄稼长得又快又好。比如，你邻居的花园花木长势喜人，而你这边的却凋零不堪，可以说你邻居主妇有一个“绿拇指”。
绿色革命是指数年前的旨在开发 新品种的稻米和其他颗粒状农产品的运动。新的农作物能带来更多的收成。 绿色革命是那些有着绿拇指的农业学家辛苦结晶。
在英语中，绿色也用于描述人类的一种强烈情绪-----嫉妒。 “绿眼怪兽”不是比喻来自太空的可怕生物， 而是最初四百年前写在戏剧《奥赛罗》中，莎翁笔下的一种表达方式。它是指看到别人拥有自己想要得东西时候一种不愉快情绪。比如，一个年轻人会深受绿眼怪兽的折磨，如果看到自己的女朋友去和别人约会了； 或者，绿眼怪兽会折磨你的朋友，如果你被加薪而他/她没有。[按:有趣的是，中文中嫉妒的颜色是红色， 相应的，英语中的“绿眼怪兽”相当于中文中的“红眼病”了。]
世界上大多数地方， 绿灯是能往前走的标志。交通中看到绿灯，你的车就可以继续开。在日常用语中，绿灯是指一个项目被批准继续进行。
我想让你知道的是这个[翻译]系列会一路绿灯开下去， 每周一次，[按：红灯时候除外]。
Green: More Than Just a Color
Green is an important color in nature. It is the color of grass and the leaves on trees. It is also the color of most growing plants.
Sometimes, the word green means young, fresh and growing. Sometimes, it describes something that is not yet ripe or finished.
For example, a greenhorn is someone who has no expereince, who is new to a situation. In the fifteenth century, a greenhorn was a young cow or ox whose horns had not yet developed. A century or so later, a greenhorn was a soldier who had not yet had any experience in battle. By the eighteenth century, a greenhorn had the meaning it has today - a person who is new in a job.
About one hundred years ago, greenhorn was a popular exp。 ression in the American west. Old-timers used it to describe a man who had just arrived from one of the big cities back east. The greenhorn lacked the skills he would need to live in the hard, rough country.
Someone who has the ability to grow plants well is said to have a green thumb. The expression comes from the early nineteen hundreds.
A person with a green thumb seems to have a magic touch that makes plants grow quickly and well. You might say that the woman next door has a green thumb if her garden continues to grow long after your plants have died. The Green Revolution is the name given some years ago to the development of new kinds of rice and other grains. The new plants produced much larger crops. The Green Revolution was the result of hard work by agricultural scientists who had green thumbs.
Green is also the color used to describe the powerful emotion, jealousy. The green-eyed monster is not a frightening creature from outer space. It is an expression used about four hundred years ago by British writer William Shakespeare in his play "Othello."
It describes the unplesant feeling a person has when someone has something he wants. A young man may suffer from the green-eyed monster if his girlfriend begins going out with someone else. Or, that green-eyed monster may affect your friend if you get a pay raise and she does not.
In most places in the world, a green light is a signal to move ahead. A green light on a traffic signal means your car can continue on. In everyday speech, a green light means approval to continue with a project. We want you to know we have a green light to continue this series next week.
请阅读更多我的博客文章>>>
| • | [翻译系列] 2. 水： 处在滚烫的热水中 |
| • | ［翻译系列］3。 有关名字： 一个普通的周威走在大街上 |
