☞你可以天天說英語 - ☞Be as Poor as a Church Mouse 一貧如洗╱窮光蛋

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英語小測
“Cinema”是甚麼意思?

1. 人們睡覺的地方
2. 拍攝電影的地方
3. 人們去看電影的地方
4. 雜技團帳幕

對 話

Paul：I wish I had more money. I'm as poor as a church mouse.

保羅：但願我有多點錢。我真是窮得要命。

Joe：Well, you sure dress nicely for someone so poor. Isn't that a new leather jacket?

阿喬：這樣啊，以窮人的標準來看，你穿得還真體面。那不是件新的皮外套嗎？

Paul：Well, I have to look good.

保羅：這個嘛，我必須穿得人模人樣的啊。

Joe：And didn't you just get a better engine put in your car? And a new computer last month?

阿喬：你不是才剛幫車子換了一個更高檔的引擎嗎？而且上個月還買了臺新電腦？

Paul：Well, um, they were on sale...

保羅：喔，嗯，它們當時有特價?

Joe：It seems these days church mice aren't as poor as they were before.

阿喬：看起來現在的教堂老鼠不像以前那樣窮哈哈了。

[多學一點點]

★as poor as a church mouse

church是“教堂”，be as poor as a church mouse 字面上的意思是“窮得像教堂的老鼠”。對會眾來說，教堂是用來敬拜讚美神的莊嚴肅穆之地，所以教堂裏是禁止飲食的。既然教堂裏不能吃東西，想當然而，教堂裏的老鼠甚麼也沒得吃，若和街道上或餐廳裏的老鼠比起來，牠們就像是“窮光蛋”。于是本俚語就引申指“一貧如洗”、“窮光蛋”。

英語小測

"Cinema" means:
3 人們去看電影的地方

"He's strictly an indoor cat."

strictly 嚴格