ReadingReading

Biblical idioms in EnglishBiblical idioms in English

LEAD-IN

• Please guess the meanings of the following

• 1.When the cat’s away,the mice will play.

• 2.beard the lion in his den( 兽穴 )

• 3.lick sb’s shoes

山中无老虎 , 猴子称大王

太岁头上动土

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.

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.

The Obstacle In Our Path  

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.

2. The idiom “by and by” originally meant “immediately ”in the Bible.

3. The Bible was translated into English thousands of years ago.

T

T

F

4.The idiom “feet of clay’’ means a person ’s feet are full of clay.

5.The animals “birds” and “cows” are mentioned in the idioms in the article.

6. The food apple and salt appear in the article.

7.Learning biblical idioms can improve our comprehension and develop a high level of competence in our communication skills.

F

F

T

T

Detailed reading

Read the passage a second time and complete Part C1.

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?

6. Which animals are featured in the

idioms in the articles?

There is a hidden weakness in somebody

whom we admire or respect.

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 expression whose ________ can be completely different from the meanings of its components, using words to _________ a single object, person or concept.

Bibleidioms

Quite a few idioms used in English came from the Bible, which was first written in Hebrew and then translated into _____, both of which use many idioms. We call them Biblical idioms in English.

meaning

represent

Greek

Examplesof different kinds

related to stories

This kind of idiom underlines the ______ of a story and gives audiences an image to help them understand the story better, such as “feet of clay”.

related to ________

This kind of idiom uses animals to create an image, such as “a little bird told me” and “________________”.

moral

animals

kill the fatted calf

Examples

of

different

kinds

related to food This kind of idiom

focuses on food or

things related to food,

like

“___________________

” and “the salt of the

earth”.

the apple of one’s eye

Conclusion Since idioms are an important part

of a language as well as ________ of

history and culture and studying

them can help improve

comprehension and develop a high

level of ___________ in

communication skills, it is necessary

for learners to study them so as to

better understand and appreciate

the history and cultures of

________________ countries.

carriers

competence

English-speaking

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

C

B

3. From the passage, we know that ________.

A. an idiom can be understood easily by looking at the meaning of its separate

wordsB. biblical idioms originally have vague meaningsC. “by and by” means immediately at

presentD. there are many idioms in Hebrew and

GreekD

Match each with its Chinese

apple of their parents’ eye

feet of clay

by and by

the salt of the earth

kill the fatted calf

a little bird told me

掌上明珠

不久 , 很快

高尚的人，社会中坚

有人私下告诉我

伟人的弱点

设宴招待

1. Sarah’s grandmother adores her; Sarah

is ______________________________.

2. Wilson was disappointed when he learnt

that the coach had ___________.

Apply these idioms into practical usage.

the apple of her grandmother’s eye

feet of clay

3. She knew it might take a long time for

her teammates to change their minds,

but she believed that the new plan would

work _________.by and by

4. The people in my village are very honest

and hard-working; they are

____________________

5. When my brother came back home from

his trip to Europe, we

___________________ for him.

6. She would not say who told her about

the surprise party. She just said,

“_________________.”

the salt of the earth.

killed the fatted calf

A little bird told me

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。　

Some Biblical idioms in English

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 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!

2. Don’t tell anyone else that I am looking

for a new job. Please keep it under

your hat.

(in trouble)

(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 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

坏蛋 a bad apple:

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.

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 (Line20)

2. vague (Line12)

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 (L9)

7. mended one’s

ways (Line31)

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.

An idiom is a ______ of words 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 _______ can be a good way to do so.

group

idioms

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 into ______ and later into English. Take “by and by” as an example. It originally meant “immediately”, but now it means _________________.

Greektranslated

before long

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

weaknesses

concept

underline

bird

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

More idioms for you to learn

1.as wise as Solomon

2.spend money like water

3.water one’s hand

4. a two-edged sword

5. doubting Thomas

6. Judas’ kiss

7. go bananas

8. fall to the ground

极有智慧挥金如土洗手不干双刃剑

口蜜腹剑大发雷霆

一败涂地

多疑的人

Step 5 Translation1. 众所周知 , 他非常喜欢拍有权有势的人马

屁 .

It is well-known that he _____ _____ likes to _____ _____ ______of a rich and powerful person.

2. 如果你不诚实 , 你就一文不值了 .

If you are not _______ , you are worth _________ .

very muchlick the shoes

honest

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 __________ _______, I have a ______ understanding of the _________ ______ in English.

4. 习语是历史和文化的载体 .

_______ are _________ of history and culture.

Internet articlebetter

biblical idioms

Idioms carriers

5. 改过自新者总会受到人们欢迎的 .

Anybody _____ is willing to _____ ___ _____ is always welcomed by people.

who mend hisways

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 of words or an (1)e_________ whose meaning often cannot be understood by looking at the meanings of the (2)s_________ words in it. Its meaning can be completely different from the meanings of its (3)c_________ . It you can’t recognize when an idiom is being used, you can (4)m_________ what you read or hear spoken.

xpression

eparate

omponents

isunderstand

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 or have only a vague or loose (6)c_________ to Hebrew or Greek idioms.

riginal

onnection

W: What meanings do Biblical idioms have?

M: Biblical idioms originally had (7)s_________ and clear meanings because they were often meant to (8)u_________ the moral of a story and to give audiences an image to help them to understand the story better. And there are 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.

traightforward

nderline

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_________ in your communication skills.

ompetence

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?

Discussion