馬克林的世界

2008/12/30

Like father, like son.

【執筆／台科大應用外語系助理教授 黃玟 君】

這句諺語直譯是「像父親，像兒子」，意思很簡單明瞭，就是「虎父虎子，犬父犬子；虎父無犬子。」這句話通常用在形容一對父子在某方面很相像，當然，這句諺語也可寫成：Like mother, like daughter.（有其母必有其女），用來形容一對母女在某方面很相像。這句諺語可以用在正面或負面的事情上面，不過用在負面的情況較多。例如一個父親雖位居高官，卻貪贓枉法、腐敗不堪，結果其兒子跟老爸差不多，洗錢、隱匿海外資產樣樣都來，這時我們便可以感嘆：唉，這兩人果然like father, like son！

實用對話Conversation

A: Ken and his dad practically came from the same mold. B: True. They not only look eerily alike, they also share the same interests. A: I heard that they both like fine dining, enjoying good wine, and admiring beautiful ladies.

B: Yep. That's not all; they're also both very successful in their careers.

A: I heard that when Ken's dad was young his temper was like Ken's now--snappy!

B: It's like they say: Like father, 1ike son.