谚语是洋溢着文化气息的哲理性语言，是智慧的结晶。历年的高考英语试题中的谚语的出现频率越来越高，它通常与情景对话题、交际用语题、完形填空题、阅读理解等题型结合，用来提供情景或点明观点主旨。在写作中，如果考生能够运用几句谚语表达，会更提升作文层次，使自己的作文在众多高考作文中让阅卷老师眼前一亮。

　　一、 情景交际中的谚语知识

　　英语谚语文字精练、表达生动、情景性强，因此常用在情景交际题中作为试题背景。如2007年高考英语再次出现了考查谚语知识的试题：

　　(2007年江苏卷26)You may not have played very well today, but at least you’ve got through to the next round and ___.

　　A. tomorrow never comes B. tomorrow is another day

　　C. never put off till tomorrow D. there is no tomorrow

　　正确答案为B 。

　　A.明日复明日，明日何其多；我生待明日，万事成蹉跎。(因为永远有明天，也就永远会宕延)

　　B.明天又是新的一天。(有明天就有希望)

　　C.今日事，今日做。(今日事，今日毕)

　　D.切莫依赖明天。

　　全句意思是：

　　你今天或许表现欠佳，但至少可以参加下一轮的比赛，有明天就有希望。

　　将谚语溶入考题中是开放探究和激发创新新思维类试题的一个亮点，反映了英语试题鲜活、开放、新颖的特点，也为2008年的高考备考提供了依据和方向。

　　二、阅读理解中的谚语知识

　　谚语包含了朴素的哲理和深刻的寓意，用在阅读理解题中常用来推断、总结、做结论。考试需要透过文字的表层信息进行推理、分析、理解文章的真正内涵，找准文章意义与谚语寓意的切入点。请看下面两篇阅读理解：

　　A

　　You hear the same complaint all the time: “My memory is terrible.” Is it all in the mind, or do real changes take place in the brain with the passing of time? The answer is that the brain’s cells decline and die with age. However, according to Professor Arthur Shimamura of the University of California, people vary greatly in how they change mentally with age, as well as how much their mental ability declines.

　　There are three main ways in which mental function changes. The first concerns speed, such as how quickly you can react to fast-moving incidents on the road. Drivers in their late teens react quickly but often drive too fast, while the over -60’s are more careful but react more slowly. This type of mental slowing results from a reduction in the efficiency with which the brains’s neurons (神经细胞) work.

　　The fact that adults find it harder to learn musical instrument than children points to a second type of mental decline, the loss of learning ability with age. The part of the brain which is known to control new learning is particularly sensitive to the effects of ageing. This means we have to depend more on diaries and other mental aids as we get older, take longer to learn a new language and are slower to master new things at work.

　　“Working memory” is the third brain function that is sensitive to the effects of ageing. Absentmindedness occurs at all ages because of imperfections in the working memory system. For example, you may continually lose your glasses, or find yourself walking into a room of your house only to find that you cannot remember what you came for. Such absent-mindedness also occurs more often as we get older.

　　However, evidence also shows that the principle “use it or lose it” applies to the ageing brain. Professor Shimamura studied a group of university professors who were still mentally active, and compared their performance on neuro–psychological tests with that of others of their age group, as well as with younger people. He found that on several tests of memory, the mentally active professors in their 60’s and early 70’s performed better than those of the same age, and as well as the younger group.

　　1. Memory gets worse as people grow older because ____.

　　A. the brain starts to produce too many neurons

　　B. cells in the brain stop the neurons from working

　　C. the brain’s neurons don’t work as well as before

　　D. when people get old, they complain too much

　　2. Which of the following well-known sayings best expresses the idea of the third paragraph?

　　A. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

　　B. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

　　C. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

　　D. It’s never too old to learn.

　　3. We can conclude from Shimamura’s test on the professors that ____.

　　A. active minds might keep their memory better

　　B. memory can improve with the time passing on

　　C. all of the old people will suffer memory loss

　　D. the principle “use it or lose it” is obviously wrong

　　4. This passage is mainly about ____.

　　A. youth and ageing B. problems of getting old

　　C. secrets of a good memory D. ageing and mental ability

　　答案：1. C 2. B 3. A 4. D

　　第2题解析：

　　A.双鸟在林不如一鸟在手。

　　B.老狗学不到新把戏。(朽木不可雕。)

　　C.有志者事竟成。

　　D.活到老，学到老。

　　B

　　Life is raw material. We are artisans (n.工匠). We can sculpt our existence into beautiful or debase (vt.降低，贬低) it into ugliness. It’s in our hands. ---- Cathy Better.

　　It’s in Our Hands

　　Isn’t it amazing how few of us ask ourselves the important question?

　　Several years ago, I was invited to hear an important speaker address the students body of a small college in South Carolina. The auditorium was filled with students excited about the opportunity to hear a speaker of her status (n.地位，身份) speak. After the governor gave the introduction, the speaker moved to the microphone, looked at the audience from left to right, and began:

　　“I was born to a mother who was deaf and couldn’t speak. I don’t know who my father is or was. The first job I ever had was in a cotton field.”

　　The audience was spellbound. “Nothing has to remain the way it is if that’s not the way a person want it to be. She continued “it isn’t luck, and it isn’t circumstances, and it isn’t being born a certain way that causes a person’s failure to become what it becomes.” And she softly reported, “Nothing has to remain the way it is if that’s not the way a person wants it to be.”

　　“All a person has to do,” she added in a firm voice, “to change a situation that brings unhappiness or dissatisfaction answers the question: ‘How do I want this situation to become?’ then the person must commit totally to personal actions that carry them there.”

　　Then a beautiful smile shone forth as she said,, “My name is Azie Taylor Morton. I stand before you today as treasurer (n.财务主管) of the United States of America.”

　　5. The underlined part “the important question” most probably refers to “____”.

　　A. Whether life is raw material

　　B. whether we are masters of our life

　　C. whether we often attend a good lecture

　　D. whether we are artisans

　　6. The students were filled with excitement because ____.

　　A. they were certain it would be a good speech

　　B. the governor was present

　　C. They didn’t have much chance to hear an important person speak

　　D. they would be free to ask questions

　　7. The speaker described her own experience in her speech to ____.

　　A. gain sympathy from the audience

　　B. tell the audience what a great person she was

　　C. teach the audience something valuable

　　D. make the audience know more about her

　　8. Which of the following can best tell the main idea of the passage?

　　A. Where there is a will, there is a way.

　　B. Experience is the best teacher.

　　C. A fall into the pit, a gain in your wit.

　　D. Still waters run deep.

　　答案：5. B 6. C 7. C 8. A

　　第8题解析：

　　A.有志者，事竟成。

　　B.经验是最好的老师。(有经历必受益)

　　C.吃一堑，长一智。

　　D.静水流深。(沉默者深谋。)

　　在做这类题目的时候，考生首先要正确理解谚语的意思，再结合文意选出正确答案。这就要求考生平时多积累总结，比如专门准备一个谚语手册，平时学习阅读中遇到谚语或好的句子就把它写下来，日积月累，语言运用能力自然就上去了。

　　三、书面表达中的谚语知识

　　将寓意深刻、富有哲理的谚语运用到英语写作中可起到描绘生动、画龙点睛的作用，从而提高作文的得分档次。例如：

　　(2007年福建卷)

　　假设你是林华，福建省某中学高三学生，请你根据以下学生会倡议书的内容给某英文报社写一封信，叙述拟开展活动的内容并发表自己的看法。

　　注意：1.信的开头语已经给出，不计入总词数；

　　2.可根据内容要点适当发挥，但不要逐条翻译；

　　3.词数100左右：

　　4.参考词汇：增进promote;鼓励节约encourage econonmy

　　Dear editor,

　　I am a student of Senior Three in a middle school in Fujian Province.

　　Yours sincerely,

　　Lin Hua

　　分析：本篇书面表达的主旨增进节约，提倡互助友爱。据此，我们能想到的谚语有：

　　Saving is getting. (节约而后有。/节约就是获得。)

　　Waste not, want not.(不浪费，不愁缺。)

　　……

　　以此来点明主旨，表明自己对赠书活动的支持与赞赏态度。

　　One possible version:

　　Dear editor,

　　I am a student of Senior Tree in a middle school in Fujian Province.

　　In order that we can make the best of learning materials, the Students’Union of our school is arranging an activity. We students of Senior Three are called on to give away our used books, newspapers or magazines to the students in the lower grades. The idea, which is intended to promote friendship and encourage economy, is highly praised and supported by the teachers and students alike. The activity will last about ten days, from June 10 to 20.

　　Saving is getting. / Waste not, want not. As a student, I am strongly for the activity because it is very meaningful and helpful. I hope that this kind of activity will continue in the future.

　　Yours sincerely,

　　Lin Hua

　　(2007年江苏卷)

　　2007年4月29日上午10点到11点，全国亿万学生阳光体育活动在各地大中小学校同时进行，江苏省1，100万学生积极参与了这项活动。

　　教育部倡导学生：

　　·每天锻炼一小时

　　·健康工作五十年

　　·幸福生活一辈子

　　请你根据以上提示，用英语准备一份发言稿，向同学们讲述一下阳光体育活动的有关情况，并就高三学生是否需要每天花一小时锻炼，谈谈你的看法及理由。

　　注意：

　　①发言稿应包括以上所有信息，要有适当发挥。

　　②词数：120左右。发言稿的开头和结尾已经写好，不计入总词数。

　　③参考词汇：阳光体育活动——a national student sports program;

　　教育部——the Ministry of Education

　　Good afternoon, everyone,

　　____________________________________________________________________

　　Thank you!

　　分析：可选用Health is great riches.(健康是笔大财富。)来说明健康的重要性。

　　One possible version:

　　Good afternoon, everyone.

　　On the morning of April 29, 2007, from 10:00 to 11:00, hundreds of millions of students from primary, middle schools and universities all over China joined in a national student sports program. Eleven million students in Jiangsu took an active part in this program.

　　The Ministry of Education calls on students to exercise for an hour every day, in the hope that they will have good health to work fifty years and enjoy the whole life.

　　The advocation is good for our students, especially in Grade Three. The students in Grade Three should have sports for one hour every day. As long as we have a healthy body, we can achieve our goal. And we will be a strong power to construct our country.

　　My dear friends , come on! Health is great riches. Let us build our strong and healthy body so as to spare no effort to contribute to our country.

　　Thank you!

　　考题回放：

　　1. --- It took me ten years to build up my business, and it almost killed me.

　　--- Well, you know what they say. ____. (2006·江苏卷)

　　A. There is no smoke without fire B. Practice makes perfect

　　C. All roads lead to Rome D. No pains, no gains

　　2. If you are traveling ____ the customs are really foreign to your own, please do as Romans do. (2006·天津卷)

　　A. in which B. what C. when D. where

　　3. … Analyzing the law of the talion --- an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth --- William Ian Willer presents an original thinking over the concept of “pay back”…(2006·上海卷阅读C篇)

　　The word “talion” in introducing the book Eye for an Eye is probably a concept of ____.

　　A. medicine B. trade c. avenging D. striving

　　4. --- Never thought to see you here, Jay!

　　--- ____.

　　A. It’s a small world B. Don’t let it worry you

　　C. It’s always the case D. I’d like to meet you every day

　　5. --- I’ve given up smoking already, darling.

　　--- You should have taken the doctor’s advice years ago. ____, anyway.

　　A. Better late than never B. It’s easier said than done

　　C. No pains, no gains D. Well begun is half done

　　6. “First come, first ____” is an English proverb.

　　A. service B. served C. serving D. to serve

　　7. All work and no play ____ Jack a dull boy.

　　A. make B. made C. makes D. making

　　8. Give him an inch ____ he’ll take an ell.

　　A. or B. but C. and D. otherwise

　　答案与解析：

　　1. D. A.无风不起浪。 B.熟能生巧。 C.条条大路通罗马(殊途同归) D.不劳无获。

　　2. D.

　　3. C. an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth以眼还眼，以牙还牙；avenge vt.报复，报仇

　　4. A. It’s a small world这世界真小。(我们又见面了。)

　　5. A. A.迟做总比不做好。 B.说比做容易。 C.不劳无获。 D.好的开始是成功的一半。

　　6. B. First come, first served. 先到者先受用。(先到先得。)

　　7. C. 全句意思为：只工作(学习)不玩耍聪明的孩子也变傻。

　　8. C. 全句意思为：得寸进尺。

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