One time I remember talking to a parent, whose son I was teaching English to. I asked the parent why his son was enrolled in so many classes and he replied, “I want my son to become a dragon.” I couldn’t understand his meaning. When I asked a Chinese friend with good English I understood that his meaning had been“望子成龍”,which in English would be better expressed as“I have high hopes for my son/daughter.”
記得有一次我和一位家長聊天,我正在教他兒子英語。我問這位家長為什么他的兒子要上這么多的課, 他回答說:“I want my son to become a dragon.”我一頭霧水。當(dāng)我問了一位英語很好的中國朋友后,我知道了這位家長是想表達(dá)“望子成龍”。在英語中用“I have high hopes for my son/daughter.”來表達(dá)這一意思會比較好。
與“期望”相關(guān)的詞匯:
high hopes厚望 bright future前途無量
good outlook美好前景 good prospect美好的未來
successful career事業(yè)成功 rewarding life愉快人生
meaningful work有意義的工作 ideal job理想工作
place one’s hope on someone把希望寄托在某人身上
文化差異:
Unlike in China, where the dragon is considered a lucky and powerful sign, in Western culture, dragons are generally associated with “evil(邪惡的)” or “danger(危險)” in stories.