從前從前,東漢有一位名叫牟融的人,不但博學多聞,而且精通佛理。當時便有很多儒家的學者跑來向他請教佛學的問題。然而,牟融在回答他們問題的時候,卻鮮少引用佛家經典,反而引用了不少儒家的典籍。那些儒家的學者就困惑啦,問他:「佛學博大精深,可是為什麼您在跟我們闡述事情的時候,卻不談佛學只談儒學呢?」牟融告訴他們:「你們熟悉儒學,不熟佛學,我若引用儒學的內容,你們很快就能理解;反之,我若引用佛學的例子,就好像跟瞎子大談五顏六色的美麗,或對牛彈琴一樣。因為不管旋律是多麼的感人肺腑,琴藝是如何的高超,對牛來說,都是沒有差別的。」
跟他分析攝影的重要性就像對牛彈琴一樣。
(When I talk to him about the importance of photography, it just goes right over his head.)
Photo: Paul Cooper, Taipei Times
照片:台北時報記者古德謙攝
他是個工作狂,勸他把健康放第一根本就是對牛彈琴。
(He is a workaholic. Trying to convince him to prioritize his health is like talking to a brick wall.)
英文練習
Talking to a brick wall; to preach to deaf ears;to “be lost” on someone.
The Chinese idiom 對牛彈琴 literally means “to play the lute to a cow.” It comes from a story dating to the Eastern Han, where a scholar named Mou Rong (牟融), versed in Buddhist scripture, would teach Confucian scholars only using examples from Confucian texts. When they asked him why he did not use teachings quoting from the Buddhist canon, he said, “you are not versed in Buddhist scriptures. If I quoted these to you, it would be like describing color to the blind, or playing the lute to a cow.”
Comparable phrases exist in English, but there are differences between what they mean. “Talking to a brick wall,” does not necessarily mean that the person you are talking to cannot understand: rather, they do not want to understand. “To preach to deaf ears” means that your audience has already made up its mind, and will not change their position, whatever you say. When an idea is “lost on” someone, we mean they are unable to understand an idea, because it is too difficult or too subtle for them, or they just don’t “get” it.
The term “casting pearls before swine” does mean giving somebody something they do not have the capacity to appreciate. It actually comes from the Bible, from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount: “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine.”
Don’t waste your breath. Talking to them is like talking to a brick wall.
(別白費功夫了。跟他們講道理就像對牛彈琴一樣。)
I don’t understand jazz. It’s totally lost on me.
(我完全不懂爵士樂,聽也聽不出任何端倪。)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into
There are several methods to prevent or slow down enzymatic browning in fruit. __3__ This lowers the pH level of the fruit tissue, causing the PPO to be far less active. Another method is to store the fruit in an airtight container or to wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Doing this will reduce its exposure to oxygen. __4__ Although fruit that has undergone enzymatic browning may look less appealing, it is still safe to eat. However, by using one of these simple methods, you can enjoy fresh-looking fruit for a longer period. 有一些方法能避免或減緩水果的酶促褐變。其中一個有效的方式就是在切片水果的表面塗上酸性物質,像是檸檬汁或醋。這樣做能降低水果組織的酸鹼值,讓 PPO 更不為活躍。另一個方式是將水果存放在密封的容器內,或用保鮮膜將其緊緊包住。這樣做會減少水果與氧氣的接觸。快速蒸一下切片水果或將其短暫浸泡在滾水中也能使PPO失去活性,並終止 PPO 與空氣的作用。 雖然經歷酶促褐變的水果可能看起來較不吸引人,但仍然可以安全食用。然而,藉由採用這些簡單方法中的其中一個,你就能在更長的一段時間享用看起來新鮮的水果。 What Did You