手拉手，肩并肩

 

文/王逢鑫

 

汉语中具有“手拉手”“肩并肩”“面对面”和“背靠背”等由身体部位名词构成的词组，表示两个人相同身体器官或部位处于相连或邻近的位置。英语中也有hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, face to face和back to back等对应词组，表示身体距离（physical distance）。

 

hand in hand的字面意思是（two persons）holding or clasping each other’s hand，表示二人的手紧握在一起，即“手拉手”、“手挽手”或“携手”，例如：

 

1. I saw the young couple making their way, hand in hand, down the path.

我看到这对年轻夫妻手拉手正沿着小路向前走去。

 

2. John and Mary walked hand in hand, through the garden.

约翰和玛丽手拉手穿过花园。

 

hand in hand还有together的意思，即“一起”，例如：

 

3. The doctors and nurses are working hand in hand to save the patient.

这些医生和护士正通力合作营救这个病人。

 

hand in hand也可用作身体隐喻（body metaphor），其比喻意义是being closely connected to each other，即“紧密相关”，例如：

 

4. Poverty and poor health often go hand in hand.

穷困与健康不良常常紧密相关。

 

5. The professor holds that scientific research and teaching should go hand in hand.

这位教授认为，科研与教学应该紧密结合。

 

6. Industrial progress should go hand in hand with agricultural development.

工业进步应与农业发展齐头并进。

 

与hand in hand类似的词组还有arm in arm，意思是 with the arm of one person linked with the arm of the other，即“挽臂”或“挎着胳臂”，例如：

 

7. In the park, the young couple strolled happily arm in arm.

在公园里，这对年轻夫妻挎着胳膊高兴地溜达。

 

8. When modern numers fight hand to hand ,the face is usually the primary attack.

当现代人类徒于打架时，脸部通常是首要攻击目标。

 

hand to hand的字面意义是unarmed，即“徒手”或“空手”，例如：

 

9. Hand-to-hand fighting is a kind of fighting where the people are very close together, using either their hands or weapons such as knives.

肉搏战是人们非常近距离，徒手或使用刀一类武器的搏斗。

 

10. The soldier suffered two broken ribs in a fierce hand-to-hand battle.

这名士兵在激烈的肉搏战中被打断了两根肋骨。

 

11. There was, reportedly, hand-to-hand combat in the street.

据报道，大街上发生了肉搏战。

 

与hand to hand类似的词组还有head to head, face to face, eye to eye, neck to neck, shoulder to shoulder, back to back, heart to heart等，例如：

 

head to head的字面意义是arranged in a line with the heads adjacent to each other，即“头挨着头”或“头与头并列”，例如：

 

12. In the train, the bunk beds were set up head to head.

在火车上，卧铺是并列摆放的。

 

head to head的比喻意义是being close in direct confrontation, conflict, opposition, or competition，即“并驾齐驱”“齐头并进”“不相上下”“难分伯仲”或“势均力敌”，例如：

 

13. The horses ran mostly head to head.

这些马大部分是并驾齐驱奔跑的。

 

14. It is a head-to-head battle between the two companies.

这是两家公司的一场不相上下的竞争。

 

15. Marathon is a head-to-head contest all the way.

马拉松是一场一路势均力敌的竞赛。

 

to go head to head with sb.的意思是to deal with sb. in a very direct and determined way，即“正面交锋”，例如：

 

16. Your rival is so powerful that you can’t go head to head with them.

你的对手如此强有力，你是无法与他正面交锋的。

 

17. The Canadian business cannot compete head-to-head with the American business.

这家加拿大企业无力与那家美国企业正面竞争。

 

head-to-head还有intimately private的比喻意义，即“私密的”，例如：

 

18. The two businessmen had a head-to-head conversation in a private club.

这两个商人在一家私人俱乐部进行了私密交谈。

 

face to face的字面意义是close to and looking at，即“面对面”，例如：

 

19. The two people have never met face to face before.

这两个人过去从未谋面。

 

20. I prefer to talk to people face to face rather than to talk on the phone.

我更愿意跟人们面对面交谈，而不愿意通过电话交谈。

 

21. Just as in face-to-face communication, there are some basic rules of behavior that should be followed on the Internet.

正如在面对面交流时一样，网络上也有一些人们应该遵循的基本行为规则。

 

face to face with sth.的意思是in a situation where you have to accept that sth. is true and deal with it，即“直面某种处境”，例如：

 

22. He was brought face to face with the truth about his son’s disappearance.

他被迫直面他儿子失踪的现实。

 

23. This was the first time I’d ever come face to face with poverty.

这是我第一次直面贫困。

 

to see eye to eye的意思是to share the same views，即“看法一致”，例如：

 

24. I hope we shall see eye to eye in this matter.

我希望我们在这件事上看法一致。

 

25. We don’t usually see eye to eye on many things.

我们在许多事情上通常看法不一致。

 

neck to neck或neck and neck的意思是side by side in a race，即“不相上下”“齐头并进”或“并驾齐驱”，例如：

 

26. In the early stages of the marathon competition, the athlete was neck to neck with the defending champion.

在这场马拉松比赛早期阶段，这名运动员与卫冕冠军跑得不相上下。

 

27. When two people are neck and neck in a race, they are so close that it’s impossible to tell who’s winning.

当两个人在赛跑时齐头并进，他们离得非常近，因而无法说谁会赢。

 

shoulder to shoulder的字面意思是physically close to，即“肩并肩”或“紧挨着”，例如：

 

28. We walked in the street shoulder to shoulder.

我们肩并肩在大街上行走。

 

29. The soldiers are standing shoulder to shoulder in the drilling ground.

士兵们正肩并肩站立在练兵场上。

 

shoulder to shoulder的比喻意思是 as one group that has the same aims, opinions, etc.，即“并肩”、“比肩”或“齐心协力”，例如：

 

back to back的字面意义是with ones’ backs facing or touching each other，即“背靠背”，例如：

 

30. We hane worked shoulder to shoulder for five years.

我们已并肩工作五年了。

 

31. The young couple sat back to back on the grass.

这对小夫妻背靠背坐在草地上。

 

32. Let’s stand back to back and we’ll see who is taller.

咱们背靠背站，就可以看到谁更高一些。

 

作为名词，heart-to-heart的意思是a conversation in which two people talk honestly about their feelings and personal matters，即“谈心”，亦作heart-to-heart talk，例如：

 

33. Why don’t you have a heart-to-heart talk with him and sort out your problems?

你为什么不跟他谈谈心，解决你的问题？