“冷”言“冷”語

Cold weather has a great effect on how our minds and our bodies work. Maybe that is why there are so many expressions that use the word cold.

For centuries， the body’s blood has been linked closely with the emotions. People who show no human emotions or feelings， for example， are said to be cold-blooded. Cold-blooded people act in cruel ways. They may do brutal things to others， and not by accident.

For example， a newspaper says the police are searching for a cold-blooded killer. The killer

● 我們從一些詞中可以看出，人體的血液和人的情感、想法是有緊密聯系的，例如“熱血”一詞形容的就是為正義事業而獻身的熱情。與之相對的“冷血”，在英語中的表達為“cold-blooded”，是用來形容人沒有任何情感和感受，他們行事殘忍，而且并非出于偶然。“cold-blooded killer”是“冷血殺手”的意思，用這個詞來形容罪犯，也就是說他不是出于自衛或對憤怒和恐懼的反應，而是冷漠無情地奪走他人的生命。murdered someone， not in self-defense or because he was reacting to anger or fear. He seemed to kill for no reason， and with no emotion， as if taking someone’s life meant nothing.

Cold can affect other parts of the body. The feet， for example. Heavy socks can warm your feet， if your feet are really cold. But there is an expression—to get cold feet—that has nothing to do with cold or your feet.

The expression means being afraid to do something you had decided to do. For example， you agree to be president of an organization. But then you learn that all the other officers have resigned. All the work of the organization will be your responsibility. You are likely to get cold feet about being president when you understand the situation.

Cold can also affect your shoulder. You give someone the cold shoulder when you refuse to speak to them. You treat them in a distant， cold way. The expression probably comes from the physical act of turning your back toward someone， instead of speaking to him faceto-face. You may give a cold shoulder to a friend who has not kept a promise he made to you， or to someone who has lied about you to others.

A cold fish is not a fish. It is a person. But it is a person who is unfriendly， unemotional and shows no love or warmth. A cold fish does not offer much of himself to anyone.

Someone who is a cold fish could be cold-hearted. Now a cold-hearted person is someone who has no sympathy. Several popular songs in recent years were about cold-hearted men or cold-hearted women who， without feeling， broke the hearts of their lovers.

Out in the cold is an expression often heard. It means not getting something that everybody else got. A person might say that everybody but him got a pay raise， that he was left out in the cold. And it is not a pleasant place to be.

● 詞組“to get cold feet”從字面上看是“腳冷”的意思，但實際上卻另有其意。當你突然對計劃好的事情產生退縮的畏懼心理時，（大多數情況下是出于緊張，）就可以用到“to get cold feet”這個詞組，是“臨陣退縮”的意思。有人說這個詞組的起源是士兵借口因為腳冷而不能上戰場，臨陣脫逃。

● 當你冷落了某人而且是用一種極不友好和無禮的方式對待他時，我們就可以用到“give someone the cold shoulder”這個詞組，表示“對某人態度冷淡、不以為然”。

●“cold fish”并不是用來形容魚的，而是一個貶義詞，說的是那些對人很冷淡、不友好，不愿和別人友好相處的人，他們性格比較孤僻，不太合群。這種人可能會比較無情，對別的人或事物沒有同情心，這時候我們可以用“cold-hearted”來形容他們。

● “out in the cold”是經常聽到的一個詞組，意思是“被冷落、遭排斥”，指的是沒有得到其他人得到的東西。