美国多年来有一首流行歌曲,它的名字叫" I get a kick out of You"Kick就是用脚踢的意思,不管是人的脚,或是马的脚,被踢的人一般来说是会感到很痛的。但是,这首歌的名字"I Get A Kick Out of You"却毫无痛苦之意,相反的,它的意思是:由于你的爱情使我感到快乐和激动。下面这个例子里的年轻人发现自己对过去半年里有时一起出去玩的那个女孩产生了爱慕之心。他对这位姑娘说:
例句-1 : Say, Barby, let me tell you something. I really get a kick out of being around you. If you feel the same way about me, maybe we ought to get serious and think about getting engaged to each other.
To get a kick out of这个俗语并不完全和爱情联系在一起。它可以用于任何一个使你高兴的人,或任何一样令你喜爱和激动的东西。例如:一个成年人在说他自己的爱好:
例句-2: I'm not a kid anymore but I still get a big kick out of going to see a circus. The elephants, the clowns, the acrobats--they make me feel like a kid again.
下面我们还要讲一个由kick这个字组成的俗语,那就是: to kick the bucket。尽管这个俗语也同样有kick这个字,但是它的意思却全然不同。To kick the bucket,它的意思是:一个人死了。特别要指出的是,to kick the bucket这个用法一般是对死者不太尊重的,所以在有礼貌的谈话中不太使用这一俗语。我们来举个例子吧:有一个人骑了马到一个农场去找他以前的老朋友Charley,到了那儿,农场的一个人对他说:
例句-3: Your old friend Charley's not working here any more. In fact we heard he kicked the bucket down in Texas last winter; he got kicked in the head by a horse he was trying to saddle up.
例句-4: That old dog next door finally kicked the bucket. He was sixteen years old, toothless, blind and could hardly get around. Sixteen years is a long time for a dog, so it was time for him to go.