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《新概念英語點津系列輔導叢書》重磅推出！
在上一篇文章裡，我們討論了“
傷心（sadness）
”的各種表達，大家可以點選下面的文章回顧一下：
“傷心”不能光用sad，那還可以怎麼說呢？
今天，我們就跟著Liz Walter一起來學習“開心
（happiness）
”的各種表達。
1）Let‘s start with the phrase I’ve used in the title：
on cloud nine
。 Nobody really knows the origins of this phrase – one theory is that it refers to the cumulonimbus cloud that was number nine in the ‘International Cloud Atlas’ and rises higher than all other clouds， while another relates to one of the stages of enlightenment in Buddhist thought。 Still， it‘s enough to know that if you are on cloud nine， you are extremely happy。 In fact， you are
in seventh heaven
（from the belief in some religions that there are seven levels of heaven， the seventh being the highest）。
英語中常用on cloud nine或in seventh heaven來表示“歡天喜地；非常高興”。
2）Several other happiness idioms rely on the metaphorical idea of being in a very high place。 We can say that we are
walking/floating on air
，
on top of the world
or
over the moon
。 Similarly， something that makes you feel happier is said to
lift your spirits
。
有些表達“開心”的習語主要是透過身處高處來表達的，比如：walk/float on air；on top of the world；over the moon。也可以用sth。 lift one’s spirits來表達。
3）Moving away from height metaphors， In British and Australian English， we can say （rather sweetly， I always think） that someone in a generally happy mood is
full of the joys of spring
。 If you are extremely pleased about something that has happened， you can say that you
can't
believe your luck
。 In British English， we also say that we are
thrilled to bits
。
在英式英語和澳大利亞英語裡，常用full of the joys of spring來表示“開心”；如果非常開心，則可以說can‘t believe one’s luck。在英式英語中，還可以用be thrilled to bits來表達。
4）If someone has been sad but becomes more cheerful， we say that they
cheer up
or
perk up
。 Something that
brightens up
your day
makes you feel happier， and if you
revel in
a situation or an activity， you get great pleasure from it。
如果要表達先傷心後開心的話，常用cheer up或perk up。如果要表達某事令人更開心，可以用brighten up one‘s day。如果用revel in a situation或an activity，則表示“從。。。中得到快樂”。
5）There are several rather strange similes connected with happiness： Brits and Australians are
as happy as Larry
or
as happy as a sandboy
and Americans are
as happy as a clam
。 It is thought that ’Larry‘ is the undefeated boxer Larry Foley （1849-1917）， and that ’sandboys‘ were youths whose job was to deliver sand for the floors of inns， and who were ’happy‘ because they were often rewarded with alcohol！ The American version is probably a shortening of ’as happy as a clam at high tide‘， i。e。 when no longer exposed to predators。 All of these phrases are slightly old-fashioned now。
比較陳舊的說法有：as happy as Larry或as happy as a sandboy（偏英式英語和澳大利亞英語的用法）；as happy as a clam（偏美式英語的用法）。
6）If someone is happy in an enthusiastic and lively way， we can say they are
like a dog with two tails
， and if they have a self-satisfied air， they are
like the cat that got the cream
。 More crudely， if someone looks completely comfortable and happy in a situation， they are
like a pig in muck
。
如果是極度開心、富有活力的話，可以說be like a dog with two tails。如果是要表達自我滿足式的開心，則可用be like the cat that got the cream。如果要表達某人處於非常安逸開心的場合，則可以用be like a pig in muck。
如果覺得好，歡迎繼續關注支援廖懷寶的原創頭條號“新概念英語的教與學”！
