发觉可疑;感觉蹊跷

 

Subject：I smell a rat. 

 

情景对话：

A : Wait! I smell a rat! 

等等！我感到有点不对劲。

 

B: What? Oh, we are in the wrong classroom! 

什么，哦，我们走错了教室。

 

地道表达 

smell a rat 

 

1. 解词释义 

Smell a rat中的rat是指“老鼠”。老鼠在人们心中是个鬼鬼祟祟的样子，如果你问到了老鼠的味道，你会感觉到恶心，心里发毛，同时还可能想你的东西是否被他咬过。这种感觉和俚语中的smell the rat的意思相近了，意思是“让人觉得不对劲”“发觉可疑”“感觉事情蹊跷，不对劲”。其英文解释为：to suspect that something iswrong; to sense that someone has caused something wrong。

 

2. 拓展例句 

e.g. Why are the police looking for me? I smell a rat. 

警察为什么在找我?我觉得事有蹊跷。

 

e.g. The old man would probably smell a rat if he were to claim them now. 

马上去要，恐怕老头子多心。

 

e.g. Every time Joe visits me, one of my ash trays disappears. I'm beginning to smell a rat. 

每次乔来看我，我就有一只烟灰缸不见了。我开始起了疑心。

 

e.g. The teacher did not smell a rat until he found Jack kept looking downwards at his own feetinstead of at his own paper. 

直到老师发现杰克不在看自己的卷子，而老盯着自己的脚看时，他才发现有问题。