介绍:
1.Achilles heel. 惟一致命的弱点
heel,踵，也就是俗称的脚后跟。
Achilles is a Greek hero. When he was a baby, it was foretold that he would die young. To prevent his death, his mother took Achilles to the River Styx, which was supposed to protect people from death, and dipped his body into the water. But as the mother held Achilles by the heel, his heel was not washed over by the water of the magical river. Achilles grew up to be a man of war who survived many great battles. But one day, a poisonous arrow shot him in his heel, killing him shortly after.
Achilles幼时被母亲倒提着浸入冥河，因而周身刀枪不入。但他的脚后跟被母亲握着，没有浸着水，成了惟一致命的弱点。在一次战争中，Achilles被一只毒箭射中脚后跟而死去。 后来，阿克琉斯之踵便用来指代某人惟一的软肋。
An Achilles heel is a deadly weakness in spite of overall strength, which can lead to downfall.
For example, A misbehaving minister is regarded as a government’s Achilles heel and is expected to resign.
一个行为不端的部长是政府的致命伤，他应该离职。
2. Sphinx’s riddle 斯芬克斯之谜。
Sphinx is a mythical creature with the body of a lion and a human head. Sphinx is said to have guarded the entrance to the Greek city of Thebes, and to have asked a riddle of travellers to allow them passage. No one could answer that, and they were all killed by Sphinx. One day, Oedipus came to her, and Sphinx asked him "What is that which in the morning goes upon four feet; upon two feet in the afternoon; and in the Evening upon three?" Oedipus solved the riddle by answering: Man—who crawls on all fours as a baby, then walks on two feet as an adult, and then uses a walking stick in old age. Since Oedipus solved it, Sphinx killed herself.
斯芬克斯是狮身人面女妖。她守在古希腊底比斯城外, 让过往行人猜她的谜语，猜不出者即遭杀害。俄狄浦斯决心为民除害，自愿前往解答谜语。这个谜语是：“今有一物,早晨四足，当午两足，晚间三足，这是何物? ”俄狄浦斯答道: “这是人。因为人在婴儿时期爬行，长大后两脚步行，年迈时拄杖行走。” 斯芬克斯见谜底已被道破,便从悬崖跳下而死。这就是所谓Sphinx’s riddle, 难解之谜。
We can say, How the massive stones were brought here from hundreds of miles away remains a
Sphinx’s riddle. 这些巨石是如何从数百英里外的地方来到这里仍然是个难解之谜.
3.Penelope’s web, 指永远做不完的工作。
This is a story about Odysseus’s wife, Penelope. It is said that Odysseus went out for a war for ten years. While Penelope was waiting for him at home, she remains loyal to her husband. Word came that Odysseus died, so many young men came to propose to Penelope. Penelope turned them all down, and said, only after she finished weaving a shroud for her husband would she consider who she might marry. Penelope was cleaver. She did the weaving during day and unweaved it during night, so her work was never ended until Odysseus returned home.
Penelope是Odysseus的妻子。在丈夫出门征战特洛伊期间，她对丈夫忠贞不渝。十年间，不停有求婚者来访，还有人称Odysseus已客死他乡。为了摆脱求婚者的纠缠，Penelope说她要为丈夫织一件寿衣，然后再考虑改嫁给谁。Penelope很聪明，她白天织了，夜里又拆掉，每天如此反复，寿衣总是不能完工，一直拖延到丈夫回来。据此，Penelope在英语中有时用来指代“忠贞的妻子”，而Penelope’s web则喻指“永远做不完的工作”。
比如我们要抱怨现在的工作或学习永无休止。我们可以说：
My work is something like the web of Penelope, never ending, still beginning; never done,
but ever at hand.
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