A: I seldom heard the quarreling of her children.

我很少聽見她的孩子吵架。

B: Why do you say that?

你為何這么說？

A: Because her children have been the age when they seem to quarrel all day long.

因為她的孩子正值整天要吵架的年齡。

B: Oh, I see. She told me that she had learned very quickly how to pour oil on troubled water, but not to pour oil on the flame.

哦，我明白了。她告訴我學會了一套調停爭端的本事，而不是讓事情進一步發(fā)展。

A: She is a cleaver mother.

她真是個聰明的媽媽。

地道表達：

pour oil on the flame

解詞釋義：

此語的字面意思是“把油澆在火焰上”，把油澆在火焰上，會使得火更大，更旺。因此，用之比喻“使怒氣更盛”，“使爭吵更加激烈”，“使事情更加糟糕”，我們中文中說的“火上加油”也正是這個英文表達。也可以用作pour the oil on the flames。

支持范例：

It poured the oil on the flame to him to be told that he was reaping the consequences.

說他自食其果，更是火上加油。

They poured the oil in secret, prompting me to revenge.

他們暗地里火上加油，激勵我報復。

She is more than irritated now, don't pour oil on the flame!

她現(xiàn)在已火冒三丈了，別再火上加油了！

同類表達：

stir the coals/blow the coals

詞海拾貝：

1. pour oil on the trouble water：平息風波，息事寧人

范例：If you see two people quarreling, you should try to pour oil on the trouble water, not add furl to the flames.

如果你看到兩個人正在吵架，你應當盡力排解糾紛，而不是火上加油。

2. all day long：整天

范例：He nagged (at) her all day long.

他一天到晚地說她。

Rain fell from the heavens all day long.

整天都下著雨。

Doing anything all day long will come to nothing but get us bored.

整天做一件事只會把人弄煩。

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