每日英語 #130: Kitty-Corner and Copycat

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Kitty-Corner and Copycat

Cats are very popular “pets” (animals kept by people for pleasure) among Americans, so it’s no surprise that we use a lot of “expressions” (words and phrases) that refer to cats. In fact, there are many cat-related terms commonly used in everyday conversation in American English. If you didn’t know the two terms “kitty-corner” and “copycat,” you may think they actually have something to do with cats, but they don’t.

貓咪是美國人非常受歡迎的「寵物」，因此我們常使用與貓相關的「表達」(字詞和片語)。事實上，日常對話中有很多與貓有關的詞彙。如果你不知道「kitty-corner」和「copycat」這兩個詞，你可能會以為它們真的與貓有關，但實際上並不是。

A “kitten,” or more informally a “kitty,” is a young or baby cat. Cats of any age can sometimes be informally called “kitty cats.” The word “kitty-corner,” however, doesn’t have anything to do with baby cats. It refers to something that is located “diagonally” (on opposite corners) across from something else, usually across an “intersection,” where two streets meet. If you have a neighbor who lives across the street in front of your house and across the street to your left or right, that neighbor lives kitty-corner to you.

「Kitten」或更口語化的「kitty」是指小貓。任何年齡的貓有時候都會被非正式地稱為「kitty cats」。然而，「kitty-corner」這個詞與小貓毫無關聯，它指的是某個位於「對角線」(在對角的位置)的物件，通常是指在兩條街道交匯處。如果你的鄰居住在你家前方的對角線位置，那麼他們就是住在「kitty-corner」的位置。

“Copycat” is a word used by children to refer to someone who copies someone else’s ideas or behavior, such as the way they dress or the way they speak. Adults sometimes use it jokingly to mean the same thing.

「Copycat」是小孩用來形容模仿他人想法或行為的人，像是模仿穿衣風格或說話方式。成年人有時也會開玩笑地用這個詞來表達相同意思。

For example, if you cut your hair short and “bleached it” (made it a lighter color), and the following week, your friend cuts his hair and bleaches it, you may say, “You are a copycat!”

例如，如果你剪了短髮並且「漂白」(將顏色變淺)，而你的朋友在下週也剪短髮並漂白，你可能會說：「你是個copycat！」

重要單字

• 1. Kitty-corner - 對角位置的 / [ˈkɪti ˌkɔrnər]
• 2. Copycat - 模仿者 / [ˈkɑpiˌkæt]
• 3. Diagonal - 對角的 / [daɪˈæɡənl]
• 4. Intersection - 十字路口 / [ˌɪntərˈsɛkʃn]
• 5. Bleach - 漂白 / [bliːtʃ]