ReadingReading

Biblical idioms in EnglishBiblical idioms in English

The Bible is often described as "the greatest book ever written." This is because of its unending significance and influence on people throughout the ages. No other book in history has impacted peoples and cultures like the Bible.

Many basic concepts and principles of

Western culture have come down from

the Bible. Many common English

phrases and expressions have their

origin in the Bible well.

Even though it was written more than

2,000 years ago, the Bible continues to

influence people today.Let’s enjoy a story in it.

In ancient times, a king had a boulder

placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself

and watched to see if anyone would

remove the huge rock. Some of the king's

wealthiest merchants and courtiers came

by and simply walked around it.

The Obstacle In Our Path  

Many loudly blamed the king for not

keeping the roads clear, but none did

anything about getting the big stone out of

the way. Then a peasant came along

carrying a load of vegetables. On

approaching the boulder, the peasant laid

down his burden and tried to move the

stone to the side of the road. After much

pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.

As the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many others never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one's condition.

Scan the Internet article on page 50

quickly and find the answers to the

Knowledge questions （细节复述型问题） which elicit factual answers and

recognition of information, words,

phrases or sentences in the passage as

answers.

Fast readingFast reading

1. What is an idiom?An idiom is a group of words or an expression whose meaning often cannot be understood by looking at the meanings of the separate words in it.

2. Which languages was the Bible first written in?In Hebrew.

3. Which idiom is often used to describe children?Apple of their parents’ eye.

Careful reading

Listen to the recording and follow, then

read it carefully and answer the following

questions in Part C1. These questions

interpret some information in the

passage, so finish them and try to

improve the students’ ability to find

specific information.

1. Why does the Bible have a lot of idioms?

Because the Bible was first written in

Hebrew and then translated into Greek,

and many idioms are used in both of

them. Because the Bible was translated

into English hundreds of years ago, many

Hebrew or Greek idioms have become

part of the English language.

2. What did ‘by and by’ originally mean

in the Bible?Immediately.

3. What does ‘by and by’ mean today?

Before long.4. How many years ago was the Bible

translated into English?

Hundreds of years ago.

5. What does ‘feet of clay’ mean?

6. Which animals are featured in the

idioms in the articles?

There is a hidden weakness in somebody

whom we admire or respect.

Bird and clay.7. Which foods are included in the idioms

in the article?Apple and salt.

8. How is studying idioms useful in

language learning?

You can improve your

comprehension and develop a high

level of competence skills.

1. Sarah’s grandmother adores her; Sarah

is ______________________________.

2. Wilson was disappointed when he learnt

that the coach had ___________.

Apply these idioms into practical usage.

the apple of her grandmother’s eye

feet of clay3. She knew it might take a long time for

her teammates to change their minds,

but she believed that the new plan would

work _________.by and by

4. The people in my village are very honest

and hard-working; they are

____________________

5. When my brother came back home from

his trip to Europe, we

___________________ for him.

6. She would not say who told her about

the surprise party. She just said,

‘_________________.’

the salt of the earth

killed the fatted calf

A little bird told me

an eye for an eye 以眼还眼as one man 一致地　The teaching staff speak as one man on 

this issue.

在这个问题上全体教员意见一致。 clean hands 廉洁、清白 He retired from office with clean hands.

他退休时两袖清风。　

Some Biblical idioms in English

doubting Thomas 

指那些不肯轻易相信别人的人He’s a real doubting Thomas he simply 

wouldn’t believe I’d won the car until he 

saw it with his own eyes.

他是一个真正的怀疑主义者 -- 在没有亲眼看到之前他就是不相信我赢得了那辆车。

Reading strategy: understanding analogies

When trying to understand idiom, it is

often helpful to consider the use of

analogy, which is a particular type of

comparison.

Although analogy can be very hard to

guess, clues can often be found in the

context.

You should first look at the idiom and

create an image in your mind.

Then look at the context to find out the

context to find out the analogy and the

message.

Usage of reading strategy

What do the phrases in red mean?

1. I took my mother’s car without asking

for permission. She is angry at me. I am

in hot water now!

2. Don’t tell anyone else that I am looking

for a new job. Please keep it under

your hat.

(in trouble)

(not tell anybody the secret)

3. We were not expecting to see Joan.

When she suddenly arrived out of the

blue, we were all surprised.

(suddenly; unexpected)

Guess these new words from the context.1. swift (Line20)

2. vague (Line12)

3. loose (Line 12)

4. straightforwar

d (Line 14)

5. underline (Line

15)

not closely related

not clearly understood

or expressed

easy to understand

very quick

show clearly that

something is important

or true, emphasize

6. translated (L9)

7. mended one’s

ways (Line31)

8. impure (Line

40)

9. oral (Line 46)

10. thorough (Line

50)

stopped behaving badly

spoken

not pure, unclean

complete, including

everything that is

possible or necessary

changed from one

language into another

language

Part E on page 53Wang Gong wrote a short passage about

idiom from the Bible, but part of the

page is smudged. Read the passage and

help him fill the blanks with the words

from the box below.

Answers:

(1) group (2) idioms

(3) translated (4) Greek

(5) before long (6) underline

(7) concept (8) weakness

(9) bird (10) hidden

What do you think about English idioms

that come from the Bible?Do you know the origins of any Chinese

idioms? What are they?

Do you think understanding idioms is an

important part of language learning?

Why or why not?

Discussion

1. (Lines 1-2) An idiom is a group of words

or an expression whose meaning often

cannot be understood by looking at the

meanings of the separate words in it.1) separate here is used as an adjective

with the meaning ‘each or individual

(word in the group of words or the

expression)’ or ‘ not together’.

Language points:

e.g.

The twins share one room, but they

sleep in separate beds.

Germany is one nation, but it used to

be two separate countries for more

than 30 years after World War .Ⅱ

2) separate can also be used as a verb,

which means ‘to become apart’ or ‘to

be not together’.

e.g.

It is extremely hard to separate two

fighting oxen.

The mountain range separates the two

countries.

As we joined the big crowd I got _____

from my friends.

Students should always remember theory

and should not at all be _____ from

practice.

A. divided B. stopped

C. separated D. operated

A. separated B. spared C. lost D. missed

Have a try:

2. (Lines 5-6) …, and unless you recognize

when an idiom is being used, you can

easily misunderstand what you read or

hear spoken.

The word unless is a conjunction, which

means ‘ if not’ or ‘except if’ and is used

to introduce an adverbial clause of

condition.

e.g.

Unless I’m mistaken, she was at work

yesterday.

You won’t get paid for time off unless you

have a doctor’s note.

_______ invited, you should keep silent.

A. When B. If C. Unless D. Since

3. (Lines 33-35) For instance, children are often referred to as the ‘apple of their parents’ eye’, meaning that their parents love them very much and are very proud of them.

1) The preposition as is something used with the phrase refer to, which means ‘to call somebody as’.

e.g. He is referred to as the naughtiest student in his class.

2) refer to ‘refer to sb/sth’ means to mention or

speak about sb/sth e.g. I promised not to refer to the matter

again. ‘refer to sb/sth’ means to describe or

be connected to sb/sth. e.g. This paragraph refers to the events of

last year.

‘refer to sb/sth’ means to look at sth or

ask a person for information.

You may refer to your note if you want.

Have a try:

The incident ____ took place last

Monday.

A. referred B. referring

C. referred to D. referring to

Homework:1. Read the article again.2. Note the important knowledge in the

text.3. Do Part A1 and A 2 on page 124 in

Workbook so they will have more

chances to use some useful words and

phrases leant in this section.