一“字”之差 谬以千里

英文里的介词有时会让我们感觉很混乱，它们在句子里虽然不显眼，但是作用却很关键，用错一个介词意思可能会完全不同。今天我们就来看看on a cloud, under a cloud 以及in the clouds的意思有多大的差别。

　　 on a cloud

　　On a cloud是很高兴的意思，高兴得走路轻飘飘，好像腾云驾雾一样。

　　例如：I've been on a cloud all day long——I heard this morning that I got an A on my final biochemistry exam.
　　　　　我今天一天都很高兴，因为我早上听说，我生化期末考试得了一个A.

　　又如：
　　My wife has been on a cloud since I told her the other day I would spend my year-end bonus at the office to take us to Hawaii to celebrate our twentieth wedding anniversary. And to tell you the truth, I'm really looking forward to it myself.
　　我那天告诉我的妻子，我要把办公室发给我的年终奖金用来和她一起去夏威夷旅行，以庆祝我们结婚二十周年。自从那天起，我太太一直很高兴。说实话，我自己也非常想去。

　　 under a cloud

　　任何人under a cloud是绝不会高兴的，因为他不是丢尽了面子，就是被怀疑做了什么坏事。Under a cloud是丢面子、被怀疑的意思。

　　下面是一个人在讲另外一个被逮捕的人，这人被指控和贩毒有关：

　　The judge had to let him go because there wasn't enough evidence against him. But he's going around under a cloud because most people think he's guilty.
　　法官由于没有足够的证据来定罪，所以只好放了他。但是，他到哪儿都受怀疑，因为大多数人都认为他是有罪的。

　　又如：
　　See that man sitting at the table by himself? He's supposed to be a very smart lawyer, but he's been under a cloud ever since he was mixed up in a scandal involving a company that was run by a mobster.
　　瞧那个桌子边独自坐着的人，看见吗？他本来是一个很能干的律师，但是自从他和一个公司的丑闻有牵连以来，他一直被人怀疑，而那个公司是由流氓集团经营的。

　　 in the clouds

　　我们每个人恐怕都有白日做梦的时候。有的时候，我们一边走路，一边在想心事，或者是一边做什么事，一边在想其他事情，身边发生什么事全然没有注意到。美国人把这叫做：in the clouds.In the clouds可以解释为：心不在焉，思想开小差。

　　例如：
　　Sally is my best friend but she walked right past me today, and didn't even say hello. Her head certainly was in the clouds——she looked like her mind was a thousand miles away.
　　沙莉是我的朋友，可是，她今天在我身旁走过，连招呼都没有跟我打。她肯定在白日做梦，看起来她的心思好像在一千哩以外的地方。

　　又如：
　　I was really embarrassed——the teacher asked me a question and I didn't even hear him; I was daydreaming and my head was in the clouds.
　　我当时真是非常难堪。老师问我问题，我根本没有听见。那时，我刚好在做白日梦，思想在开小差。