对牛弹琴的英文

对牛弹琴whistle jigs to a milestone 或者Cast pearls before swine

有一天，著名古琴演奏家公明仪对着一头老牛弹琴。他先奏了一首名曲--高雅的古琴曲“清角”。尽管公明仪自己觉得弹得十分精彩，但是，老牛就象没有听见一样，只顾埋头吃草。公明仪又用古琴模仿蚊虻(méng)嗡嗡的叫声，还模仿离群的小牛犊发出的哀鸣声。那头老牛立刻停止吃草，抬起头，竖起耳朵，摇着尾巴，来回踏着小步，注意地听着。高雅的琴曲演奏得再出色，老牛也无动于衷;模仿蚊虻的叫声尽管不是高雅的曲调，但老牛却听得很认真。这则寓言告诉我们，看清对象，有的放矢，从实际需要出发，是做好一件事情的前提。

cast pearls before swine字面意思是在猪面前投珠子汉语里有个表达“明珠暗投”与此有异曲同工之妙

“对牛弹琴”英文如何表达

Larry和他妹妹吵架，来找李华诉苦。他们会提到两个常用语：talk to a brick wall和get the picture. Larry: (Sounding frustrated) Hey, Lihua. LH: Larry，你怎么不高兴啊？ Larry: I just got off the phone with my sister. She is about to graduate from high school and she is not serious about applying to college. No matter what I say, she just won’t take my advice. (Sigh). Sometimes talking to her is like talking to a brick wall. LH: 哦。你妹妹高中毕业不想考大学，不论你怎么劝她，她就是不听。对了，你刚才说talking to a brick wall，你干嘛要对着砖墙说话呢？ Larry: Not literally talk to a brick wall. I’m saying talking to my sister is like talking to a brick wall. A brick wall doesn’t listen, doesn’t respond and doesn’t care. And that’s what it’s like to talk to my sister about college. LH: 我明白了！Talk to a brick wall就是对牛弹琴。你跟你妹妹苦口婆心说了半天，可她根本连一句话也听不进去。你呀，就好像对着一面墙说话一样。 Larry: Right. LH: Larry，你别太担心。你说了那么半天，我想多多少少还是会有点用的。 Larry: I suppose you’re right. I guess she’s just at that age where she doesn’t like to hear advice from other people. My parents have lately been feeling the same way when they speak to her, too. LH: 其实也不光是青春期的孩子才这么固执，有时候我跟我妈说话，也觉得I’m talking to a brick wall！她怎么都听不进我的话！ Larry: Your mother? But she’s such a sweet lady. LH: Larry, 你可不知道！每次我跟她说我毕业后要留在美国找工作，她都一万个不行。我无论说什么，她非要我回国不可，我感觉自己真像talking to a brick wall一样！ Larry: Oh, that does sound frustrating. So what are you going to do? LH: 我？我才不管她说什么。我的人生我作主！ Larry: (Laughter) I bet your mother feels like she’s talking to a brick wall when she speaks with you - the same way you feel about speaking with her! LH: Larry，你别笑了。你想想，妈妈不理解我，不支持我，我有多难受！ Larry: Yea, I get the picture. LH: You got a picture? 什么照片啊，给我看看。 Larry: Not a picture - the picture. To say that you get the picture means that you understand something. LH: Oh, I get the picture，就是说我明白。 Larry: Right. You can imagine that knowing about something creates a picture in your mind. LH: 对，get the picture就好像看到了别人头脑中所想的'画面，也就是了解了别人的想法。 Larry: Sometimes it’s hard for people to understand exactly why other people want what they want, and it may seem talking to them is like talking to a brick wall. But you have to have patience - hopefully someday your mother will get the picture. LH: 对，要想让别人了解自己的想法，有时得多花点时间和耐心。我想，你妹妹早晚也能了解你的想法。She will get the picture! Larry: You don’t understand, Lihua. If my sister doesn’t get the picture now, it might be too late! What if she doesn’t get into a good college? LH: 你别光想你妹了，想想我吧。我妈非让我一毕业就回国，我怎么办？我必须得找个能一直留在美国的原因，说服我妈。这个，你可以帮我，You get the picture, Larry? Larry: (Larry thought Lihua wanted to get married. gulps) Umm, I think so. LH: 你可以帮我找工作啊! Larry: OH! (happily) Right! I get the picture now. I will certainly try my hardest to find you a great job. LH: Larry，你真好，总能猜透我的心思! Larry: Well, I almost got the wrong picture a second ago. LH: 啊？你差点猜错了？你以为我在说什么？难道是说让我嫁给你？！你想得倒美！ Larry: (Nervous), Ah, Lihua, Let’s not worry about that. Let me think how we can make your mother happy. She’s always nice to me. Maybe if I talk to her, it wouldn’t be like talking to a brick wall. LH: 你愿意的话就去试试看，不过我妈耳朵根子硬得很呢！

Cast pearls before swine. 对牛弹琴。 就这个!

出处 南朝·梁·僧佑《弘明集·理惑论》：“昔公明仪为牛弹清角之操，伏食如故。非牛不闻，不合其耳也。” 释义 比喻对蠢人讲道理，白费口舌。也用来讥笑人说话不看对象。"对牛弹琴”这个成语比喻对不懂道理 的人讲道理，对外行人说内行话，因而常带有贬意色彩，也成为一些教师用来作为讥讽学生的口头禅。其实不然，当我们考察这个成语的由来，语出典故“古时候有个叫公明仪的琴家，其演奏技艺高超，很受人赞颂。有一天，他携琴出门访友，经过一个山青水秀，花草遍野的地方，不禁心旷神怡，可巧看到不远处有条牛在吃草，心想音乐乃天地之神音，能通宇宙之灵，何不为牛奏一曲呢？于是，他端坐牛前，抚弦弄琴，倾心演奏了一首清旷之曲。可惜的是，牛只顾埋头大嚼青草，曲毕，牛仍没一点反应。公明仪大为扫兴，转念一想，牛不解音，大概是自已选错了曲子吧。于是，他又接着弹起来，这时的琴声一会儿象蚊子嗡嗡，一会儿象牛犊哞哞，只见牛停止了吃草，抬起头专注地望着公明仪。”从这个典故我们可以看出，它的原意并非骂人的，反而应该是一种好的教育方法。

Cast pearls before swine.对牛弹琴。To sing for them is to cast pearls before swine.为他们唱歌真是犹如对牛弹琴。Their hints about his behaviour were (like) water off a duck's back.他们示意他举止不当,如同对牛弹琴.He has no ear for music. It's casting pearls before swine to take him to the concert.他不懂音乐，带他去听音乐会，犹如对牛弹琴。Trying to get Paul to agree to spend more money on amenities is like talking to a brick wall.要想说服保罗在使用便利设施上多花些钱如同对牛弹琴。He explained the beauty of the music to her but it was casting pearls before swine.他向她讲解那音乐的妙处，可是这无异于对牛弹琴。He explained the beauty of the music to his wife but it was casting pearls before swine.他跟他妻子讲解那音乐之美，可是这无异于对牛弹琴。Jokes are lost on him.对他讲笑话是对牛弹琴。Never cast your pearls before swine.不要把珍贵之物送给不识货的人；勿明珠暗投；勿对牛弹琴。