Today our "words and their stories" is about ocean.
First of all , " a drop in the ocean" （沧海一粟）。So , when we say somthing is like a drop in the ocean , that means it's very small acount comparded to what is needed.
In spoken English, in fact, the word"Octopus（章鱼）"has at least twe so-not-good meanings.
when a man cannot keep his hands off a woman, we say he is an octopus or has octopus hands. To use this expression, it is important that the woman does not want the attention of the "octopus."
当一个男人没法把手同女人保持距离时，我们就说他毛手毛脚。要使用这种表达方式，很重要的一点是，这位女性不想获得这位毛手毛脚者的关注。
Now, we move on to another unusual sea creature – the eel.
现在我们转向另一种不太常见的海洋生物--鳗鱼。
Eels are long and look like snakes. Like octopuses, some people like to eat them. But they are difficult to catch because they are slippery.
鳗鱼很长，看起来像蛇。跟章鱼一样，有些人很喜欢吃它们。但是因为它们很滑溜，很难被抓住。
If someone is slippery as an eel, they are tricky and difficult to catch. We often use this expression as a warning to others. For example, "Watch out for her. She's as slippery as an eel." 如果说某人 slippery as an eel，就是说他们非常狡猾难以捉摸。我们通常将这种表达用作对他人的一种警告。例如，“注意她，她很狡猾。”
Like many terms that compare two things, you can use the first "as" or leave it out. So, it's fine to say "She is slippery as an eel." 像很多比较两种事务的术语一样，第一个 as 可以省略。所以也可以说 She is slippery as an eel。
This next one sounds very strange. It involves oysters.
这一句听起来很奇怪，它涉及到了牡蛎。
Some people consider oysters a delicacy – a rare food that you only eat once in a while. Oysters are great for another for another reason. They make pearls! So, oysters are rare indeed.And that brings us to our next expression.
有些人认为牡蛎是一种美味，是只能偶尔吃上一次的珍品。牡蛎很重要还有另一种原因。它们可以产珍珠。所以，牡蛎的确很珍贵。
When we say "The world is your oyster!" we mean that you are able to make the most out of life. You take every chance given to you and put it to good use.
当我们说 The world is your oyster 时，
我们的意思是你能够充分享受人生，你接受每次给你的机会，并很好的利用它。
For example, if you have a friend who grew up with extreme wealth, attended the best schools and have parents who are both highly connected in their professional fields, you could say, "The world is her oyster!"
例如，如果你有位朋友生在富贵之家，就读顶级名校，父母和他们的专业领域高度关联，你就可以说：“The world is her oyster（世界尽在她的掌握之中）！”
Where oysters are small and strange looking, whales are huge and majestic. Whales are some of the largest mammals on Earth.
牡蛎看上去又小又奇怪，鲸鱼非常巨大和雄伟。鲸鱼是地球上最大的哺乳动物之一。
And unlike to octopuses and eels, whales have a very good reputation.
跟章鱼和鳗鱼不同，鲸鱼名声很好。
In fact, if something is a whale of a ... thing, it is a very good thing. If you performed very well at work, your boss could say you did a whale of a job.实际上，a whale of a... 是用来形容很好的事物。如果你工作表现很好，你的老板就能说，你工作做得很棒（a whale of a job）。
"A whale of" something can also mean it's very big. For example, if you have a really big project to do, you could say you have a whale of a project.A whale of 还能形容非常巨大的东西。例如，如果你有一个大项目在做，你可以说，you have a whale of a project。
Americans also use the expression "to have a whale of a time." This simply means to have a really good time.美国人还使用to have a whale of a time这种表达，意思是玩得特别开心。
来源：VOA
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