cat got your tongue，无言以对

还记得之前学过的关于 cat 的一个谚语 a cat may look at a king 所表达的意思吗？今天又来了一个关于 cat 的习语 cat got your tongue，不能翻译成“猫抓住了你的舌头”，它可以意为“哑口无言，无言以对”等，寓意：

used to refer a time when someone has nothing to say

用来指某人无话可说的时候

a situation in which someone is finding it hard to say anything in their defence

一种很难为自己辩护的情况

解析：feel, find, make, think 等动词后有不定式作宾语且又带宾补时，要用 it 作形式宾语代替真正的宾语：动词不定式。

trying to compel or urge someone to speak up when they are being unnecessarily quiet

试图强迫或催促某人在不该安静的时候大声说话

例如：

Speak up boy or cat got your tongue?

伙计，怎么不大声说了，还是你哑口无言了？

解析：短语动词 speak up 是不及物动词，意为“大声说话”，后面接 for sb/sth 意为“明确表态；（尤指为…）说好话，辩护”，例如：

She has often spoken up for the rights of working mothers.

她经常为职业母亲的权利辩护。

Amanda grew so quiet during the heated argument that I was forced to ask her "Cat got your tongue?"

在激烈的争论中，阿曼达变得沉默了，我被迫问她“无言以对了吧？”

解析：so … that 引导的结果状语从句。

The shy boy was afraid to speak up and his mates kept asking him "Cat got your tongue?"

这个害羞的男孩不敢开口说话，他的伙伴们一直问他：“无言以对了吧？”

Are you dumb or cat got your tongue?

你是哑巴了还是无言以对了？

With the way you are keeping silent, one would wonder if the cat got your tongue?

以你保持沉默的方式，人们会怀疑是不是你无言以对了？

解析：the way 作先行词，在定语从句中作状语，有三种引导方式：the way in which，the way that 和 the way.