鱼与熊掌两者不可兼得

If you are able to get your favorite flavor of cake and eat it, you are getting the best of both worlds. Everything is going right for you.

如果你能得到你最喜欢的口味的蛋糕，并吃它，你得到了最好的两个世界。你一切都很好。

However, this is almost impossible, so this proverb warns that you cannot have everything that you want. Instead, only some things can work right for you, and you will have to choose whether you want one or the other – but not both.

然而，这几乎是不可能的，所以这句谚语警告说，你不能拥有你想要的一切。相反，只有一些事情能对你起作用，你将不得不选择你是想要一个或另一个-但不是两者兼得。

I know you want a great salary and have a lot of time to travel, but you can’t have your cake and eat it too! You will have to choose one or the other.

我知道你想要高薪，有很多时间旅行，但你鱼和熊掌不可兼得！你必须选择其中一个。

Gary asked his parents to pay for his college tuition and give him a monthly allowance to use while studying, but his parents refused to give both. They made him choose one to teach him that he could not have his cake and eat it too.

加里要求父母为他支付大学学费，并每月给他一笔零用钱，供他学习时使用，但父母都拒绝给他。他们告诉他鱼和熊掌不可兼得。

14. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink!

你无法强迫某人去做...

If you have a horse, you can only ask it to do so much. For example, you can lead it to a pond or lake, but you cannot force it to take a drink.

如果你有一匹马，你只能要求它做这么多。例如，你可以把它引到池塘或湖边，但你不能强迫它喝水。

So, this proverb warns that you can only do so much in influencing others, and there is a limit to what you can do. You cannot force someone to do something if they have no desire to do it.

所以，这句谚语警告说，你在影响他人方面只能做那么多，你能做的事情是有限的。如果某人不想做某事，你就不能强迫他去做。

Beth’s parents wanted her to move back to their hometown to get a Master’s degree, but she did not want to at all. They learned that you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.

贝丝的父母想让她搬回家乡读硕士，但她根本不想。他们知道你可以把马牵到水里，但你不能让他喝水。

The government wanted people to smoke less, so they raised the taxes on all cigarettes. Surprisingly, people were willing to just pay more the cigarettes and only decreased their smoking by about 2%, showing the government officials that you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.

政府希望人们少吸烟，所以他们提高了所有香烟的税收。令人惊讶的是，人们只愿意多掏点烟，却只减少了约2%的吸烟量，这向政府官员表明，你可以牵着马去喝水，但你不能让它喝水。

15. Life is just a bowl of cherries!

生活很美好!

If something is going great, and the world is perfect, you can say that “Life is just a bowl of cherries” to show you are satisfied.

如果事情进展顺利，世界是完美的，你可以说“人生不过是一碗樱桃”来表示你满意。

Damian got a great grade on his tests and received a scholarship for college, so his life is just a bowl of cherries right now.

达米安的考试成绩很好，并获得了大学奖学金，所以他的生活现在只是一碗樱桃。

Frank’s wife just found out that she is pregnant, and he got a huge raise at his work, so his life is just a bowl of cherries right now.

弗兰克的妻子刚刚发现她怀孕了，他在工作上得到了巨大的加薪，所以他的生活现在只是一碗樱桃。

16. Bitter pills may have blessed effects!

良药苦口利于病

If you take a bitter pill – or bad-tasting medicine – it could actually have a great effect on your illness. In other words, it may take something difficult or negative to have a nice effect. Without the bitter pill or hard work, you will not be cured or get great results.

如果你吃了苦味的药丸，或者吃了味道不好的药，它实际上会对你的疾病产生很大的影响。换言之，可能需要一些困难或负面的东西才能产生好的效果。没有苦涩的药丸或艰苦的工作，你将无法治愈或取得伟大的成果。

The only thing that keeps Mattie from quitting her job is her huge paycheck – bitter pills may have blessed effects!

唯一能阻止玛蒂辞职的是她丰厚的薪水——苦涩的药片可能会带来幸福的效果！

It may take a long time to get started, but owning your own company can give you flexibility and a higher income. All your hard work is just bitter pills that may have blessed effects.

起步可能需要很长时间，但拥有自己的公司可以给你灵活性和更高的收入。你所有的努力只是苦涩的药丸，可能会有祝福的效果。

17. Bread always falls buttered-side down!

祸不单行

If you feel that everything seems to go badly when you need it to go right, you can compare life to bread. If you drop the bread, it will always fall buttered-side down, meaning that things that can go wrong will go wrong.

如果你觉得每件事在你需要的时候都很糟糕，你可以把生活比作面包。如果你丢了面包，它总是会掉下来，这意味着可能出错的事情会出错。

In the business of theater and movie making, bread always falls buttered side down so you always have to be prepared and have a backup plan.

在戏剧和电影制作行业，面包总是面面俱到，所以你必须时刻做好准备并有备用计划。

When you travel independently without a tour group, you can expect bread to always fall buttered side down. So, it is better to be prepared and have more cash on hand than you expect to need!

当你在没有旅游团的情况下独自旅行时，你可以期望面包总是面朝下。所以，最好做好准备，手头有比你预期需要更多的现金！

18. Fine words butter no parsnips!

花言巧语是无用的！

If you meet someone who always says what other people want to hear but can never deliver on what they promise, you can scold them by saying, “Fine words butter no parsnips!”

如果你遇到一个人，他总是说别人想听的话，却永远不能兑现承诺，你可以骂他说：“说好话，就不要防风！

This means that fine words – such as empty promises and flattering compliments – cannot actually help solve any problems. If you use this proverb, you are asking the person to take action and stop only talking about something.

这意味着，诸如空洞的承诺和奉承的恭维之类的好话，实际上无助于解决任何问题。如果你用这句谚语，你是在要求对方采取行动，不要只谈论某事。

It was nice to hear all the benefits that our boss promised were coming, such as a new break room with comfortable couches. However, fine words butter no parsnips and we had no seen any progress on these promises.

很高兴听到老板承诺的所有的福利都来了，比如有一个新的休息室，里面有舒适的沙发。然而，美言不能使欧洲防风吃香，我们也没有看到这些承诺有任何进展。

Sandra spent most of her time in the office talking to her coworkers, but she was passed over for the promotion because fine words butter no parsnips – Laura worked much harder than she did.

桑德拉大部分时间都在办公室里和同事聊天，但她却被提拔了，因为说好话是没有用的，劳拉工作比她努力得多。

（来源：沪江英语）