那天在班上跟学生们讨论"眼睛有神"英文怎么译,没有结果,后来跟一个同事聊,他说听起来象 bright-eyed, "bright eyed, bushy tailed" 用于形容人早上起来精神爽利,我说中文的"眼睛有神"用途很广泛,不限于描述wide awake,有点象说someone's eyes show that he/she has a lot of energy, and that's how he/she is most of the time, not just in the morning, 他摇头说他想不出英文类似的表达,你说呢?
讲到眼睛,刚看到报上用了几次的clear-eyed。其中有篇有关中国学生擅长应试的文章,有这么一句"Chinese officials are clear-eyed about their weaknesses." 中国学生考试高分,但是缺乏创造力和想像力。