英語說－－欣喜若狂，飄飄然找不著北

英語說－－欣喜若狂，飄飄然找不著北


2007年8月25日，18歲的猶他州女大學生Jordan Pearce力圖創造擁抱紀錄以申請吉尼斯世界紀錄－－Guinness World Records。記者采訪她，“I feel like I'm on cloud nine,”Pearce said after the last hug . 在擁抱過程中，one man spilled a drink on Pearce. A girl refused to let go of her blue sucker, and a little boy kicked and screamed, not wanting to hug a stranger.

那麽，Pearce說的on cloud nine是什麽意思呢？

請看From "Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins" by
William and Mary Morris (HarperCollins Publishers, New
York, 1997).

CLOUD NINE - "The expression 'up on cloud nine' to
describe a feeling of euphoric exaltation is based on
actual terminology used by the U.S. Weather Bureau.
Clouds are divided into classes and each class is
divided into nine types. 'Cloud nine' is the
cumulonimbus cloud that you often see building up in
the sky in a hot summer afternoon. It may reach 30,000
to 40,000 feet, so if one is up on 'cloud nine,' one
is high indeed.
原來cloud nine 意思是“高興的不得了，欣喜若狂”。該語原為美國氣象局用語。天上雲層分為九重，第九雲層為積雨雲，常於炎熱的夏季下午形成，位於天空3萬到4萬英尺極高處，登上九霄雲外則會飄飄然如入仙境。

The popularity of 'cloud nine' as a
catch phrase, though, may be credited to the 'Johnny
Dollar' radio show of the 1950s. There was one
recurring episode, like Fibber McGee's famous opening
of the closet door. Every time the hero was knocked
unconscious - which was often - he was transported to
'cloud nine.' There Johnny could start talking again."
但該語的流行據說應歸功於50年代播放的一個名叫《約翰尼－拉多爾》的廣播節目。在這個連續劇裏，約翰尼常常被一棒打昏，醒來後卻置身於九霄雲外，回味無窮。故cloud nine 喻指“極幸福或狂喜狀態；極樂的心境”，常與on連用，亦作cloud seven.

而根據Cliches一書所述，一些人堅信cloud seven 來源於七重天。而有人認為cloud nine 與古希臘人有關，九是一個神秘數字。Some writers believe this expression began as being on cloud seven, akin to being in SEVENTH HEAVEN. Others feel nine has legitimacy in its own right, since it has been a mystical number since the times of the ancient Greeks. Nine is a trinity of trinities(3x3), and a trinity itself represents a perfect unity.

請看例句：
Tom was on cloud nine after he learned the good news. 湯木得知這個好消息，樂得好似登上天一樣，飄飄然找不著北了。

He was on cloud nine after his wife had the baby. 他的妻子生了小寶寶後，他高興得不得了。