英语说－－欣喜若狂，飘飘然找不着北

英语说－－欣喜若狂，飘飘然找不着北


2007年8月25日，18岁的犹他州女大学生Jordan Pearce力图创造拥抱纪录以申请吉尼斯世界纪录－－Guinness World Records。记者采访她，“I feel like I'm on cloud nine,”Pearce said after the last hug . 在拥抱过程中，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.

那么，Pearce说的on cloud nine是什么意思呢？

请看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.
原来cloud nine 意思是“高兴的不得了，欣喜若狂”。该语原为美国气象局用语。天上云层分为九重，第九云层为积雨云，常于炎热的夏季下午形成，位于天空3万到4万英尺极高处，登上九霄云外则会飘飘然如入仙境。

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."
但该语的流行据说应归功于50年代播放的一个名叫《约翰尼－拉多尔》的广播节目。在这个连续剧里，约翰尼常常被一棒打昏，醒来后却置身于九霄云外，回味无穷。故cloud nine 喻指“极幸福或狂喜状态；极乐的心境”，常与on连用，亦作cloud seven.

而根据Cliches一书所述，一些人坚信cloud seven 来源于七重天。而有人认为cloud nine 与古希腊人有关，九是一个神秘数字。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.

请看例句：
Tom was on cloud nine after he learned the good news. 汤木得知这个好消息，乐得好似登上天一样，飘飘然找不着北了。

He was on cloud nine after his wife had the baby. 他的妻子生了小宝宝后，他高兴得不得了。