Some people say that life without music would be like life without air. Music is certainly a vital part of any culture. Music, together with language, is what distinguishes cultures and habits. So it’s only natural that idioms would be created around the theme of music.

有些人說沒有音樂的人生就像沒有了空氣。音樂是任何文化中至關重要的一部分。音樂和語言一起，把不同的文化和習俗區分開來，所以很自然地就產生了關于音樂主題的習語。

Here are some examples of how they are used in English:

以下是音樂相關的習語在英語中應用的例子：

1. Elevator Music – Pleasant and sometimes annoying music that is played in public places

? ?Elevator Music——在公共場合播放的愉快的、有時是惱人的音樂

“Apart from finding shopping malls boring, Keith finds the elevator music that is played particularly irritating”.

“除了覺得購商場無聊之外，基斯還覺得公共場合播放的音樂特別煩人。”

2. Ring a bell – If something rings a bell it reminds you of something even though you cannot remember it very well.

?? Ring a bell——某件事讓你想起了什么，盡管你記得不是很清楚。

“Yes, the song rings a bell but I am not sure exactly where I’ve heard it before”.

“是的，我對這首歌有印象，但是我不記得我在哪里聽到過。”

3. For a song – when you buy or sell something very cheaply

?? For a song——買或者賣出非常便宜的東西。

“I bought this car for a song”.

“我以極低的價格買了這輛車。”

4. Like a broken record - someone who repeats the same thing over and over again (very annoying)

?? Like a broken record——重復某件事的人（特別煩人）

“I’ve understood you want me to clean the bathroom. Stop going on like a broken record!”

“我知道你想要我去打掃浴室。別再像個壞掉的唱片機那樣喋喋不休了！”

5. Blow your own trumpet - boasting about your talents and successes

?? ?Blow your own trumpet——吹噓自己的才能和成功

“Sometimes it is not a bad thing to blow your own trumpet. After all, if you don’t, who else will?”

“有時候自吹自擂也不是見壞事。畢竟，如果你不這么做，還有誰會這么做？”

6. Jam session - playing improvised music in an impromptu setting. This could happen at a dinner party with friends.

?? Jam session——在沒有預先準備的場合下彈奏即興音樂。可能發生在和朋友的晚宴上。

“After dinner, Tom and Harry got their guitars out and started a jam session. It was wonderful.”

“晚餐之后，湯姆和哈里拿出了吉他，即興演奏了一段。真是太棒了。”

7. Call the tune – to be in a position of authority to give orders and make important decisions

?? Call the tune——位于權威地位，下達命令，做出決策。

“Peter was always the person who called the tune in our team.”

“彼得總是我們隊伍里那個發號施令的人。”

(There is also another idiom “to call the shots” that has a similar meaning)

（另一個詞組to call the shots意思相同）

8. Blow the whistle – to report an illegal or unacceptable activity to the authorities.

?? Blow the whistle——向權威部門舉報不合法、不能接受的行為。

“Janet came under a lot of pressure from her colleagues when she blew the whistle on what was going on in the bank.”

“珍妮特在同事那受到很大壓力，因為她舉報了銀行了發生的事。”

(a whistle blower is the noun – “more recognition needs to be given to the courage it takes to be a whistle blower“.)

（whistle blower是對應的名詞——“應該對舉報人的勇氣給予充分重視”）

9. Music to one’s ears – to hear exactly what you want to hear

?? Music to one’s ears——聽到你想要聽和喜歡聽的內容

“The ringing sound of the cash tills is music to my ears!”

“現金的叮當聲對我來說就像天籟。”

10. Face the music - accept punishment for something

?? Face the music——承擔某事的懲罰

“There’s not a lot we can do, so we are going to have to face the music.”

“我們能做的不多，所以我們不得不承擔后果。”

（來源：滬江英語，編輯 Helen）