今天我們來學習一個比較有趣的英語俗語表達：smell a rat, 直譯過來是聞到老鼠的意思，但其實它真實的意思是什么呢？中文當中，有不少關于老鼠的表達，比如過街老鼠-人人喊打；一粒老鼠屎-壞了一鍋湯，鼠目寸光等，可見提到老鼠，大多數是比較負面的表達，引起人們的也是比較負面的情緒， 因為確實，想到老鼠這種生物，大多數人還是會比較不舒服的。英語當中，和rat相關的表達，也基本上是帶貶義的。今天要學到的“smell a rat”這個短語只的就是感到事情不對勁，有異樣的意思。

New Words:
trickery n.欺騙，哄騙，耍花招;
deception n.騙局; 瞞騙，欺詐;
sniff vt.嗅; 發現; 鄙視地說;
terrier n. 一種活潑的小狗；
odor n. 氣味；名聲
out of place adj.不合適的；不相稱的；不在適當的位置
by mistake 無意地
have something to do with sth./sb.: 和某事/某物相關

Meaning:
•sense that something is not right ( 感覺某事不對勁 )
•suspect trickery or deception（懷疑有貓膩，騙局）

Origin:
No one is certain when or where this phrase originated, however if you have ever smelt a dead rat in a wall, you know that the odor is horrible, indicating that something is definitely out of place. The term probably comes from the days when rats were more common, and when prize terriers were used to sniff them out and kill them.
沒有人能確定這個短語起源于何時何地，但是如果你曾經在墻里聞到一只死老鼠的味道，你就知道氣味有多么可怕，這個短語就表明了肯定有些事情不對勁。這個短語可能來自老鼠更常見的年代，當時的獵犬靠嗅覺找到老鼠并且殺死這些它們。

Example:
1.When he made that offer, I smelt a rat. It sounded too good to be true.
當他提出這個提議的時候，我就覺得不太對勁。聽起來好的不太真實。
2.His wife smelt a rat when he suddenly started working late for the past few weeks.
他在過去幾周突然開始工作到很晚，他老婆感到不太對勁。
3.I don't think these files were deleted by mistake. I smell a rat. Maybe he has something to do with it.
我不覺得這些物件是誤刪的，我覺得有些不太對勁。也許這和他有關。
4.He smelt a rat when his wife said she didn't want to go on a vacation with him.
當他的妻子說不想和他一起去度假時，他就覺得肯定有貓膩。
5.I smelt a rat when I found some items missing from my desk.
當我發現我桌上有些東西丟了的時候，我就覺得不太對勁。

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