风调雨顺 good weather for crops
On the other hand, England locate in island, in history, people used to engage in fishing and voyage, therefore, some such idioms arise from the culture. Such idioms include:
A sea of faces 人山人海
Fishing for compliments 讨别人的恭维 To drink like a fish 牛饮
Struggle not against the stream 潮流不可抗拒 To keep one?s head above water 奋力图存 A cold fish 冷漠的人
To have other fish to fry 另有他图 To sail one?s own boat 独立行动 In low water 不如意（经济不宽裕）
These idioms are very interesting, if you know the cultures and background in the related country.
5.3Different habits in daily life
Idioms are closely related to people?s work and life. So the idioms have strong national colors. Britain is an island country on the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the sea, which was once leading the world with its navigation, so lots of English idioms have something to do with navigation and fish. Such as: a drop in the ocean“沧海一粟”; plain sailing “一帆风顺”between the devil and deep sea“进退维谷”; know the ropes“懂得秘诀”; go with the stream“随波逐流”; as close as an oyster“守口如瓶”; steer clear of all doubtful questions“避免一切暧昧的事情”; feel under the water“感觉不适”.
While “China is an agricultural country. The peasants have presented many idioms about farm work, such as ?斩草除根? which is translated literally into ?to cut the weeds and dig up the roots?, its figurative meaning is ?to stamp out the source of the trouble?. More examples: ?瑞雪兆丰年（?a timely snow promises a good harvest）;
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?顺藤摸瓜? （its original meaning is to follow the vine to get the melon; its extended meaning is to track down somebody or something by following clues ）; ?捡了芝麻，丢了西瓜? （its original meaning is to pick up the sesame seeds, but overlook the watermelons; its extended meaning is ?mindful of small matters to neglect of large ones? ）”.
Typically speaking, English people use “spend money like water” to describe someone who splashes money on something. While Chinese people say“挥金如土”. “However many idioms concerning boats and water cannot be given the same equivalents in Chinese, such as , to rest on one?s oars（暂时歇一歇）, to keep one?s head above water（奋力图存）all at sea（不知所措）”[15:22].
Due to the geographical and environmental factors, the bamboo shoots grow abundantly in China, thus, there are idioms concerning bamboo. On the contrary, bamboo doesn?t grow in British islands at all; even the word “bamboo” is a loan one, so that there are no English idioms in this aspect. For example, “the Chinese idiom ?雨后春笋?is translated into ?spring up like mushrooms?” in English.” In Chinese culture, ?east wind? is ?the wind of spring?; summer is always connected with extremely hot or the intense heat, so ?赤日炎炎似火烧? ?骄阳似火?are terms often used to describe summer. While Britain is located in western hemisphere, with North Temperate Zone and marine Climate, so ?west wind? is the symbol of spring. The famous English poet Shirley?s ?Ode to west wind? is a praising song of spring. Summer in Britain is a warm and comfortable season, which is usually linked with ?lovely?, ?gentle? and ?nice?. Shakespeare compares thee to a summer in one of his poems, ?shall I compare thee to a summer?s day? Thou art lovelier and more temperate?”
Conclusion
Idioms are the reflections of people?s experiences, views, and emotions. In whatever language, they are extremely important. It is very interesting and useful to study and compare English and Chinese idioms; we should pay more attention to
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different kinds of idioms in the two languages, and we must fully understand their cultural backgrounds, customs and connotations so that we can use them correctly. As for English major students, it is very necessary for us to master enough general knowledge of idioms, and we should realize that some idioms can be translated literally, but others should be treated in a flexible way. We should do more practices, pay more attention, accumulate more knowledge, consult the dictionaries for the unknown often, and ask the experts for advice. Finally, It is my hope that it will increase learner's interest in English, and let the learners know learning English is happy and easy rather than boring and difficult.
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