Head : （借助上下文）
1. He was badly wounded in the head. 他头部受重伤。
2. You should use your head a bit. 你该用一下自己的头脑。
3. The dinner cost us five dollars a head. 这顿饭花去我们每人5块钱。
4. Pick with the head of a needle. 用针尖挑。
5. He was standing at the head of the staircase. 他站在楼梯的顶端。
6. Let’s discuss the question under five heads. 我们分5个题目来讨论这个问题。
7. The head of his bed was piled with books. 他的床头堆满了书。
8. Present at the meeting were the heads of government of the four countries. 出席会议的有四国政府的首脑。
9. Go and ask the head of our department. 问我们系的头儿去
10. Heads or tails? 正面还是反面。
11. Where is the head? 厕所在哪里？（船上用语）
1. The baby has got a big head. 这娃娃头真大。
2. She was combing her hair. 她正在梳头。
3. A car was parked at the west end of the bridge. 一辆小轿车停在桥西头。
4. Let me tell the story from the very beginning. 让我从头讲起吧。
5. He has thrown away the pencil stub [ stump]. 他把铅笔头扔了。
6. She is the head [chief] of our group. 她是我们组的头儿。
7. They are on the same side. 他们是一头儿的。
8. We mustn’t pay attention to only one aspect of the manner. 事情不能只顾一头。
9. This is the first time I have been in Hangzhou. 这还是我头一次来杭州呢。
有时候，上下文不一定是完整的长句，上下文可以是一个短短的词组或是一个紧凑的固定搭配。也就是说，我们可以根据两三个字或词语来确定某一个字或词语的意思。下面是两组例子。
Man:
1. man and his wife 丈夫和妻子
2. officers and men. 官和兵
3. his man Friday 他的仆人礼拜五（丹尼尔 笛福《鲁宾逊漂流记》）
4. man-of-war 战舰
5. Be a man! 要像个男子汉！
Sophisticated:weigh翻译
1. sophisticated man 老于世故的人
2. sophisticated woman 狡黠的女子
3. sophisticated columnist 老练的专栏作家
4. sophisticated electronic device 高度精密的电子装置
5. sophisticated weapon 尖端武器
有时候，在一个狭窄的上下文里，我们的确无法对某一个词语进行选义，我们必须借助于更为宽广的上下文来选顶该词语的真正意义。
1. Please tell me if you can help us.
(= Please tell me in case you can help us.) 如果你能帮助我们，请告诉我一声。
(= Please tell me whether you can help us.) 请告诉我，你是否能帮助我们。
2. I’m sure I’ll beat john this time.
(= I’m sure I’ll defeat john this time.) 我这次肯定会（在比赛中）战胜约翰。
(= I’m sure I’ll hit john this time.) 我这次肯定要揍约翰一顿。
3. We have no spring here.
(= We have no spring season here.) 我们这里没有春天。
(=We have no mechanical spring here.) 我们这里没有弹簧。
(=We have no fountain here.) 我们这里没有泉水。
1. It was a girl with good manners. 这是一位举止得体的姑娘。
2. These were all labeled as good eggs. 这些都被标为新鲜的鸡蛋。
3. Dogs are often regarded as man’s good friends. 狗经常被认为是人们的忠实朋友。
4. He was told, when complaining that he could not follow Nasser’s moves, that Nasser was a good chess player. 有一次，当他抱怨纳赛尔棋步难以捉摸时，有人对他说，纳赛尔是个高明的棋手。
5. … yet, as it sometimes happens that a person departs his life, who is really deserving of the praises the stone-cutter carves over his bones; who is a good Christian (= a faithful Christian), a good parent ( =a loving parent), a good child (=a obedient child), a good wife ( =a virtuous wife) or a good husband (=a dutiful husband); who actually does have a disconsolate family to mourn his loss; …( W. M. Thackeray: Vanity Fair) … 不过偶尔也有几个死人当得起石匠刻在他们朽骨上的好话。真的是虔诚的教徒，慈爱的父母，孝顺的儿女，贤良的妻子，尽职的丈夫，他们家里的人也的确哀思绵绵地追悼他们…
英语成语翻译的多样性
to be on tenterhooks:（心情烦乱、焦急、紧张）
1. She was on tenterhooks when she heard of her mother’s illness. 她得知母亲病了，坐立不安。
2. He was on tenterhooks of expectation during our conversation. 在我们谈话时，他因有所期待而如坐针毡。
3. I found him on tenterhooks when he was waiting for his girlfriend. 我发现他在等女朋友时显得局促不安。
4. The President, being told of the strong earthquake in his country, was on tenterhooks every minute. 得知本国发生了强烈地震，总统一直心乱如麻。
5. His parents were was on tenterhooks all the time until they got his letter. 他的父母在收到他的信前，一直是那样的心烦意乱。
6. The students were on tenterhooks before the examination. 考试开始前，学生们的心里七上八下。
7. The poor boy was on tenterhooks when his father was searching for a stick. 那个可怜的男孩见父亲到处棍子，感到六神无主。
8. The hen-pecked man was on tenterhooks when his wife scolded her way into the room. 当妻子骂骂咧咧闯到房间来时，这个得了“妻管严”的男人便有些手足无措。
<Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English>对 to be on tenterhooks 有两个释义(1) to be in a worried, anxious, or nervous state of mind. （心情烦乱、焦急、紧张）(2) to be in a state of anxious expectation （急切等待）。除了第二和第三例句都属于第一释义。尽管2，3中有等待之意，但侧重点还是在于等待造成的心情烦乱。如果把所有的例句都翻译成“心情烦乱”或“心情紧张”，译文会显得苍白无力、枯燥乏味。例句对同一成语采用了多样性译法，并采用四字格。这八条成语意思相近，但是，我们必须仔细体会不同译文之间在词义的轻重程度上所存在的细微差别。它们中的大多数并不能相互替换。
1. cookhouse  厨房 glasshouse  玻璃房 washhouse  洗衣房 engine house 机车房
outhouse  外屋
counting house 会计室 gatehouse 警卫室  greenhouse 温室  guardhouse 卫兵室  hothouse  干燥室 lathhouse  遮光育苗室  teahouse 茶室
2. almshouse  济贫院 bughouse 精神病院  madhouse精神病院  nuthouse精神病院  pesthouse  隔离病院 poorhouse  救济院 workhouse 感化院；劳动教养所
boarding house 宿舍  doss house 廉价旅社  farmhouse  农舍 schoolhouse  校舍
chophouse  小餐馆 coffeehouse  咖啡馆 guesthouse 宾馆  steakhouse  牛排馆
flophouse  廉价旅社
  roadhouse  客栈
backhouse  屋外厕所 clearing house 票据交换所  clubhouse 俱乐部会所  pleasure-house  娱乐场所
bathhouse  澡堂 chapter house  教士会礼堂 meeting house  礼拜堂
springhouse  冷藏间dead house  停尸间 lich-house停尸间 
summerhouse 凉亭
playhouse  剧场；儿童游戏馆 slaughterhouse 屠宰场
statehouse 州议会的大楼
firehouse  消防站
boathouse  船库 icehouse 冰库  storehouse 仓库  warehouse  仓库
gun house  炮塔  lighthouse 灯塔