一、现代英语俚语早在1911年,留学英国剑桥大学的一位外国研究生就指出:“It is impossible to acquirea thorough knowledge of English withoutbeing familiar with slang and vulgarism.Whoever is uninitiated...will be at a loss tounderstand many of the masterpieces ofEnglish literature.Nay...he will scarcelybe able even to understand an English news-paper”.这番话说得并不过分。在现当代,英语俚语不仅广泛地用于人们的日常语言交际中,而且传播媒介(报刊、广播、影视等)中比比皆是。不少优秀的文学作品也大量使用俚 I. Modern English Slang As early as 1911, a foreign graduate student studying in the University of Cambridge, UK, pointed out: “It is impossible to acquire a thorough knowledge of English without being familiar with slang and vulgarism. Whoever is uninitiated ... will be at a loss tounderstand many of the masterpieces ofEnglish literature.Nay ... he will scarcelybe able even to understand an English news-paper ”.This remark is not excessive. In modern times, English slang is not only widely used in people’s everyday language communication, but also in the media (newspapers, radio, television, etc.) abound. Many excellent literary works are also heavily used slang