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orses are beasts of burden, while oxen are raised for milk and beef. Horses have more opportunities to demonstrate their strength than oxen that are strong domestic animals, too. So even though “strong as an ox”can be heard in English, “strong as a horse” is used more frequently. In China, however, oxen are the major beasts of burden in rural areas. No wonder there are such idiomatic expressions as “力大如牛”, “壮得如牛”in Chinese. But no Chinese would say “力大如马”, “壮得像头马”. To refer to “urgent”, Chinese people would say “热锅上的蚂蚁”.But the English people would prefer to say, “ like a cat on hot bricks(热锅上的猫)”. To mean someone is wet through, Chinese people would say “像只落汤鸡”. In English, people would say “like a drowned rat”. Chinese people usually like to use “鸡”as a vehicle, such as “鸡皮疙瘩”, and English people would say “goose pimple”. Chinese people say “杀鸡取卵”, but English people give such idiom, “to kill the goose that lays the golden egg”. 2.2.3 Meaning gap (i) Gap in Chinese In English culture, some animal vehicles have rich and varied cultural connotations. It is known that bull is just an ordinary animal in China and doesn’t have special cultural associative meanings. The Chinese people may guess the literal meaning of the idiom, “a bull in a china shop(瓷器店里的公牛)”.But they would not have the image that would be evoked in the minds of English-speaking people: an angry, snorting bull charging into a shop filled with exquisite fragile porcelain. Consequently, Chinese would be less appreciative of the vividness of the expression “a bull in a china shop”, which means a person who is clumsy and bungling and causes a lot of trouble in a situation requiring tact and delicacy. Beaver is a hard-working animal in North America, but the Chinese people know little of it. A beaver has a unique technique and ability for creativity. Its constant activity, its habit of gnawing down trees and building complex “homes” and its skill and ingenuity in doing this have earned for the animal the name eager beaver. So the idiom “eager beaver” in English means someone who is too industrious and works harder than they should. The term sometimes has a slightly derogatory connotation. However, to most Chinese people, a beaver is only a kind of animal without any cultural connotations. Cat has rich cultural connotations in English culture. In the English mythology, cat can even affect the change of the weather, as the saying goes, “to rain cats and dogs(倾盆大雨)”and “the cat has a gale of wind in her tail.(这猫尾巴里有一阵大风)”; “there is nothing for it but to wait and see how the cat jumps(眼前只有静待，看看事情如何转变，英语中“猫怎样跳”指风向怎样变。) In western countries, cat is a household pet. Under the particular cultural background, the “cat” can be used to refer to many kinds of character, for example, (1) Don’t listen to her gossip; she is a cat. 别听她搬弄是非，她是个心地恶毒的女人。 (2) He was down with fever and was sick as a cat. 他发烧病倒，病情严重。 (3) I cannot stand that man; He’s as sleek as a cat. 我对那个人简直无法忍受，他花言巧语，油头滑舌。 It is difficult for Chinese people to understand the above examples. However, the Chinese people use “cat” as metaphors to refer to persons in different senses such as “馋猫”; “夜猫子”. (ii) Gap in English All the Chinese people know the “crane” in Chinese stands for longevity. So Chinese parents name their child as “鹤年”or “鹤龄” to show their hope that the child will live to a ripe old age. The crane is often paired with the pine tree, which is a symbol for sturdiness and long life. But to we