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hen hi-tech products lead to brand-name products, after it brand-name products become allusions which go beyond their original meaning of their own. Cadillac is a famous car, usually refers to things of high quality. So the former sentence means this is the first-rate Chinese tea. Similarly, people often say Cadillac of German beer. In the latter example, language learners may be puzzled because Pandora’s Box here is an allusion. In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman sent to the earth by the God as a form of punishment. Jupiter gave her a box which she was to give to the man who married her. When the box was finally opened, all the evils that were in it flew out, and since then have caused trouble to mankind. So Pandora’s Box usually means a present or thing which may seem valuable, but brings trouble and misfortune. As analyzed above, every allusion may have its origin and accepted meaning; usually the meaning of English words used in allusion can not be taken literally. For example, the old man of the sea does not mean the old man who lives on the sea but a boring heavy burden or a nuisance. So in a word, in allusion, the contextual meaning of words refers to the enlightenments form the allusion. It seems clear that during comprehension, both figurative and literal information are available, but figurative language has the effect of making the abstract more concrete. Figurative language also provides the emotional and attitudes about the speaker. Although occasionally words used in figures of speech bring out misunderstanding to them, one can make close acquaintance with them and make good use of them through above analysis. Consequently, the analysis on contextual meaning of English words caused by figures of speech helps us not only understand what we read and heard, but also appreciate more fully the art of the English language. II. Contextual Meaning and Culture As it is known to all, the culture refers to the total pattern of beliefs, customs, institutions, and techniques that characterize the life of a human community. So language cannot be separated from culture. Language reflects the culture of a nation on the one hand and is greatly influenced by that particular culture of a nation on the other hand. As a result, words, as the basic component of a language, are influenced and shaped by culture. It is just as a linguist Lado has said “the meanings of words are usually culturally determined or modified. They represent an analysis of the universe as grasped in a culture.”(Ogden, 1923) It is interesting that different language might use different color terms to describe the same object or phenomenon. In fact, black tea is not black, but red in color. English words are often interpreted literally and misunderstood by English language learners for lacking of culture information. The title First Lady for the wife of the U.S president may cause misunderstanding when some people have an assumption that “there is a first lady, there must be a second lady, and may even a third, or even more, polygamy in the White House!” To get rid of analogous misunderstanding, it is necessary to take culture information into account to understand the meaning of English culture words accurately. Comparatively speaking, idioms and culture of different nations are more difficult to English language learners. A Idioms Nida (1964) once pointed out culture has a great effect on the meaning of idioms; consequently, it is difficult