【字面理解】給(某人)宣讀《取締鬧事法》
【英文解析】to speak angrily to someone about something they have done and warn them that they will be punished if they do it again
【中文解析】嚴(yán)厲警告某人收斂行為;下不為例
① When he came home drunk again, she read him the riot act.他又一次醉醮餘地回到家里,她立即警告 他下不為例。
② He’d put up with a lot of bad behaviors from bis son and thought it was time to read him the riot act.他受夠了兒 子的種種惡習(xí),認(rèn)為有必要狠狠警告他一通。
【注釋】該習(xí)語(yǔ)源于英國(guó)議會(huì)1715年頒布的《取締鬧事 法KTheRiotAct、。該法規(guī)定,凡12人以上舉行集會(huì), 若被政府認(rèn)作有妨礙治安的行為,那么在官員宣讀該 法律后,必須一小時(shí)內(nèi)自行解散,否則將面臨嚴(yán)厲處 罰。做習(xí)語(yǔ)使用時(shí)riot act不用大寫(xiě)。