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cks twice. （36）Virtue dwells not in the tongue but in the heart. In the above proverbs, there are including three parts of personification. Using personification makes the proverbs more vivid and more attractive. It can impress the readers deeply. 4.5 Parallel （37）In for a penny, in for a pound. （38）In youth the hours are golden, and in mature years they are silvern, and in old age they are leaden. （39）The least said, the soonest mended. As we can from the above, parallel structure can create a good visual image and help readers move quickly from one idea to the next. Parallelism gives emphasis, charity and coherence of ideas, and it also gives the rhythm of the proverbs. It helps the readers to catch the idea of the speakers or writer easily and pleasantly.[23] 4.6 Synecdoche （40）Two heads are better than one. （41）Great minds think alike. Here the words “head” and “mind” are both represent “a person”. 4.7 Hyperbole （42）A thousand years cannot repair a moment's loss of honor. （43）The world is but a little place, after all. （44）An unfortunate man would e drowned in a teacup. Hyperbole is a commonly used a sign of great emotion as shown in the above examples. There is no intent to deceive the reader, instead, in the speaker’s mind he is truly describing his intense feeling at the time. 4.8 Pun （45）Measure yourself by your own foot. Here the word “foot” has two meanings: one means human’ heel, the other is dimensional unit. So the above proverb has two different meanings, which create a pun. （46）Rue and thyme grow both in one garden. Here the word “rue” has two different meanings: one is the name of king of flower, the other means regret. The word “thyme” and the word “time” have the same pronunciations. These two reasons make a pun. 5.Conclusion Proverbs are the outcome of language. They come from people and are used by people.“ Proverbs, as a prominent scholar once said “the mirror of a nation” and “the living fossil of a language”, do play an important role in different languages and cultures. In the words of Francis Bacon, “ the Genius, wit and spirit of a nation are discovered in its proverbs.””[24] There are a variety of proverbs almost all English speakers are familiar with. They regard these words of wisdom with respect. To sum up, the major sources of English proverbs are the experience of the common people, literary works, religious scripture, mythology, translated loans, and history. So we can gain some basic knowledge of English culture through learning English proverbs, which plays an important role in cross-cultural communication. Because of using rhetorical devices and rhythmical ways, English proverbs are filled with image and vividness, which can catch the attention of the readers and make the idea impressed deeply on the readers. They also reveal a universal truth from a particular point in order to enlighten people. So proverbs give people advice or warnings in dealing with everyday issues, and point out the path to knowledge and self-cultivation. Bibliography [1] 王德春、杨素英、黄月圆.汉英谚语与文化［M］.上海：上海外语教育出版社，2003. P57 [2] 郝澎.英美民间故事与民俗：你不可不知道的英语学习背景知识［M］.海口：南海出版公司，2004.5. P49 [3] 同注[2], P41 [4] 圣经 (马太福音第27章第32节)［M］.中国基督教三自爱国运动委员会；中国基督教协会.南京爱德印刷有限公司,2000.P57 [5] 圣经 (申命记第8章第3节)［M］. 中国基督教三自爱国运动委员会；中国基督教协会.南京爱德印刷有限公司,2000. PP283-284 [6] 王书亭、王建敏.英语流行谚语［M］.东营：石油大学出版社，2004.4. P174 [7] 同注[6], P168 [8] 同注[1], P41 [9] 同注[1], P55 [10] 同注[1], P55 [11] 同注[1], P56 [12] 同注[1], P55 [13] 王振亚