VOA慢速英语2013 含有“hot”的三个词的词义掌故（在线收听）

Hot Potatoes, Hotshots and Hotheads 含有“hot”的三个词的词义掌故

Now, the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.

现在播放的是美国之音英语特别节目’“ 词汇掌故”。（音乐）

“Hot” is a simple, easily understood word. So are most of the expressions made with the word hot -- but not always, as we shall see...

每一种语言都有自己独特的用词和表达方式。词语的词义可在故事中得以体现。“hot”是一个通俗易懂的词，所以大多数表达都用上了“hot”这个词。但它并非总是那么通俗易懂，正如我们将看到的。

The words hot potato, for example, give you no idea at all to the meaning of the expression “hot potato.”

例如“hot potato”这个词语，表面的意思是热土豆，让你无法联想到它表达的词义是烫手的山芋。

The potato is a popular vegetable in the United States. Many people like baked potatoes, cooked in an oven or fire. Imagine trying to carry a hot, baked potato in your hand. It would be difficult -- even painful -- to do so. Now we are getting close to the meaning of “hot potato.”

土豆在美国是一种受欢迎的蔬菜，很多人都喜欢烤土豆，或者是用炉火煮土豆又或者是烧制土豆。想象一下，试图拿着一个热的烤土豆在你的手中会怎样呢？这样做将是困难的，甚至是痛苦的。

Some publicly-disputed issues are highly emotional. The issues must be treated carefully, or they will be difficult and painful if an elected official has to deal with them -- as difficult and painful as holding a hot potato.

现在，我们越来越接近理解“hot potato”的表意是“烫手山芋”了。一些公众争议的问题高度情绪化，当事人必须认真对待这些问题，否则一旦官方出面解决处理，他们将会像手中拿着一个烫手的山芋般很困难和痛苦。

One such hot potato is taxes...

税收是这样一个烫手的山芋：

Calling for higher taxes can mean defeat for a politician. And yet, if taxes are not raised, some very popular government programs could be cut. And that also can make a politician very unpopular. So the questions must be dealt with carefully -- the same way you would handle any other hot potato.

要求增加税收对政客官员来说会意味着失败。然而，如果税率不提高的话，一些受公众关注的政府项目会被销减掉，这样同样会给政客官员带来负面影响。因此，必须谨慎处理问题，正如手中拿着烫手山芋一样。

Another expression is “not so hot.” If you ask someone how she feels, she may answer “not so hot.” What she means is she does not feel well.

“not so hot” 又是一种不易理解的表达，如果有人问她感觉如何，她回答说“not so hot”，那她所表达的意思就是身体不舒服。

“Not so hot” also is a way of saying that you do not really like something. You may tell a friend that the new play you saw last night is “not so hot.” That means you did not consider it a success.

用“Not so hot ”一词也可以表达你真的不喜欢某样东西。例如你可以跟朋友说，你觉得昨晚看的新戏"not so hot."，以此来表达你不喜欢这部新戏。

A person who becomes angry easily is called a “hothead.” An angry person's neck often becomes red. We say he is “hot under the collar.” You could say that your friend “is no hothead.” But he got “hot under the collar” when someone took his radio.

“ hot shot”这个词一般用来形容人，往往是一个自认为自己无所不能的年轻人。至少这种年轻人他想要去尝试，他非常肯定他能成功，但他往往会失败。“ hot shot”的这一层意思起源于军队。“ hot shot”在那时候指的是一个没有仔细瞄准目标盲目射击的的士兵。

A “hot shot” is a person -- often a young person -- who thinks he can do anything. At least he wants to try. He is very sure he can succeed. But often he fails. The expression was born in the military forces. A “hot shot” was a soldier who fired without aiming carefully.

“hot”这个词经常用来表达愤怒的意思。很容易生气的人被称为“急性子”。人愤怒的时候脖子往往会变红，我们就说他怒气冲天。你可以说你朋友不是个急性子但当别人拿走他录音机的时候他会怒气冲天，来表达他性子急。

In 1963, “hotline” appeared as a new expression.The hotline was a direct communications link between the leaders of the Soviet Union and the United States. The hotline had an important purpose: to prevent accidental war between the two competitors during the period known as the Cold War. The American president and the Soviet leader were able to communicate directly and immediately on the hotline. This helped prevent any conflict during an international crisis.

在一九六三年，“热线”一词有了新的词义。“热线”是苏联和美国两国领导人之间的一个直接的通信链路。“热线”有一个重要的用途：让美国的总统和苏联领导人能够在热线直接并及时地沟通，以防止冷战期间两国发生意外的战争。“热线”有助于防止国际金融危机期间的任何冲突。

You have been listening to the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.Our program was written by Marilyn Rice Christiano.I’m Warren Scheer.

（音乐）您一直在听的是美国之音特别英语节目“词汇掌故”，. 我们的节目由Marilyn Rice Christiano.编制，我是主持人Warren Scheer。