VOA慢速英语2011--Words and Their Stories: You Do Not Have to Be a Rocket Scientist

Words and Their Stories: You Do Not Have to Be a Rocket Scientist

词汇典故：这没什么难的
Hello. I'm Phil Murray with WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, a program in Special English.
大家好，我是Phil Murray。今天由我给大家带来美国之音慢速英语词汇典故节目。
"You do not need to be a rocket scientist." Americans hear these words often. People say them in schools, offices and factories. Broadcasters on radio and television use them.
"You do not need to be a rocket scientist." 美国人经常听到这句话。人们在学校、办公室和工厂经常这样说，电台和电视台也经常用到。
This is how you might hear the words used.
以下是你可能听到的一些对话。
Workers in an office are afraid to try to use their new computer system. Their employer tells them not to be foolish. "You do not need to be a rocket scientist to learn this," he says.
办公室工作人员不敢尝试使用他们的电脑新系统。老板说别蠢了，“你不必成为火箭科学家就能学会这个（学这个没什么难的）。”
注：这这种说法的意思也就是，“这没什么难的，显而易见的。”
Or, high school students cannot seem to understand something their teacher is explaining. "Come on," she says. "You do not need to be a rocket scientist to understand this."
或者高中学生似乎无法理解老师讲解的东西。“来吧，”老师说道：“你不必成为火箭科学家就能理解这些东西（理解这些没什么难的）。”
Or, a company that makes soap is trying to sell its product on television. "You do not need to be a rocket scientist to see that our soap cleans better," the company says.
或者一家肥皂生产商试图在电视上出售其产品。“你不必成为火箭科学家就能看明白(显而易见)，我们的肥皂清洗效果更好。”
These words send a strong message. They say that you do not need to be extremely intelligent to understand something.
这些话传递出一个强烈信息。他们说的是，你不必非常聪明就能理解某些事物。
How did the expression begin?
这种说法是怎么来的呢？
A United Launch Alliance¹ Atlas² V rocket carrying NASA's Mars³ Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover lifts off fromCape Canaveral Air Force Station Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011
No one seems to know for sure. But an official of the American space agency, NASA, says the expression just grew. It grew, he says, because rocket scientists probably are the most intelligent people around.
似乎没人可以确定。但美国宇航局一位官员表示，这种说法是自然而然地形成的。他说，因为火箭科学家可能是周围最聪明的人。
Not everyone would agree.
并不是每个人都同意这种说法。
Some people might be considered more intelligent than rocket scientists. For example, a person who speaks and reads fifteen languages, or a medical doctor who operates on the brain.
有些人可能被认为比火箭科学家更加聪明。例如，会说15种语言的人，或脑科手术医生。
Still, many people would agree that there is something special about scientists who build rockets. Maybe it has to do with the mystery of space travel.
尽管如此，很多人认同制造火箭的科学家有些与众不同的地方。也许它与太空旅行的神秘有关。
Moving pictures from before World War Two showed a man named Buck⁴ Rogers landing on the planet Mars. He was a hero who could defeat any enemy from outer space.
二战前的一部电影展示了一位名为Buck Rogers的男子登陆火星。他是一位能够击败任何外太空来敌的英雄。
The rocket scientist is a different kind of hero. He or she makes space travel possible.
火箭科学家是另一种类型的英雄。他（她）们使太空旅行成为可能。
Rocket scientists, however, can have problems just like anyone else.
然而，火箭科学家也像其他人一样会遇到问题。
A Washington rocket scientist tells about a launch that was postponed⁵ many, many times. Finally, everything seemed right. Mechanical failures had been repaired. The weather was good.
华盛顿一位火箭科学家谈到一次推迟了很多次的发射。最终似乎万事就绪，机械故障已被修复，天气也很好。
The scientists had planned that part of the rocket would fall into the ocean after the launch. All ships and boats within many kilometers of the danger area had been warned. But in the last few seconds a small boat entered the area. Once again, the launch was postponed.
科学家们曾计划在发射后，火箭的部分残体将坠入海洋。危险区域数公里之内的船只都已被警告。但发射前最后几秒，一艘小船进入了这一区域。发射又被推迟。
When the work goes well, most rocket scientists enjoy their jobs. One scientist said, "As a child I loved to build rockets. Now I am grown. I still love to build rockets. And now I get paid for it."
当工作进展顺利时，大部分火箭科学家都喜欢自己的工作。一位科学家说，“小时候我就喜欢造火箭。现在我已长大，我仍然热爱造火箭，而且现在还凭它拿薪水。”
(MUSIC)
This program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, was written by Jeri Watson. I'm Phil Murray.

1 alliance   

n.同盟，同盟国，结盟，联姻

参考例句：

• China will not enter into alliance with any big power.中国不同任何大国结盟。
• The new alliance was very much in evidence.新的联盟上星期很引人注目。

2 atlas   

n.地图册，图表集

参考例句：

• He reached down the atlas from the top shelf.他从书架顶层取下地图集。
• The atlas contains forty maps,including three of Great Britain.这本地图集有40幅地图，其中包括3幅英国地图。

3 Mars   

n.火星，战争

参考例句：

• As of now we don't know much about Mars.目前我们对火星还知之甚少。
• He contended that there must be life on Mars.他坚信火星上面一定有生物。

4 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

5 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。