VOA慢速英语2011--Words and Their Stories: Fish Expression

Words and Their Stories: Fish Expressions

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
现在是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故节目。
(MUSIC)
Americans use many expressions about fish and fishing. For example, if something sounds fishy¹, it may not be true. Sometimes I feel like a fish out of water when I go to a party and everyone but me is doing the latest dance. When I ask my friend if she likes my new dress, I would like her to say something nice. In other words, I am fishing for a compliment². You might tell someone to fish or cut bait³ if he repeatedly⁴ attempts to do something he is unable to do.
美国人使用很多和鱼或捕鱼相关的表达。例如，如果什么事情听上去fishy（可疑的），它可能不是真实的。有时当我去参加聚会，除我以外的每个人都在跳最新潮的舞蹈，我感觉就像是a fish out of water（离水的鱼，指格格不入、不自在）。如果我问朋友她是否喜欢我的新衣服，我希望她说点好听的。换句话说，我在fishing for a compliment（寻求恭维）。如果某人一直在重复尝试他力所不能及的事，你可能会告诉他fish or cut bait（当机立断，要么全力以赴，要么放弃）。
Sometimes a lawyer will ask a witness many questions in an effort to discover the facts of a court case. This is called going on a fishing expedition.
有时，一个律师会询问证人很多问题，以求发现案件真想。这被称为going on a fishing expedition（进行盘问摸底）。
Some expressions involve different kinds of fish. Information that is used to draw attention away from the real facts of a situation is called a red herring. If you want to express a feeling of surprise, you might cry "holy mackerel!" although we do not know why a mackerel is holy.
有些表达包含不同种类的鱼。用于转移注意力的信息被称为red herring（题外话）。如果你想表达惊喜，就可以大喊“holy mackerel”。虽然我们不知道为什么鲭鱼神圣的。
Once I went to a county⁵ fair and tried my luck with a game of chance. It was so easy; it was like shooting fish in a barrel⁶. Then I went on the fastest, highest and most frightening ride: the roller coaster. At the end of the ride, I did not feel so well. A friend said I looked green around the gills.
有一次我去县集市玩机会游戏试手气。它真容易，简直就是like shooting fish in a barrel（射桶里的鱼，意思当然是手到擒来）。随后我去乘坐最高、最快和最可怕的过山车。在乘坐结束后，我感觉不太妙。一个朋友说我看上去green around the gills（吓得脸都绿了）。
I grew up in a small town where everybody knew about my life. There were times when I thought I was living in a fishbowl. So I moved to Washington, where things were different.
我在一个小镇上长大，那里的每个人都对我很了解。好多次我都觉得自己living in a fishbowl（像是活在鱼缸里，指让人看得清清楚楚没有隐私）。所以我搬到华盛顿，这里的一切就大不同了。
Now I take the train to work every day during rush hour when many other people travel to their jobs. Sometimes the train is so crowded that we are packed in like sardines⁷. Sardines are tiny fish that lie close to each other in cans.
现在我每天在大家都出门上班的高峰期乘坐火车上班。有时火车上挤得像沙丁鱼罐头（packed in like sardines）。沙丁鱼是一种小鱼，在罐头中的沙丁鱼挤成一堆。
One man who works⁸ in my office is a cold fish. He is unfriendly and does not like to join us at office parties. Another man in my office likes to enjoy alcoholic⁹ drinks at parties. In fact, you might say he drinks like a fish. We need to help him stop drinking.
我办公室中有个家伙是个cold fish（态度冷淡的人）。他不大友好，不喜欢参加办公室聚会。我办公室的另一个家伙在聚会上喜欢喝酒，事实上，你可能说他drinks like a fish（像鱼一样喝，当然是牛饮，嗜酒如命了。）我们需要帮他戒酒。
Last week, my sister's car broke down as we were driving to a friend's marriage ceremony. "This is a fine kettle of fish," I said. "Now we will be late."
上周，在我们开车去参加一个朋友的婚礼时，我姐姐的车坏了。我说，“This is a fine kettle of fish（太糟了），我们要迟到了。”
My sister attends a small college where she is one of the smartest students. She always wants to be a big fish in a small pond. Recently, my sister broke up with her boyfriend. I told her not to worry, she will find another one because there are plenty of other fish in the sea.
我姐姐在一个规模较小的大学就读，她是学校最聪明的学生之一。她总是想成为a big fish in a small pond（小池塘里的大鱼，也就是俗语中的宁为鸡头中的鸡头）。最近，我姐姐和她男朋友闹翻了。我劝她别担心，她会找到更好的，因为there are plenty of other fish in the sea（天涯何处无芳草）。

1 fishy   

adj. 值得怀疑的

参考例句：

• It all sounds very fishy to me.所有这些在我听起来都很可疑。
• There was definitely something fishy going on.肯定当时有可疑的事情在进行中。

2 compliment   

n.[pl.]问候，致意；n./v. 称赞，恭维

参考例句：

• The manager paid her a compliment on her work.经理赞扬了她的工作。
• Your presence is a great compliment.承蒙光临，不胜荣幸。

3 bait   

n.饵，引诱物；vt.用饵引诱，折磨，奚落

参考例句：

• The fish took the bait.鱼吞饵了。
• They are too knowing to bite at such a bait.他们很老练，不上这种当。

4 repeatedly   

adv.重复地，再三地

参考例句：

• The loudspeakers blared the speech repeatedly.扬声器里反复大声地播送那篇演讲。
• He repeatedly beat his foot upon the floor.他反复用脚敲着地板。

5 county   

n.县，郡

参考例句：

• When the good news reached there,the whole county rejoiced.喜讯传到那里时，全县的人都欢欣鼓舞起来。
• In that year county after county fell to the enemy.那一年一个又一个的县城沦入敌人手中。

6 barrel   

n.圆桶；一桶的量；枪管；vt.把...装桶

参考例句：

• I drew off three pints of beer from the barrel.我从酒桶里抽出三品脱啤酒。
• The man rolled the barrel into the yard.那个人把圆桶滚进院子。

7 sardines   

n. 沙丁鱼

参考例句：

• The young of some kinds of herring are canned as sardines. 有些种类的鲱鱼幼鱼可制成罐头。
• Sardines can be eaten fresh but are often preserved in tins. 沙丁鱼可以吃新鲜的，但常常是装听的。

8 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

9 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。