VOA慢速英语2012 Words and Their Stories: Great Scott

 

Words and Their Stories: Great Scott

词汇典故：感叹词

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。

Every language has its ways of expressing strong emotions -- surprise, shock, anger.

每种语言都有其表达惊讶、震惊和愤怒等强烈情感的方式。

The expressions range from mild to strong, from exclamations¹ and oaths, to curses and swear words. The ones that are accepted in public speech change through the years as social rules change.

表达程度从轻到重，从感叹到起誓，到诅咒和脏话。随着社会公德的变化，被公众接受的表达也逐年改变。

At times, only very mild expressions are socially accepted.

有时，社会只能接受非常轻微的表达。

Some of the most popular expressions are those that are guaranteed not to offend anyone. Most of these exclamations have survived from earlier days. And their original meanings are long since forgotten.

最流行的是那些确保不会伤害任何人的表达，这些感叹语中的多数源远流长，其原有意义早已被遗忘。

Great Scott! is a good example. It expresses surprise or shock. You might say to someone, "Great Scott! I did not know she was married!"

Great Scott!就是一个很好的例子。它表达的是一种惊讶或震惊。你可能会对某人说，“天啊，我都不知道她已经结婚了。”

Language expert Webb Garrison² tells an interesting story about the expression.

语言专家韦伯·加里森（Webb Garrison）讲述了关于这个表达的一个有趣的故事。

Just before the Civil War, the Whig political party was making a last effort to remain a part of American political life. For the election of eighteen fifty-two, the Whigs wanted to offer a colorful candidate for president.

美国内战以前，辉格党为保持其政治生命做最后努力。在1852年选举中，辉格党希望推出一名生动活泼的总统候选人。

They thought that Winfield Scott would be the right candidate.

他们认为温菲尔德·斯科特（Winfield Scott）是最合适的人选。

In his thirty years as a general, Winfield Scott had become one of the best-known military leaders in the country. During the war with Mexico, he had captured Vera Cruz and occupied Mexico City.

在他作为将军的30年里，斯科特成为了美国最著名的军事领导人之一。在美墨战争期间，他曾拿下韦拉克鲁斯并占领墨西哥城。

注：这是美国入侵墨西哥期间，斯特拉从墨西哥东部最大港口城市韦拉克鲁斯登陆，一举攻占墨西哥首都墨西哥城。

So, party leaders thought that if any Whig could be elected president, it was Winfield Scott.

所以，辉格党党首认为，如果辉格党中有谁能够当选总统，那一定非斯科特莫属。

General Scott quickly accepted the nomination³ and began campaigning. It did not take long for the public to realize that General Scott really liked General Scott!

斯科特将军很快接受了提名并开始竞选。没多久公众就意识到，斯科特将军非常自大！

His speeches were full of praise for himself. It was evident that he thought he was the greatest candidate who had ever lived. Soon his political opponents began to make fun of him. They called him, Great Scott.

他的讲话满是对自己的赞誉。很显然，他认为自己是有史以来最伟大的候选人。不久他的政治对手开始嘲笑他，称其为伟大的斯科特（Great Scott）。

General Scott did not come close to winning the presidency⁴. But his name still lives as part of the English language.

斯科特将军没能赢得选举。但他的名字做为英语语言的一部分流传了下来。

Other popular exclamations combine holy with other words.

另一些常用感叹词则将holy与其它词联系起来。

Holy Mackerel! is one that expresses surprise or wonder. It comes from earlier days when the Roman Catholic Church ruled that Catholics must not eat meat on Fridays. Since mackerel was a common and cheap fish in the United States, it was often eaten for dinner on Friday.

Holy Mackerel!就是其中一个，它表达一种惊奇或怀疑。它源自于很久以前，罗马天主教规定天主教徒周五不能吃肉。由于鲭鱼是每种一种常见的廉价鱼，它经常在周五被端上餐桌。

Then there is Holy Toledo! It is another expression of surprise. It refers to the city of Toledo, Spain, an important religious center in medieval times. Toledo was a holy city for both the Roman Catholics and the Muslim Moors⁵ of Spain.

再有就是Holy Toledo!这是另一种惊喜的表达。它和中世纪时重要的宗教中心，西班牙城市托莱多有关。托莱多曾是罗马天主教徒和西班牙穆斯林摩尔人共同的圣城。

(MUSIC)

This VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES was written by Marilyn Christiano. Maurice Joyce was the narrator. I'm Warren Scheer.

1 exclamations   

n.呼喊( exclamation的名词复数 )；感叹；感叹语；感叹词

参考例句：

• The visitors broke into exclamations of wonder when they saw the magnificent Great Wall. 看到雄伟的长城，游客们惊叹不已。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After the will has been read out, angry exclamations aroused. 遗嘱宣读完之后，激起一片愤怒的喊声。 来自辞典例句

2 garrison   

n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防

参考例句：

• The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
• The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。

3 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 moors   

v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• the North York moors 北约克郡的漠泽
• They're shooting grouse up on the moors. 他们在荒野射猎松鸡。 来自《简明英汉词典》