VOA慢速英语2013 词汇典故：行动起来

 

Words and Their Stories: Get Your Act Together

词汇典故：行动起来

I'm Susan Clark with the Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

现在是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故节目，我是苏珊·克拉克。

A woman from Japan was telling a friend about her trip to the United States. The woman had visited major businesses and investment¹ companies in New York City and Chicago.

一位来自日本的女性正向朋友讲述她的美国之旅。这位女性访问了纽约和芝加哥的大型企业及投资公司。

"I studied English before I left home," she said. "But I still was not sure that people were speaking English."

“我离开日本前学过英语，”她说，“但我还是不确定他们说的是英语吗？”

Her problem is easy to understand. Americans in business are like people who are in business anywhere. They have a language of their own. Some of the words and expressions deal with the special areas of their work. Other expressions are borrowed from different kinds of work such as the theater and movie industry.

她的困惑很容易理解。美国商务人士和任何国家的商务人士一样，有着自己独特的语言。一些词句涉及他们工作的特定领域，另一些词句借用自戏剧和电影业等不同行业。

One such saying is get your act together.

这样的说法之一就是get your act together。

When things go wrong in a business, an employer² may get angry. He may shout, "Stop making mistakes. Get your act together."

当业务上出现问题时，雇主可能会上火。他可能喊道：“别再犯错了，努力。”

Or, if the employer is calmer, he may say, "Let us get our act together."

或者，如果雇主心态平静，他可能会说，"让我们一起努力。"

Either way, the meaning is the same. Getting your act together is getting organized. In business, it usually means to develop a calm and orderly³ plan of action.

无论哪种说法，其含义是相同的。Getting your act together意思是组织起来。在商业上，它通常的意思是制定一个平静有序的工作计划。

It is difficult to tell exactly where the saying began. But, it is probable⁴ that it was in the theater or movie industry. Perhaps one of the actors was nervous and made a lot of mistakes. The director may have said, "Calm down, now. Get your act together."

很难确定这种说法是从哪里开始的，但它很可能来自戏剧或电影行业。可能其中一名演员很紧张犯了不少错误。导演可能就说，“冷静点，提高下你的演技。”

注： Get your act together这里的意思是他必须把自己的表演提高到其他演员的水平，以便能配合他们共同演出。

Word expert James Rogers says the expression was common by the late nineteen seventies. Mister⁵ Rogers says the Manchester Guardian⁶ newspaper used it in nineteen seventy-eight. The newspaper said a reform policy required that the British government get its act together.

词汇专家詹姆斯·罗杰斯（James Rogers）表示，这种说法在20世纪70年代晚期非常司空见惯。罗杰斯说，曼彻斯特卫报在1978年用到了这种说法。这份报纸表示，一项改革政策要求英国政府共同行动起来。

Now, this expression is heard often when officials of a company meet. One company even called its yearly⁷ report, "Getting Our Act Together."

现在，这个说法经常在公司职员开会时听到。一家公司甚至称其年报为“让我们一起努力”。

The Japanese visitor was confused by another expression used by American business people. It is cut to the chase⁸.

这位日本客人还被美国商务人士的另一种说法所迷惑。这种说法就是cut to the chase。

She heard that expression when she attended an important meeting of one company. One official was giving a very long report. It was not very interesting. In fact, some people at the meeting were falling asleep.

她在参加一个公司的重要会议时听到了这种说法。一名职员正在发表冗长无趣的长篇大论，实际上，参加会议的一些人已经昏昏欲睡。

Finally, the president of the company said, "Cut to the chase."

最终，公司总裁说，“切入正题吧。”

Cut to the chase means to stop spending so much time on details or unimportant⁹ material. Hurry and get to the good part.

Cut to the chase意思是停止在细节或不重要的地方花费大量时间。赶紧进入正题。

Naturally, this saying was started by people who make movies. Hollywood movie producers believe that most Americans want to see action movies. Many of their movies show scenes in which the actors chase each other in cars, or in airplanes or on foot.

当然，这种说法始于电影制片人。好莱坞电影制片人认为大多数美国人想看动作片。许多好莱坞电影展示了演员们在汽车、飞机或路上互相追逐的场景。

Cut is the director's word for stop. The director means to stop filming, leave out some material, and get to the chase scene now.

Cut是导演喊停时的术语。制片人的意思是停止拍摄，去掉一些材料，直接进入追逐场面。

So, if your employer tells you to cut to the chase, be sure to get to the main point of your story quickly.

所以，如果你老板告诉你切入正题，请务必尽快进入你的主要观点。

This WORDS AND THEIR STORIES program was written by Jeri Watson. I'm Susan Clark.

1 investment   

n.投资，投资额；(时间、精力等的)投入

参考例句：

• It took two years before I recouped my investment.我用了两年时间才收回投资。
• The success of the project pivots on investment from abroad.这个工程的成功主要依靠外来投资。

2 employer   

n.雇用方，雇主

参考例句：

• My employer deducted ten pounds from my wages this week.我的雇主从我本周的工钱中扣除了十英镑。
• His monthly salary is paid into the bank by his employer.他的月薪由雇主替他存入银行。

3 orderly   

adj.有秩序的，整齐的，一丝不苟的，和平的；adv.有秩序地，有条理地，依次地；n.勤务兵，（医院的）勤务工

参考例句：

• It's an orderly room.这是个整洁的房间。
• The books are in orderly rows on shelves.书籍整齐地排列在书架上。

4 probable   

adj.可能的，有望发性或实现的

参考例句：

• It is probable to finish the job before dark.天黑之前有可能完成这项工作。
• It is hardly probable that he will succeed.他不会成功。

5 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

6 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

7 yearly   

adj.每年的，一年一度的；adv.一年一次地

参考例句：

• The flower show is a yearly event in our town.我们镇上的花展一年举行一次。
• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。

8 chase   

vt.追逐，追赶，追求；n.追赶

参考例句：

• The police grabbed the robbers after a long chase.警察经过长距离追赶后逮住了抢劫犯。
• Would you chase me if I did?如果我逃开了，你会来追吗？

9 unimportant   

adj.不重要的，无意义的

参考例句：

• Let's not quarrel about such unimportant matters.我们不要为这些小事争吵了。
• Money seems unimportant when sets beside the joys of family life.与天伦之乐相比，金钱显得微不足道。