词语典故:切入主题

词语典故:切入主题

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

这里是美国之音慢速英语词语典故节目，我是Susan Clark。

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

一位来自日本的女性正在给朋友讲述自己的美国之旅。她去纽约和芝加哥走访了大型商业和投资公司。

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

她说：“离家之前我学了英语，但我还是不确定他们讲的是英语。”

Her problem is easy to understand. Americans in business are like people who are in business anywhere. They have a language of their own.

她的迷惑很容易理解，美国商务人士和其他地方的商务人士一样，都自己的一套语言。

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.

有的词语和表达方式是专门用在工作领域的，还有一些表达借用自戏剧、电影等别的行业。

One such saying is get your act together.

其中的一个表达就是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，雇主很生气，他或许会叫道：“别犯错了！行动起来！”

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

或许，这个雇主比较平静，他会说：“让我们行动起来吧！”

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.

无论怎么说，两种说法的意思是一样的。Getting your act together是组织起来的意思。在商业中，通常表示制定一个平静有序的行动计划。

It is difficult to tell exactly where the saying began. But, it is probable⁴ that it was in the theater or movie industry.

很难说这个说法从何时开始的，但或许是在戏剧或电影行业。

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."

或许一个演员紧张犯了不少错，导演会说：“平静下，提高下演技。”

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.

词语专家James Rogers说，这个说法在20世纪70年代末很常用。Roger说，曼彻斯特卫报在1978年使用了这个表达。该报称，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."

如今，这个用法在公司职员开会时常用到，甚至有家公司给年报取名为“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.

还有一个同法令这位日本客人感到迷惑，那就是It is 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.

她是在参加一个公司的重要会议时听到这个说法的，一名职员做了一个很长又无趣的报告，事实上，已经有人昏昏欲睡了。

It was not very interesting. In fact, some people at the meeting were falling asleep.

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

最后，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无关紧要的环节上花费过多时间，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，这个说法始创于电影制作人。好莱坞电影导演认为，美国人喜欢看动作片。他们的许多影片都有演员开车、开飞机，或是地面上相互追逐的场面。

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是导演叫停的术语，导演的意思是停止拍摄，省掉一些场景，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，如果你的雇主要你cut to the chase，那你一定要马上进入主题啊！

 

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

本期的词汇典故作者Jeri Watson，我是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。