VOA慢速英语2020 词汇掌故 小羊摇两下尾巴是有多快？

The English language has many expressions that describe a fast-moving event.

英语中有很多用以描述快速发展事件的短语。

Some expressions relate to body movements.

其中一些与身体的动作有关。

We say something happens in the blink¹ of an eye or in a heartbeat.

例如我们描述有些事情发生在眨眼之间或顷刻的心跳之间。

Other expressions are related² to the world of nature.

还有另-些表达是与自然世界相关的。

Today we will talk about a speed-related expression involving an animal.

今天，我们就要来介绍一个含动物的与速度有关的表达。

Now, because we are talking about speed and animals, you might thinkit isa big cat, such as a lion or cheetah³ -- or maybe even a small, but speedy animal such as a hare⁴.But it is none of them.

既然说到速度和动物，你很容易会想到狮子、猎豹之类的大型猫科动物。或者是小型的类似野兔这样小型的速度型的动物，但都不是。

You guessed it!The expression today involves sheep- baby lambs to be exact!

猜对了，确切点说，今天要学的表达和绵羊羊羔有关。

But why? Lambs are cute.

可从何说起呢?小羊那么可爱。

But they are not really known for their lightning speed.

它们也不是以闪电级别的速度著称的。

Well, our expression is about a specific part of the animal - its tail.

好吧，其实我们要学的这个表达与动物身体很特殊的一部分有关--尾巴。

I suspect lambs can shake their tails very fast.

我怀疑小羊摇尾巴的速度是很快的。

Because when something happens quickly, we say it happens in "two shakes of a lamb's tail."

要不然在某件事很迅速地发生的时候，我们为什么总说它在"小羊摇两下尾巴"的功夫间(马上)就发生了。

Here is an example:

这儿有个例子:

"T'm going to the store. I'll be back in two shakes ofa lamb's tail!"

我去买些东西，马上就回来!

This expression is a cuter and more descriptive way of saying "quickly."

这是对"快速"的一-种更为可爱而更具描述性的说法。

Maybe instead of sending a text message with the letters BRB (be right back), we could use the image of a lamb shaking its tail.

与其发个"赶快回来"的短信，或许发个羊羔摇尾巴的表情包更形象。

That would fun!

那多有喜感!

Being cute like a lamb may be fun.

像小羊羔一样可爱地交流也很有乐趣。

But it has its drawbacks⁵. Cute things are often not taken serlously.

不过，这样也有它的缺点。可爱的事物往往不会被认真对待。

And this cute factor is the main reason Americans rarely use "two shakes of a lamb's tail" in a serious situation.

而美国人也正是由于这个可爱的原因而很少使用这个短语的。

For example, if I see a person get hit by a car, I would not say, "Hold on! Help will be here in two shakes of a lamb's tail!"

比如说，如果我看见有人被撞了，我就会说，"坚持住!救援马.上到，就小羊摇摇尾巴的功夫! "

That would not make the injured person lying in the middle of the street feel reassured⁶.

这恐怕根本安抚不了受伤躺在马路中间的人。

In an emergency like that, I would say something like, "Help is on the way!"

在这样的紧急情境下，我会说，"救援已经在路上了"

Generally speaking, an emergency is not a good time to use cute animal expressions.

一般来说，紧急状况不是使用一些可爱表达的好时候。

Some language experts say "two shakes of a lamb's tail" was first used in written English in the 1800s.

一些语言专家表示，这个短语首次运用于书面英语是在19世纪。

They think that it was used in spoken English much earlier than that.

而它开始被用在口语里的时间就要更早了。

You should know that we often shorten⁷ this expression to simply "two shakes" - as in, "Ill be there in two shakes!"

要知道的是，这个短语经常简化为"two shakes"。例如，"我两下就到"。

You should not use that one for emergencies either.

当然，这个也不适合用在紧急情况当中。

And that is Words and Their Stories for today.

那么，以上就是今天的内容啦。

1 blink   

vi.眨眼睛，闪烁；vt.眨（眼睛），使闪烁

参考例句：

• In a blink of an eye he had disappeared.一眨眼的工夫他就没影了。
• The boy disappeared around the corner in a blink of an eye.一眨眼，这男孩就在拐角处不见了。

2 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

3 cheetah   

n.(动物)猎豹

参考例句：

• The cheetah is generally credited as the world's fastest animal.猎豹被公认是世界上跑得最快的动物。
• The distribution of the cheetah ranges from Africa to Central Asia.印度豹的足迹遍及从非洲到中亚的广大地区。

4 hare   

n.野兔

参考例句：

• The tortoise wins the race while the hare is sleeping.兔子正睡觉时，乌龟赢得了比赛。
• I saw a hare in my backyard this morning.今天早晨我看见后院有一只野兔。

5 drawbacks   

缺点，不利条件，障碍( drawback的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The house had many drawbacks, most notably its price. 这房子有很多缺陷，尤其是它的价格。
• This method has quite a few drawbacks. 这种做法弊病不少。

6 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 shorten   

vt.弄短，缩小，减少

参考例句：

• Minor accidents can shorten the life of a car.小事故会缩短汽车寿命。
• My dress is too long I must shorten it.我的连衣裙太长了，我得把它截短些。