VOA慢速英语--“不浪费则不匮乏”是个好建议

And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning¹ English.

Waste. It is something we are often told not to do.

At home, parents tell us not to waste food. In the classroom, teachers tell us not to waste time. On a sports team, coaches tell us not to waste energy. People who do not want to hear our ideas, tell us not to "waste our breath."

Whether it is food, time, energy or breath -- waste is a loss of something valuable. Waste happens because we use too much of a resource or because we do not use it well.

We often use "waste" in arguments. If we are unhappy with someone, we can say: "Don't waste my time." If we are really unhappy with someone, we can say to them, "You are a waste of space!"

And if you are not happy with the result of something you have done, you can say, "Well, that was a complete waste of time."

There are other ways we use the word "waste."

If someone is very sick or is losing a lot of weight, we can say they are "wasting away." And if someone has too much alcohol² and cannot control their words and actions, we can say they are "wasted."

So, those are some ways we use the word "waste." We also find it in some useful expressions.

Here's the first one: "Haste³ makes waste."

The online dictionary Merriam-Webster says this expression was first recorded in 1678. The full saying was: "Haste makes waste, and waste makes want, and want makes strife⁴ between the good-man and his wife."

"Haste" means doing something very quickly. "Haste makes waste" means if you hurry and rush while doing something, you could make mistakes. And it takes more time and effort to fix mistakes. So, if someone says, "Hurry up! It's taking you forever to cut that wood for the house project." You can simply say: "Haste makes waste. I want to do it right the first time!"

The other common expression is: "Waste not, want not."

This means that if a person never wastes things, he or she will have what is needed. We often say this as a response to being very frugal⁵. Frugal people are careful about spending money or using things. They are not wasteful⁶.

Here is one way to use it. Let's say I am carefully putting paper into a pile. Some of the papers have writing on them, but most do not. And I think I can still use it for something.

If someone sees me and says, "Why don't you just throw that paper away? We have lots of paper." I can say to them, "Waste not, want not." It is a simple way to say, "I don't want to waste this paper. If I need it for something later, I'll have it."

Now let's hope learning about "waste" in this Words and Their Stories was not a "complete waste of your time."

Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo!

And there's so much time to make up everywhere you turn Time we have wasted on the way So much water moving underneath⁷ the bridge Let the water come and carry us away ...

Words in This Story

coach – n. one who instructs players in the fundamentals⁸ of a sport and directs team strategy⁹

strife – n. formal : very angry or violent disagreement between two or more people or groups

rush – v. to move or do something very quickly or in a way that shows you are in a hurry

frugal – adj. careful about spending money or using things when you do not need to : using money or supplies in a very careful way

pile – n. a large number of things that are put one on top of another

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 alcohol   

n.酒精，乙醇；含酒精的饮料

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors.法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。
• The alcohol is industrial.这些酒精是供工业用的。

3 haste   

n.匆忙，急速；草率；v.赶快；匆忙

参考例句：

• In his blind haste he almost ran into the river.他匆匆忙忙地几乎跑到河里去了。
• The contract says the work must be completed with all possible haste.合同上写明这项工作必须尽快完成。

4 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

5 frugal   

adj.节俭的，节约的，少量的，微量的

参考例句：

• He was a VIP,but he had a frugal life.他是位要人，但生活俭朴。
• The old woman is frugal to the extreme.那老妇人节约到了极点。

6 wasteful   

adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的

参考例句：

• It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
• Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源，任务已经重新分派。

7 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

8 fundamentals   

n.(常用复数)基本原理

参考例句：

• The fundamentals of inorganic chemistry are very important. 无机化学的基础很重要。
• In math, Fundamentals Volume 1 explores numbers and counting, and shapes. 在数学方面，Fundamentals第一集探索了数字，点数和形状。

9 strategy   

n.方法，策略，战略

参考例句：

• The only way to take the enemy position is by strategy,not by forceful attack.只可智取，不可强攻。
• Tactics differs from strategy.战术有别于战略。