VOA慢速英语2011--Words and Their Stories: All About Names

Words and Their Stories: All About Names

词汇典故：和人名有关的短语

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节目。

A person’s name is very important. Some names also have special meanings in popular American expressions. To better understand what I mean, sit back and listen. You might even want to get a cup of Joe, I mean, a cup of coffee.

一个人的名字是非常重要的。在美国的常用表达中，有些名字还有其特殊含义。为了更好地理解我说的意思，请坐下来听一听。你甚至可能想要来杯咖啡(a cup of Joe)。

One day, an average Joe was walking down the street. An average Joe is a common person – either male or female¹. This average Joe was lost. He did not know Jack² about where he was going. By this, I mean he did not know anything about where to find things in the city.

有一天，一个人（an average Joe）走在大街上。An average Joe是指一个普通人，不论男女都适用。这个人迷路了。他不知道（did not know Jack）应该怎么走。我这里意思是说他不知道如何找个某个地方。

So average Joe asked John Q. Public for directions to the nearest bank. John Q. Public is also a common person – male or female.

所以他向一个人（John Q. Public）打听怎么去最近的银行。John Q. Public也是指一个普通人，无论男女。

“Jeez Louise,” said John Q. Public. This is an expression of surprise. “Jeez Louise, don’t you know that all banks are closed today? It is Saturday.”

“老天爷（Jeez Louise），”这个人说。这个短语是用来表示惊讶的。“老天爷，你不知道今天所有银行都关门吗？今天是周六。”

“For Pete’s sake³,” said average Joe. This is also an expression used to show a feeling like surprise or disappointment.

“拜托，”这个人说。这个短语也是一个用于表示惊讶或失望的短语。

“For Pete’s sake. I do not believe you,” said average Joe. He was being a doubting Thomas, someone who does not believe anything he is told.

“拜托，我不相信你，”这个人说。他是个疑心很重的人（a doubting Thomas），不相信别人告诉他的任何话。

At that moment, Joe Blow was walking down the street with a woman. Joe Blow is also an expression for a common man. Now this Joe Blow was NOT walking next to a plain Jane. A plain Jane is a woman who is neither ugly nor pretty. She is simply plain. No, the woman with Joe Blow was a real Sheila – a beautiful woman.

就在那时，一位男士（Joe Blow）和女伴从街上走过。Joe Blow是指普通男性。此时这位男士不是和一位普通女士（plain Jane）走过。A plain Jane是指既不丑也不漂亮的女士，仅仅是一个长相普通的女性。不，和这位男士一起走来的这位女士是一个真正的美女（Sheila）。

Average Joe asked the woman if all banks were closed on Saturday. “No way, Jose,” she answered. This is a way of saying “no.” “No way, Jose. Many banks are open on Saturdays.”

这个人问这位女士，是不是所有银行周六都关门。“不可能（No way, Jose），”她回答道。这是一种表示否定的说法。“不可能，很多银行周六都开门。”

Average Joe did not know either of these two people from Adam. That is, he did not know them at all. But he followed their directions to the nearest bank.

这个人完全不认识他俩（did not know either of these two people from Adam）。但他按照他们指的路来到了最近的银行。

When he arrived, he walked to the desk of the chief bank employee. Now this man was a true Jack of all trades. He knew how to do everything.

当他到了银行，他走到银行首席员工桌前。这名男子是真正的万事通（Jack of all trades）。他知道怎么做所有事情。

“I am here to withdraw⁴ some money so I can pay my taxes to Uncle Sam,” said average Joe. Uncle Sam represents the United States government. The banker produced some papers and told average Joe to sign his John Hancock at the bottom. A John Hancock is a person’s signed name – a signature. Historically, John Hancock was one of the signers of the United States Declaration⁵ of Independence. Hancock had a beautiful signature and signed his name larger than all the others.

“我来取点钱给美国政府（Uncle Sam，也就是我们常说的山姆大叔）缴税。 ”这个人说。山姆大叔代表美国政府。这位银行员工打印了一些文件让这个人在文件底部签上他的名字（John Hancock）。历史上，约翰·汉考克（John Hancock）是美国独立宣言的签署人之一。汉考克的签名非常漂亮，他签上的名字比其他人都要大。

As average Joe left the bank he began to sing. But sadly, average Joe was not a good singer. He was a Johnny One Note. He could only sing one note.

当这个人离开银行时他开始唱歌。但杯具的是，这个人唱得不好，他是五音不全的人（Johnny One Note）。

(MUSIC)

This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, was written by Jill Moss⁶. I’m Faith Lapidus.

1.a cup of Joe

一杯咖啡。A cup of Joe也就是a cup of coffee。 这个说法是从纽约一公司Martinson’s Coffee的Joe Martinson的名字得来的，据说当时临近街区都弥漫着咖啡的芳香，所以人们都称咖啡为a cup of Joe。 Martinson’s Coffee在美国历史悠久，它的追随者25％都是纽约人。

2.not know Jack about

对某事一无所知。如： I don’t know jack about fishing意思就是I don’t know anything about fishing（我对钓鱼一无所知）。而I don’t know Jack的意思就是“我什么也不知道”。关于Jack，还有两个常见的句子。Do you know jack shit? 意思就是问别人, “你知不知道什么叫无知? 在美国的口语中， jack shit 算是一句粗话，意思是什么也没有。

3.John Q. Public

普通人。在语中，John Q. Public也是指“普通人，民众”。类似的词组是：John Q. Citizen. 语里还有很多与John有关的词组，如：big John（新兵），cheap John（乱杀价的商人; 叫卖小贩），honest John（诚实的人; 容易上当的人），square John（诚实可靠的人; 奉公守法的人）。

4.Jeez Louise

表示惊讶。如：One million? Jeez-Louise! You get any of that? ( 一百万？老天！有你的份吗？)
Jeez Louise, don’t you know that all banks are closed today? It is Saturday.（天啊，你难道不知道今天银行不营业吗？今天可是周六）。

5.For Pete’s sake

感叹词，用以强烈表达情绪，意为“哎呀，天哪”，有些地方也译作“看在上帝面上；千万；务必”等。在这个短语中，Pete是耶酥大弟子St．Peter的昵称。常在恳求或请求他人时使用。如：For Pete’s sake，stop making so much noise．(哎呀，天哪！别弄出那么讨厌的声音啦!) 此外，它还应用于其他种种不同的场合。假设你向别人道了歉，他还没完没了，这时你可以说：I said I was sorry．What else do you want me to do, for Pete’s sake?(我已经说对不起了，拜托，你还想叫我怎样啊?)

6.a doubting Thomas

生性多疑的人。源自《圣经·新约·约翰福音》第20章。该篇讲到耶稣复活后出现在众人面前，十二门徒之一托马斯没有亲眼见到，声称除非看到他手上的钉痕，用手探入他的肋旁，否则不信他已复活。后来人们用“doubting Thomas”指那些不肯轻易相信别人的人。
He’s a real doubting Thomas — he simply wouldn’t believe I’d won the car until he saw it with his own eyes.他是一个真正的怀疑主义者—在没有看到之前他就是不相信我赢得那辆车。

7.a plain Jane

长相不起眼，外貌平凡的女人。这里的plain是“不惹人注目的，朴素的”，而Jane是一般女人名，plain与Jane合辙押韵。如：I wonder why a handsome man like Jeff married such a plain Jane.我很奇怪像杰夫这样出色的男子怎么与一个不怎么起眼的姑娘结婚。

8.Joe Blow

老百姓，普通人。Joe Doakes也可以表示这个意思。美国口语中，Joe College指典型的美国大学生，Joe Miller⁷则指滑稽书，笑话集

9.Sheila

在口语中表示少女，年轻貌美

10.not know a person from Adam

不知（某人）模样如何，与（某人）素不相识。源自《圣经·旧约·士师记》第2、3章。上帝创造了世界上的第一个男人，取名为亚当（Adam）。因为亚当非女人所生，所以没有肚脐，是最容易辨认的人，“not know somebody from Adam”就表示“完全不认识某人”。
Mrs. Smith is a friend of mine, but I don’t know her husband from Adam.
史密斯太太是我的朋友，但我完全不认识她丈夫

11.John Hancock

亲笔签名。John Hancock是在The Declaratio­n of Independen­ce(美国独立宣言)上署名的独立战士中,将自己的名字签得又好又大的一个人，他的签名美观大方而且个头也比别的签名大。所以美国人常把John Hancock当作signature(署名,签名)的意思.。如：I need your John Hancock.我需要您的签名。

12.Johnny One Note

五音不全的人。也可以指思想狭隘，看问题片面的人。Note在这里的意思是音符。

1 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

2 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

3 sake   

n.缘故，理由

参考例句：

• He loves poetry for beauty's sake.他因为爱美而喜欢诗歌。
• We can't risk big things for the sake of small ones.我们不能因小失大。

4 withdraw   

vt.收回，撤消，撤退；vi.缩回，退出，撤退

参考例句：

• I want to withdraw a statement I made earlier.我想收回我早些时候发表的一项声明。
• The general decided to withdraw his soldiers.那位将军决定撤军。

5 declaration   

n.宣布，宣告，宣言，声明（书），申报

参考例句：

• We read the declaration posted on the bulletin board.我们读了贴在布告板上的声明。
• At the recent convention a declaration was adopted.在最近举行的大会上通过了一项宣言。

6 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

7 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。