VOA慢速英语2012 Words and Their Stories: Ace in the Hole

 

Words and Their Stories: Ace¹ in the Hole

Now, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, a program in Special English by the Voice of America.

现在是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故节目。

It is surprising how many expressions that Americans use every day came from the card game of poker². For example, you hear the expression, ace in the hole, used by many people who would never think of going near a poker table. An ace in the hole is any argument, plan or thing kept hidden until needed. It is used especially when it can turn failure into success.

美国人使用的许多日常表达方式都来源于扑克牌，其数量之多令人惊讶。例如，你可能会听到许多连靠近牌桌都没想过的人使用这么一个短语：Ace in the hole。Ace in the hole指的非必要时候不公开的观点、计划或其他信息。尤其是用在这些信息可以转败为胜的时候。

In poker and most card games, the ace is the highest and most valuable card. It is often a winning card. In one kind of poker game, the first card to each player is given face down. A player does not show this card to the other players. The other cards are dealt face up. The players bet money each time they receive another card.

在扑克牌或大部分纸牌游戏中，Ace是最大也是最有价值的牌。通常代表着胜利。在一种纸牌游戏中，每个玩家拿到的第一张牌是暗牌（即正面朝下），玩家不会让其他玩家看到自己的这张底牌。其他的牌都是明牌（即正面朝上）。玩家每收到一张牌都要押上筹码。

No one knows until the end of the game whose hidden card is the winner. Often, the ace in the hole wins the game.

在牌局结束前，没人知道谁是赢家。通常，底牌是ace的玩家能赢得牌局。

Smart card players, especially those who play for large amounts of money, closely watch the person who deals the cards. They are watching to make sure he is dealing³ honestly. They want to be sure that he is not dealing off the bottom of the stack of cards. A dealer⁴ who is doing that has stacked the deck. He has fixed⁵ the cards so that he will get higher cards. He will win and you will lose.

聪明的纸牌玩家，尤其是下注大的玩家会密切注视庄家，以确保庄家在老实发牌，没在牌中作弊。作弊的庄家已经做牌了，他调换了纸牌以保证他能拿到最大的一副牌，这样他就能赢得牌局。

The expression, dealing off the bottom, now means cheating in business, as well as in cards. And when someone tells you that the cards are stacked against you, he is saying you do not have a chance to succeed.

Deal off the bottom这个短语现在指的是生意或牌局中的欺诈。如果一个人告诉你， the cards are stacked against you，他的意思是说你没有赢的机会。

In a poker game you do not want to let your opponents know if your cards are good or bad. So having a poker face is important. A poker face never shows any emotion, never expresses either good or bad feelings. No one can learn – by looking at your face – if your cards are good or bad.

在牌局中，你不想让你的对手知道你牌的好坏。所以面无表情(having a poker face)是非常重要的。Poker face不会表现出任何表情，不会表达出好或不好的感觉。没人能够通过观察你的面部来得知你牌的好坏。

People now use poker face in everyday speech to describe someone who shows no emotion.

人们现在在日常生活中使用poker face描述没有一点表情的人。

Someone who has a poker face usually is good at bluffing⁷. Bluffing is trying to trick a person into believing something about you that is not true.

面无表情的人通常善于虚张声势唬人(bluffing)，Bluffing就是骗你相信谎言。

In poker, you bluff⁶ when you bet heavily on a poor hand. The idea is to make the other players believe you have strong cards and are sure to win. If they believe you, they are likely to drop out of the game. This means you win the money they have bet.

在牌局中，当你牌不好又押得很大时，你就会虚张声势唬人（bluff）。这样做是为了使对手相信你拿到很好的牌，一定会赢。如果对手们被唬住了，他们就可能会退出这局。这意味着你就能赢得他们押的赌注。

You can do a better job of bluffing if you hold your cards close to your vest. You hold your cards close to you so no one can see what you have. In everyday speech, holding your cards close to your vest means not letting others know what you are doing or thinking. You are keeping your plans secret.

如果你把牌放到胸口（hold your cards close to your vest），那么你唬人(bluffing)的效果会更好。你小心地藏着自己的牌，这样，其他人就不能偷看到你的牌。在日常生活中，holding your cards close to your vest意思是不让其他人知道你在做什么或者在想什么。你将自己的计划保密。

We are not bluffing when we say we hope you have enjoyed today’s program.

当然，当我们说希望你喜欢今天的节目时，我们可不是在唬你(bluffing)。

(MUSIC)

This Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES was written by Marilyn Rice Christiano. This is Bob Doughty⁸.

1 ace   

n.A牌；发球得分；佼佼者；adj.杰出的

参考例句：

• A good negotiator always has more than one ace in the hole.谈判高手总有数张王牌在手。
• He is an ace mechanic.He can repair any cars.他是一流的机械师,什么车都会修。

2 poker   

n.扑克；vt.烙制

参考例句：

• He was cleared out in the poker game.他打扑克牌，把钱都输光了。
• I'm old enough to play poker and do something with it.我打扑克是老手了，可以玩些花样。

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

5 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

6 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

7 bluffing   

n. 威吓，唬人 动词bluff的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• I don't think he'll shoot—I think he's just bluffing. 我认为他不会开枪—我想他不过是在吓唬人。
• He says he'll win the race, but he's only bluffing. 他说他会赢得这场比赛，事实上只是在吹牛。

8 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。