VOA慢速英语2013 怎样表达"大好人"和"品德高尚"

 

Words and Their Stories - How to Be a Good Egg and the Salt of the Earth 

Now, the VOA Learning¹ English program Words and Their Stories.

现在是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故节目。

We present more expressions³ about food. They are from Elenir Scardueli, a listener⁴ in Brazil.

我们介绍更多关于食物的表达。他们来自一位巴西的听众 Elenir Scardueli 。

My mother always told us “there is no use crying over spilled milk.” That means⁵ you should not get angry when something bad happens and cannot be changed.

我的母亲总是告诉我说“覆水难收”。这句话的意思是说，当错误已经铸成，事情已成定局，再生气也没有用。

People said my mother was “a good egg.” She would always help anyone in need.

别人说，我的母亲是个“大好人”，她总会帮助任何一个需要帮助的人。

We never had to “walk on eggshells” around her -- we did not have to be careful about what we said or did because she never got angry at us.

跟她相处时，我们不必“小心翼翼、如履薄冰”，即我们不必对自己的言行谨小慎微，因为她绝不会为此生气。

She also told us “you have to break some eggs to make an omelet.” This means you have to do what is necessary to move forward.

她还告诉我们“要做煎蛋先得打蛋。”这话的意思是说，要想取得进步必须付出。

My mother believed “you are what you eat” -- a good diet⁶ is important for good health. She would always give us nutritious⁷ food. She liked serving us meat and potatoes for dinner. “Meat and potatoes” can also mean the most important part of something. It describes someone who likes simple things.

母亲相信“食如其人”。合理膳食对身体健康非常重要，她总是给我们吃营养丰富的食物。在吃正餐时，她常给我们吃（营养丰富的）肉和土豆。所以，Meat and potatoes 也代指事物中最重要的部分，或者形容生活简朴的人。

Here is another expression² about meat: “one man’s meat is another man’s poison⁸.” In other words, one person might like something very much while another person might hate the same thing.

这里还有一个关于肉的俗语“甲之蜜糖，乙之砒霜”。换句话说，对于同样的事物，甲可能非常喜欢，而乙却非常讨厌它。

My father was also a good and honest person. People said he was “the salt of the earth.” He would never “pour salt on a wound” -- or make someone feel worse about something that was already a painful⁹ experience.

我的父亲也是个真诚善良的人。别人说他是“高尚正派”的人。他绝不会“在别人的伤口上洒盐”，这个俗语的意思是让已经痛苦不堪的事情雪上加霜。

However, sometimes he told us a story that seemed bigger than life. So we had to “take it with a grain¹⁰ of salt” -- that is, we could not believe everything he told us.

不过，父亲有时候会跟我们讲看似脱离生活实际的故事。因此，我们对此是“半信半疑”。也就是说，我们不全信他所说的。

My husband has a good job. He makes enough money to support our family. So we say “he brings home the bacon¹¹.”

我的先生有份好工作。他挣的钱足够养家。所以，我们说他能“养家糊口”。

He can “cut the mustard” -- or do what is expected of him at work.

他可以“做到最好”，在工作上能达人们对他的期望。

It is easy to find my husband in a crowd. He stands almost two meters tall. He is “a tall drink of water.”

在人群中很容易找到我先生，因为他身高将近 2 米。他是个“大高个”。

I take the train to work. It is not a pleasant ride because the train can be full of people. It is so crowded that we are “packed like sardines” -- just like small fish in a can.

我坐火车上班，这让人不怎么愉快，因为火车上可能装满了人，挤得“水泄不通”，就像塞在罐头里的小鱼。

My supervisor¹² at work is sometimes “out to lunch.” She is out of touch and does not always know what is going on in our office. Yet she is right about one thing: “there is no such thing as a free lunch” -- something may appear to be free of charge¹³, but there may be a hidden cost.

我的工作单位上司有时会“丢了魂，魂不守舍”，也就是说她心不在焉，不知道办公室里的事。然而，有件事她是对的：“天下没有免费的午餐。”有些东西或许表面看似免费，实则有隐含的费用。

When we fail to see problems at work, my supervisor tells us to “wake up and smell the coffee” -- we need to pay more attention and fix the problem.

当我们没能发现工作中的问题时，我的上司会告告诫我们说“醒醒吧！面对现实吧！，他是说，我们需要更加集中精力来”解决这个问题。

I once made a big mistake at the office and felt foolish¹⁴. I had “egg on my face.”

我在工作中曾犯过大错，感觉自己好蠢。让自己很尴尬。

Over the weekend, my friend invited me to watch a football game on television. But I do not like football. It is “not my cup of tea.”

上周末，朋友邀请我看电视转播橄榄球赛，但我不喜欢橄榄球，橄榄球“不是我的菜”。

We hope this program has given you “food for thought” -- that is, something to think about.

我们希望这个节目给了你 food for thought，即“引人深思的东西”。

This program was written by Shelley Gollust. I’m Faith¹⁵ Lapidus.

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 expression   

n.表达，表示，表现，表情，措辞，词句

参考例句：

• He looked at me without expression.他毫无表情地看着我。
• Her face was without expression.她的脸上没有表情。

3 expressions   

n.表情( expression的名词复数 )；表示；（数学）表达式；词

参考例句：

• ritualized expressions of grief 以例行的方式表达悲伤
• The fashionable remarks of today often become the commonplace expressions of tomorrow. 今天的时髦话往往变成明天的陈词滥调。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 listener   

n.听众；收听者

参考例句：

• I'm a regular listener to her show.我经常收听她的节目。
• She became an attentive listener.她变成了一个专心致志的聆听者。

5 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

6 diet   

n.饮食，节食，议会&vt.照规定饮食&vi. 忌食

参考例句：

• Are you on a diet again?你又在节食了吗？
• You need a balanced diet.你需要均衡的饮食。

7 nutritious   

adj.有营养的，营养价值高的

参考例句：

• Fresh vegetables are very nutritious.新鲜蔬菜富于营养。
• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。

8 poison   

n.毒药；毒害；vt./vi.毒害；投毒

参考例句：

• The bottle is labelled "Poison".瓶上标明“有毒”。
• Don't allow evil thoughts to poison young people's minds.不允许邪念毒害青年。

9 painful   

adj.(引起)疼痛的；困难的，令人不快的

参考例句：

• He did not want to mention the painful past.他不愿意提起过去的伤心事。
• The memory came back with a painful rush.回忆起往事心里一阵难受。

10 grain   

n.谷物，粮食；颗，粒；些微，一点儿；纹理；脾气，特性

参考例句：

• Grain output reached a new high in the three years.谷物产量达到三年中最高水平。
• We ship grain to Africa.我们把谷物运往非洲。

11 bacon   

n.咸肉，熏肉

参考例句：

• He is frying the bacon.他在煎咸肉。
• This bacon is too salty for me.这块熏咸猪肉我觉得太咸了。

12 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

13 charge   

n.指控；费用；冲锋；电荷；炸药；主管；被托管人；嘱咐；vt.控诉，加罪于；使充满

参考例句：

• The cook is in charge of the kitchen helper.这位厨师负责管理厨工。
• The policeman said he would take charge of the gun.那个警察说他来看管这支枪。

14 foolish   

adj.愚蠢的，傻的；荒谬的，可笑的

参考例句：

• The foolish boy was laughed at wherever he went.这个愚蠢的男孩不论走到哪里都受到讥笑。
• Don't worry me with such foolish questions.不要用这些愚蠢的问题来烦我。

15 faith   

n.信任，信念，宗教信仰，忠实，保证，诺言，约定

参考例句：

• Once again he has broken his faith with them.他又一次对他们不守信义。
• He looked so honest that I accepted his story on faith.他看上去很诚实，我就不加怀疑地相信了他的话。