VOA词汇掌故2023 "说别人坏话"可不好

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

欢迎收听VOA慢速英语《词汇掌故》节目。

Trash may not be a glamorous¹ subject.

垃圾可能不是一个吸引人的话题。

But it is an important one.

但它是一个重要的话题。

We can throw our trash in a container called a trash can.

我们可以把垃圾扔进一种叫垃圾桶的容器里。

We can dispose of our garbage in a garbage can.

我们可以把垃圾扔进垃圾桶。

We can dump our unwanted things in a dumpster.

我们可以把不想要的东西扔进垃圾桶。

All these unwanted things might end up at a landfill, sometimes called a dump.

所有这些不需要的东西最终可能会被送到垃圾填埋场，有时被称为垃圾场。

We explored being down in the dumps in a recent Words and Their Stories.

在最近一期《词汇掌故》节目中，我们探讨了“down in the dumps（情绪低落）”这个短语。

Being at the bottom of a dump is probably not a nice place to be.

垃圾场的底部可能不是一个好地方。

If you are down in the dumps, you feel sad.

down in the dumps的意思是悲伤。

Down in the dumps means you have the blues², or you feel out of sorts.

Down in the dumps的意思是你情绪低落，即你感觉有些不高兴。

You are the opposite of happy.

你不高兴。

If your friend is down in the dumps, you could try to do something fun to lift their spirits.

如果你的朋友情绪低落，你可以试着做一些有趣的事情来让他们振奋起来。

You could take them to their favorite restaurant or a movie to cheer them up.

你可以带他们去他们最喜欢的餐厅或看电影，以使他们高兴起来。

The verb "dump" means to place things without care.

动词“dump”的意思是随意放置东西。

For example, when I wash my clothes, I dump the dirty clothes on the floor in front of the washer.

例如，当我洗衣服时，我会把脏衣服扔在洗衣机前的地板上。

But I don't dump the clean clothes on the floor.

但我不会把干净的衣服扔在地板上。

They are clean! Dumping them on the floor could make them dirty again.

它们是干净的！把它们扔在地板上可能会使它们再次变脏。

We can dump other things besides trash and dirty clothes.

除了垃圾和脏衣服，我们还可以扔掉其他东西。

If you dump on someone you say bad things about them.

如果你dump on某人，意思是你说他们的坏话。

You show them little respect.

你不尊重他们。

And at work, you do not want to receive a document dump.

在工作中，你不希望收到一大堆文件。

This means someone has given you a huge number of documents.

意思是有人给了你大量文件。

Usually, you have to deal with them in some way.

通常，你必须以某种方式处理它们。

Now, let's hear these "dump" expressions in a conversation between two co-workers.

现在，我们来听听两位同事之间的对话中有关“dump”的短语。

Hey, let's go! TGIF! Time to have some fun!

嘿，我们走吧！感谢老天，总算到星期五啦！是时候找点乐子了！

I can't. You guys go ahead without me.

我不去了。你们去吧。

Why? And why are you so down in the dumps?

为什么？你为什么这么不高兴？

Karen just dumped a huge stack of work on my desk.

凯伦刚扔给我一大堆工作。

She gave you a document dump at 5 o'clock on Friday?

她在周五5点给了你一堆文件？

She did. And she wants me to file it all before I leave.

是的。她想让我在走之前把这些文件都归档。

Can't you tell her you'll do it on Monday morning?

你不能告诉她你星期一早上做吗？

I tried. She said no.

我试过了。她说不行。

You know, she did that to me once and I dumped her document dump right in the dumpster.

她曾经对我也这样做过，我把她给的一堆文件扔进了垃圾桶。

Did you get in trouble?

你惹上麻烦了吗？

No. She didn't even ask about those stupid papers. I don't mean to dump on her, but dumping a bunch of needless work on someone on a Friday is a mean thing to do.

没有。她甚至都没问起那些愚蠢的文件。我不是有意说她坏话，但是在星期五把一堆不必要的工作丢给别人是一件卑鄙的事。

You know what…you're right! I'm coming with you guys. This document dump can wait until Monday.

你说得对！我要和你们一起去。这堆文件可以等到星期一再归档。

And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. Until next time. I'm Anna Matteo.

以上就是本期《词汇掌故》节目的全部内容。下期见。我是安娜·马特奥。

1 glamorous   

adj.富有魅力的；美丽动人的；令人向往的

参考例句：

• The south coast is less glamorous but full of clean and attractive hotels.南海岸魅力稍逊，但却有很多干净漂亮的宾馆。
• It is hard work and not a glamorous job as portrayed by the media.这是份苦差，并非像媒体描绘的那般令人向往。

2 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。