VOA词汇掌故2023 你想知道"香肠是如何制作而成的"吗?

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

欢迎收听VOA慢速英语《词汇掌故》节目。

Today we talk about a kind of food -- sausage.

今天我们谈论一种食物——香肠。

Sausage can be made from any kind of meat, along with spices, herbs, sometimes vegetables, and even fruit.

（我们）可以用任何种类的肉做香肠，此外，还可以加香料、香草，有时还可以加蔬菜，甚至水果。

My favorite sausage is made from chicken, apple, and the herb sage².

我最喜欢的香肠是用鸡肉、苹果和鼠尾草做成的。

To make sausage, the ingredients³ are mixed together and then shaped into individual servings.

制作香肠时，将原料混合在一起，然后做成单独的一份。

High-quality sausage uses high-quality ingredients and costlier⁴ cuts of meat.

高品质的香肠使用高品质的原料和更昂贵的肉块。

Some sausages are made from parts of the animal that many people may not normally⁵ eat.

有些香肠是由许多人通常不吃的动物部位制成的。

But everything gets mixed up so much that you do not really know what is in the final product.

但所有的东西都混在一起，你就真的不知道最终产品里含有什么。

For this reason, seeing the sausage-making process might be a bit unpleasant for some people.

出于这个原因，看到香肠的制作过程可能会让一些人有点不舒服。

In other words, some people who like to eat sausage may not want to know how it is made.

换句话说，一些喜欢吃香肠的人可能不想知道它是如何制作的。

If they see all the separate ingredients, they may never eat sausage again.

如果他们看到所有不同的配料，他们可能再也不会吃香肠了。

And that is where we get the expression to see how the sausage is made.

这就是短语to see how the sausage is made的由来。

If you want to see how the sausage is made, you want to see a complex or messy process.

如果你想看香肠是如何制作的，也就是你想看一个复杂而混乱的过程。

You want to know the secrets, even if they are not very pleasing.

你想知道其中的秘密，即使它们不是很令人愉快。

We use this expression for any situation or process that happens away from the view of others.

我们用这个短语来表示发生在他人视线之外的任何情况或过程。

And most people would find that situation or process unpleasant.

大多数人会觉得这种情况或过程令人不快。

For example, many people like to buy clothing that does not cost much money.

例如，许多人喜欢买价格便宜的衣服。

But they may not want to know how the clothes are made so cheaply.

但他们可能不想知道这些衣服是如何如此便宜地制造出来的。

They would rather not want to know how the sausage gets made.

他们宁愿不想知道香肠是如何制作的。

There are other similar expressions.

还有其他类似的短语。

You can also say we want to shine a light on something.

你也可以说to shine a light on something。

This expression means you want to reveal⁶ or expose something unpleasant or possibly even illegal.

这个短语的意思是你想揭露一些令人不快或甚至违法的事情。

Another similar expression is to pull back the curtain on something.

另一个类似的短语是to pull back the curtain on something。

This one really explains the behind-the-scenes nature of all these expressions.

这个短语真正解释了所有这些短语背后的本质。

A curtain is a piece of cloth or fabric⁷ that covers a window.

窗帘是遮住窗户的一块布。

It can hide what is happening inside a room.

它可以隐藏房间里正在发生的事情。

So, if you pull back the curtain on a process or way of doing something, you reveal how something is created or how it operates in private.

因此，如果你把盖在做某事的过程或方式上的布掀开，意思是你揭示了某物是如何被创造出来的，或者某事是如何私下运作的。

And if you pull back the curtain on a person, you reveal how they act when they are away from public view.

如果你把盖在某人身上的布掀开，意思是你揭示了他们在远离公众视线时的行为。

You reveal their true personality or you expose their true intent⁸.

你要么揭露他们的真实个性，要么揭露他们的真实意图。

And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories.

以上就是本期《词汇掌故》节目的全部内容。

Enjoy using these expressions the next time you want to show the unpleasant side of something.

下次你想展示某事令人不快的一面时，请尽情使用这些短语吧。

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

下次见……我是安娜·马特奥。

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 sage   

n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的

参考例句：

• I was grateful for the old man's sage advice.我很感激那位老人贤明的忠告。
• The sage is the instructor of a hundred ages.这位哲人是百代之师。

3 ingredients   

n.（混合物的）组成部分( ingredient的名词复数 )；（烹调的）原料；（构成）要素；因素

参考例句：

• All ingredients are readily available from your local store. 所有的原料都可以方便地从你当地的商店买到。
• We never use second quality ingredients to build building. 我们决不使用次等材料用于建筑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 costlier   

adj.昂贵的( costly的比较级 )；代价高的；引起困难的；造成损失的

参考例句：

• Alligator skin is five times more costlier than leather. 鳄鱼皮比通常的皮革要贵5倍。 来自互联网
• Disagreements among creditors can be costlier still. 债权人之间的分歧会加大重组的费用。 来自互联网

5 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

6 reveal   

vt.揭露，泄露；展现，显示

参考例句：

• The journalist did not want to reveal the identity of his informant.那个新闻工作者不想透露消息提供人的身份。
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes.它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。

7 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

8 intent   

adj.急切的，专心的，专注的；n.意图，意向

参考例句：

• He was intent on the job he was doing.他专心致志于正在做的工作。
• His plan is incompatible with my intent.他的计划与我的意图不相符。