Slow and Steady Wins the Race!
2009. 7. 12 WORDS AND THEIR STORIES - Hold Your Horses!
《词语典故》 等一等！
Written by Shelley Gollust
http://www.unsv.com/voanews/specialenglish/scripts/2009/07/12/0040/ |
Now, the VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
Today, we tell about "horse" expressions. In the past, many people depended on horses for transportation, farming and other kinds of work. A lot of people still like to ride horses. And, horse racing is also popular. So it is not surprising that Americans still use expressions about the animals.
今天，我们讲述有关“马”的表达。过去，很多人依靠马来运输、务农或做其他类型的工作。直到现在，很多人仍然喜欢骑马，而赛马运动也很流行。因此，对于美国人来说美，仍然使用关于动物的词语表达，并不令人感到惊奇。
Long ago, people who were rich or important rode horses that were very tall. Today, if a girl acts like she is better than everyone else, you might say she should get off her high horse.
很久以前，家庭富裕或者地位显赫的人都骑那种体型高大、膘肥身健的马。今天，倘若一个女孩在言谈举止上表现得比其他任何人都出色，你可以说她“不摆臭架子”、很谦逊。
Yesterday my children wanted me to take them to the playground. But I had to finish my work, so I told them to hold your horses. Wait until I finish what I am doing. My two boys like to compete against each other and play in a violent way. I always tell them to stop horsing around or someone could get hurt.
昨天，孩子们要我带他们去操场，但是我还有工作要做，不得不完成。所以我就对它们说“等一等”，等我把手头的工作完成；我的两个儿子喜欢彼此竞争，玩耍时也是以暴力的方式。我一直跟他们说“别胡闹”，否则会受伤的。
We live in a small town. It does not have any exciting activities to offer visitors. My children call it at a one-horse town.
我们住在一个小镇，这里没有任何可供游客参加的娱乐活动。我的孩子们称它为“一马城”。
Last night, I got a telephone call while I was watching my favorite television show. I decided not to answer it because wild horses could not drag me away from the television. There was nothing that could stop me from doing what I wanted to do.
最晚，我在看自己喜爱的电视节目的时候，电话响了。我决定不接它，因为“野马也不能将我（从电视机前）拖走”——没有任何东西能够阻止我做自己想干的事。
Sometimes you get information straight from the horse's mouth. It comes directly from the person who knows most about the subject and is the best source. Let us say your teacher tells you there is going to be a test tomorrow. You could say you got the information straight from the horse's mouth. However, you would not want to call your teacher a horse!
有时，你可以“得到第一手资料”。这个资料信息来源于对该主题事件知道最多的人，是最好的信息来源。比如，老师告诉你明天将有一个考试，你可以说自己“从马嘴里直接得到了信息”（得到了第一手消息）。然而，你不会去想称呼你的老师为马。
You may have heard this expression: You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink. That means you can give someone advice but you cannot force him to do something he does not want to do.
你可能听过这样一个表达：你能够把马牵到水边，但你不能让它饮水。其意思是说你能够给某个人提出建议，但是你不能强行他做自己不愿做的事。
Sometimes a person fights a battle that has been decided or keeps arguing a question that has been settled. We say this is like beating a dead horse.
有时，某人发起已经决定了的战争，或者对已经解决了的问题喋喋不休。对此，我们说这就像“打死马”（争执已经解决了的问题或不值得讨论的问题）——毫无意义。
In politics, a dark-horse candidate is someone who is not well known to the public. Sometimes, a dark horse unexpectedly wins an election.
在政治上，“黑马候选人”是指不为大家所熟知的人。于是，黑马候选人会在选举中出人意料地获胜。
Another piece of advice is, do not change horses in midstream. You would not want to get off one horse and on to another in the middle of a river. Or make major changes in an activity that has already begun. In the past, this expression was used as an argument to re-elect a president, especially during a time when the country was at war.
另一条建议是“过河中途莫换马”。在河水中流，你是不会从一匹马下来然后又去上另一匹马的，或者，对于一件已经开始的活动，再做大的改动。在过去，尤其国家处在战争期间，这一表达被用来指重新选举总统的一个论据。
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该帖于2009年12月29日被版主推荐为精华帖。
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