VOA慢速英語,作為國際英語學習者的重要資源,通過清晰緩慢的發(fā)音與簡潔的詞匯,為初學者及中等水平學習者搭建了通往流利英語的橋梁。它不僅幫助提升聽力理解能力,還豐富了詞匯量,增強了語感,是學習地道英語表達不可或缺的工具,對全球英語學習者的語言提升至關重要。讓我們一起進入今天的VOA慢速英語聽力訓練:詞匯故事When it rains, it pours。
英文原文
Some are very common, for example, I'm sure that most of you have heard the expression "raining cats and dogs." We use it when it is raining very, very hard. In other words, when it is pouring. We have another useful expression about hard rain: "When it rains, it pours." This means that when something bad happens, other bad things usually happen at the same time. We often use this saying after someone describes a lot of bad things, one after the other, like in this example: "Boy, my sister is really having a hard time these days." "Why, what's wrong?" "First, someone stole her car. Then she broke her arm in a biking accident. And a falling tree cut a hole in her house. All in one week." That is one unlucky week. You know what they say, "When it rains, it pours."
有些說法很常見,例如,我確信你們大多數人都聽過“傾盆大雨”這個說法。我們在雨下得非常大的時候使用它。換句話說,就是下大雨的時候。關于大雨,我們還有一個有用的說法:“禍不單行”。這意味著當壞事發(fā)生時,通常其他壞事也會同時發(fā)生。當有人一個接一個地描述了很多壞事之后,我們經常使用這個說法,就像這個例子:“哎,我姐姐這些天真的很倒霉?!薄盀槭裁?,怎么了?”“首先,有人偷了她的車。然后她在騎自行車時摔斷了胳膊。還有一棵樹倒下在她房子上砸了個洞。全都在一周之內?!蹦钦媸莻€不幸的一周。你知道他們怎么說,“禍不單行”。
When using this expression, know that it can be helpful in any situation. You can say it to your best friend or to your employer. Also, we often say it in a sing-song way, like, "When it rains, it pours." Now, the Miriam-Webster Dictionary says that English speakers use this idiom for a series of bad things. However, other websites say you can also use it to describe many good things. While I have heard it used to describe many good things, more often than not, the rain in this expression represents bad things. So, even though we mostly use "when it rains, it pours" for bad situations, you can also use it in good ones.
在使用這個說法時,要知道它可以在任何情況下都很有幫助。你可以對最好的朋友或雇主說這句話。而且,我們經常以一種唱歌般的方式說這句話,比如,“禍不單行”?,F(xiàn)在,《韋氏詞典》說,英語使用者用這個習語來描述一系列壞事。然而,其他網站說,你也可以用它來描述許多好事。雖然我聽說過它用來描述許多好事,但大多數情況下,這個說法中的“雨”代表壞事。所以,盡管我們大多在壞情況下使用“禍不單行”,但你也可以在好的情況下使用它。
However, we only use the next one in bad times. If a person is under a cloud, they are thought to have done something bad or dishonorable. A person might even be under a certain type of cloud, such as a cloud of suspicion. If you are living under a cloud of suspicion, other people believe that you have done something wrong. But we use this expression for companies and organizations as well, not just people. For example, currently, many scandals surround some women's gymnastic organizations and some universities in the United States. They are under a cloud of suspicion.
然而,我們只在不好的時候使用下一個說法。如果一個人處于困境中,人們會認為他做了壞事或不光彩的事。一個人甚至可能處于某種困境中,比如被懷疑的陰影籠罩。如果你生活在被懷疑的陰影中,其他人會認為你做了錯事。但我們不僅對人使用這個表達,也對公司和組織使用。例如,目前,許多丑聞圍繞著一些美國的女子體操組織和大學。他們正處于被懷疑的陰影中。
Now, if you add a few extra words to the phrase, the meaning changes greatly. If I am living under a dark cloud, it means I am depressed and sad all the time. We can make this phrase even more descriptive by saying, "living under the dark cloud of depression" or "living under the dark cloud of poverty." So, you see, there are different types of dark clouds you can live under. But even for people living under a dark cloud, there is hope. There is always hope.
現(xiàn)在,如果你在這個短語中加上幾個額外的詞,意思就會發(fā)生很大的變化。如果我生活在一片陰云之下,那就意味著我一直都很沮喪和悲傷。我們可以說“生活在抑郁的陰云之下”或“生活在貧困的陰云之下”,以使這個短語更具描述性。所以,你看,你可以生活在不同類型的陰云之下。但即使對于生活在陰云之下的人來說,也有希望??偸怯邢M?。
And that brings us to our last one: "Every cloud has a silver lining." This expression means there is always something hopeful in even the most difficult or unhappy situation. A silver lining on a cloud shows that the sun is behind it. Even a really terrible bad event may produce something happy or hopeful. For example, let's say a friend of yours is in a car crash. She is not badly hurt but her car is too damaged to fix. When the tow truck driver comes to take her car off the road, she starts talking to him. They find out they share a love of old cars, so they plan to meet the following weekend at a car show. Soon, they become great friends. When she tells this story to her friends and family, they often say the same thing: "Every cloud has a silver lining."
這就引出了我們最后一個說法:“烏云背后有銀邊”。這個說法意味著即使在最困難或不愉快的情況下,也總是有希望的事情。烏云上的銀邊表明太陽在它后面。即使是一個非常糟糕的事件,也可能產生一些令人高興或充滿希望的事情。例如,假設你的一位朋友出了車禍。她傷得不重,但她的車損壞得太嚴重,無法修復。當拖車司機來把她的車拖走時,她開始和他交談。他們發(fā)現(xiàn)彼此都熱愛老式汽車,所以他們計劃在下周的汽車展上見面。很快,他們成為了好朋友。當她把這個故事講給朋友和家人聽時,他們經常說同樣的話:“烏云背后有銀邊”。
以上便是VOA慢速英語聽力訓練:詞匯故事When it rains, it pours相關內容,希望能幫助你提升聽力!