VOA慢速英语2014 I’m Red Hot, I'm In the Pink, I'm Blue and I'm Green With Envy 红色是愤怒,粉色是健康,蓝色是忧郁,绿色是嫉妒

 

I’m Red Hot, I'm In the Pink, I'm Blue and I'm Green With Envy 红色是愤怒,粉色是健康,蓝色是忧郁,绿色是嫉妒

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

现在是VOA慢速英语：单词的故事节目

Every people has its own way of saying things -- its own special expressions.  Many everyday American expressions are based on colors.

每个人都都自己的表达方式，自己说法的方法。美语中的颜色经常被用来表达感情。

Red is a hot color.  Americans often use it to express heat.  They may say they are “red hot” about something unfair.  When they are "red hot" they are very angry about something.  The small hot-tasting peppers found in many Mexican foods are called “red hots” for their color and their fiery¹ taste.  Fast, loud music is popular with many people.  They may say the music is “red hot” -- especially the kind called Dixieland jazz.

 红色是暖色。美国人用红色表达火热的东西。他们会对不公平的事情说“red hot”。当他们感觉“red hot”就说明他们很愤怒。Red hots本来是墨西哥菜中的小红辣椒，因为其颜色和辛辣的口味得名。很多人喜欢大声的快节奏音乐。他们也叫这些红调（red hot）音乐，特别是迪克西兰爵士乐，为“red hot”。

Pink is a lighter² kind of red.  People sometimes say they are “in the pink” when they are in good health.  The expression was first used in America at the beginning of the 20th century.  It probably comes from the fact that many babies are born with a nice pink color that shows that they are in good health.

粉色是浅色的红色。人们说自己很粉嫩（in the pink）就是说自己很健康的意思。这个表达是20世纪初期在美国第一次使用。这可能源自新生婴儿脸面粉嘟嘟的就说明很健康的原因。

Blue is a cool color.  The traditional blues³ music in the United States is the opposite of red hot music.  Blues is slow, sad and soulful.  Duke Ellington and his orchestra⁴ recorded a famous song -- “Mood Indigo⁵” -- about the deep blue color, indigo.  In the words of the song: “You ain’t been blue till you’ve had that Mood Indigo.”  Someone who is blue is very sad.

蓝色是冷色。在美国传统的蓝调音乐就是红调（red hot）音乐的反面。蓝色很慢，忧伤，凄美。Duke Ellington和他的乐队所做的一首名曲– Mood Indigo 靛青心情– 就是关于靛青色，也就是一种深蓝色。歌词写到，“你不蓝的忧郁（blue），是因为你未被靛青渲染。” 所以说一个人bluej就是说明他很忧郁。

The color green is natural for trees and grass.  But it is an unnatural⁶ color for humans.  A person who has a sick-feeling stomach may say she feels “a little green.”  A passenger on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green.

绿色是象征树木草丛的大自然的色彩，但人脸要是绿了可就很不自然了。一个人反胃可以说她很绿（green）。船上感到恶心的乘客也看起来很green。

Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has, like a fast new car.  That person may say he is “green with envy.” Some people are green with envy because a friend has more dollars or greenbacks. Dollars are called “greenbacks” because that is the color of the back side of the paper money.

有些时候人们会因为自己朋友拥有了一件很好的东西可是自己没有而沮丧，比如一辆好车。这时候就说green with envy形容他很嫉妒。有些人因为朋友有更多的钱（dollars or greenbacks）而嫉妒（green with envy）。美元钞票也可以叫做绿背的家伙，greenbacks，因为美元钞票背面是绿色的。

The color black is used often in expressions.  People describe a day in which everything goes wrong as “a black day.”  The date of a major tragedy is remembered as "a black day."  A “blacklist” is illegal now.  But at one time, some businesses refused to employ people who were on a blacklist for belonging to unpopular organizations.

黑色也经常被用来表达情感。人们把倒霉的一天叫做黑色XX天（a black day）。巨大的悲剧的日子都被写为黑色的某天。黑名单现在是违法的。但是以前很多企业拒绝雇佣来自被列入黑名的不受欢迎的组织的人。

In some cases, colors describe a situation.  A “brown-out” is an expression for a reduction⁷ in electric power.  Brown-outs happen when there is too much demand for electricity.  The electric system is unable to offer all the power needed in an area.

某些时候，颜色也被用来形容一种状况。棕色（brown out）用来表达电力不足。在电力消耗很大的场合，brown out经常被用到，来表达电力系统不能供给某地区所有需求。

“Black-outs” were common during World War Two.  Officials would order all lights in a city turned off to make it difficult for enemy planes to find a target in the dark of night.

Black out在二战时期常用，指军官们让一个城市在夜晚关掉所用灯这样敌军飞机就不会轻易发现目标。

I’m Warren Scheer.  Listen again next week for another Words and Their Stories program in Special English on the Voice of America.

我是Warren Scheer. 欢迎继续收听下期单词的故事节目。

1 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

2 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

3 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。

4 orchestra   

n.管弦乐队；vt.命令，定购

参考例句：

• He plays the violin in an orchestra.他在管弦乐队中演奏小提琴。
• I was tempted to stay and hear this superb orchestra rehearse.我真想留下来听这支高超的管弦乐队排练。

5 indigo   

n.靛青，靛蓝

参考例句：

• The sky was indigo blue,and a great many stars were shining.天空一片深蓝，闪烁着点点繁星。
• He slipped into an indigo tank.他滑落到蓝靛桶中。

6 unnatural   

adj.不自然的；反常的

参考例句：

• Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？
• She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

7 reduction   

n.减少，减低，减缩；减少，减低

参考例句：

• Reduction in income tax will be welcomed with open arms.减少所得税将受到热烈欢迎。
• You will have a reduction for cash.付现金可以打折扣。