VOA慢速英语2014 What Do You Do With Your Mouth?

 

What Do You Do With Your Mouth?

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

这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故。  

People use their mouths for many things. They eat, talk, shout and sing. They smile and they kiss. In the English language, there are many expressions using the word mouth. But some of them are not so nice.

人们使用嘴巴来做很多事，吃饭、讲话、喊叫和唱歌，还微笑和亲吻。在英语里有很多使用“嘴巴”这个词的表达。 但也有些表达不是很好。 

For example, if you say bad things about a person, the person might protest¹ and say “Do not bad mouth me.”

比如，如果你说一个人的坏话，这个人就会抗议说Do not badmouth me(别污蔑我)。 

Sometimes, people say something to a friend or family member that they later regret because it hurts that person’s feelings. Or they tell the person something they were not supposed to tell. The speaker might say: “I really put my foot in my mouth this time.” If this should happen, the speaker might feel "down in the mouth." In other words, he might feel sad for saying the wrong thing.

有时人们会对朋友或家人说些随后就会后悔的话，因为这些话伤人，或者说了些不该说出的话。讲话的人会说I really put my foot in my mouth this time(这次我真的说错了)。如果这样的事发生了，讲话的人会感到down in the mouth(沮丧，垂头丧气)，他可能会对错话感到伤心。 

Another situation is when someone falsely claims another person said something. The other person might protest: “I did not say that. Do not put words in my mouth.”

还有一个情况是某人错误地声称另一个人说了某事，另一个人就会抗议说，我没有这么说，Do not put words in my mouth!(不要把这个话强加给我)。 

Information is often spread through "word of mouth." This is general communication between people, like friends talking to each other. “How did you hear about that new movie?” someone might ask. “Oh, by word of mouth.” A more official way of getting information is through a company or government mouthpiece. This is an official spokesperson. Government-run media² could also be called a mouthpiece.

信息通常是经过word of mouth(口口相传)传播的，这是人与人之间最常见的沟通方式，就像朋友之间的昙花一样。“你怎么听说那部电影的？有人会说，“听人说的”。 获得信息更正规的方式通过公司或政府喉舌，即官方发言人，国有媒体可以被称为“喉舌”。 

Sometimes when one person is speaking, he says the same thing that his friend was going to say. When this happens, the friend might say: “You took the words right out of my mouth!” Sometimes a person has a bad or unpleasant³ experience with another person. He might say that experience “left a bad taste in my mouth.” Or the person might have had a very frightening experience, like being chased⁴ by an angry dog. He might say: “I had my heart in my mouth.”

有时某人正要讲话，他和朋友要说的话一样。这种情况下，这位朋友会说You took the words right out of my mouth(我也正想这么说)。 有时有人会和别人发生不愉快的经历，他会说这场经历left a bad taste in my mouth(给我留下糟糕的印象)。 或某人经历了可怕的事情，比如被恶狗追赶，他会说I had my heart in my mouth(我的心都提到嗓子眼了)。 

Some people have lots of money because they were born into a very rich family. There is an expression for this, too. You might say such a person, “was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.”

有的人生在富裕人家，所以有很多钱，有这么一个表达，你可以说这人是born with a silver spoon in his mouth(含着金汤匙出生)。 

This rich person is the opposite of a person who lives from hand to mouth. This person is very poor and only has enough money for the most important things in life, like food.

与这个人相反的是那些from hand to mouth(仅能糊口)的人，这个人很穷，所拥有的钱只够基本的生活需要，比如食物。 

Parents might sometimes withhold⁵ sweet food from a child as a form of punishment for saying bad things. For example, if a child says things she should not say to her parents, she might be described as a "mouthy child." The parents might even tell the child to "stop mouthing off."

父母有时候可能会不给孩子甜食，作为对说错话的惩罚。比如，如果孩子说些不该对父母讲的话，她会被称为a mouthy child(多嘴的孩子)，她的父母可能会让她stop mouthing off(不要顶嘴)。 

But enough of all this talk. I have been "running my mouth" long enough.

这个节目说的够多了。 我已经running my mouth long enough(喋喋不休)了。 

1 protest   

v.反对，抗议；宣称；n.抗议；宣称

参考例句：

• I can't pass the matter by without a protest.我不能对此事视而不见，我要提出抗议。
• We translated his silence as a protest.我们把他的沉默解释为抗议。

2 media   

n.(medium的复数)媒体，新闻媒介，传播媒介

参考例句：

• The local media reported rioting across the country.当地媒体报道了全国范围的骚乱。
• His latest movie is being hyped up by the media.他新近的电影正被媒体大肆炒作。

3 unpleasant   

adj.使人不愉快的，使人厌恶的，煞风景的

参考例句：

• A very unpleasant thing has happened.一件令人很不愉快的事发生了。
• The kind advices are often unpleasant to the ear.好言常常不入耳。

4 chased   

vt.追捕（chase的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The boy chased his sister in and out among the bushes. 那个男孩在灌木丛里跟着他姐姐追过来追过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy chased the decoys down to the place of ambush. 敌人将诱骗者一直追到伏兵所在地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 withhold   

v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡

参考例句：

• It was unscrupulous of their lawyer to withhold evidence.他们的律师隐瞒证据是不道德的。
• I couldn't withhold giving some loose to my indignation.我忍不住要发泄一点我的愤怒。