VOA慢速英语2018 把你的英语学习放在“聚光灯下”

Put Your English Studies in the 'Limelight'

Now, the VOA Learning 2 English program Words and Their Stories.

On this show, we talk about expressions that Americans use in every day speech.

在本节目中，我们会讨论美国人在日常口语中用到的词汇。

Today we shine the spotlight 3 on terms that demand our attention.

今天我们将聚光灯对准那些需要引起我们关注的术语。

Andy Warhol was an American artist. He was in the limelight of the pop art movement in the 1960s and 1970s. Warhol once said that "everybody will be famous for 15 minutes." And he said this long before the arrival of social media and YouTube.

安迪·沃霍尔（Andy Warhol）是一位美国艺术家。他在上世纪六七十年代成为了波普艺术运动的焦点。沃霍尔曾经说过：“每个人都有机会成名十五分钟。”他在社交媒体和Youtube网站出现很久以前就这么说了。

Today, you can do anything to become famous.

今天，万事皆可成名。

Just look at the Kardashian family. Reality television made the Kardashians famous for just being themselves. It helps that nearly every member of the family seems to like being in front of the camera. They enjoy being in the spotlight. And they have been in the limelight for a lot longer than 15 minutes.

看看卡戴珊家族。真人秀节目让卡戴珊一家光靠做自己就出名。该家族每个人都喜欢在镜头前面，这点亦颇有助益。她们喜欢在聚光灯下，而且她们在聚光灯下的时间远远超过了15分钟。

They have become household names. This terms means exactly as it sounds – names that are well-known in many households. In other words, they are very famous.

她们成为了家喻户晓的人物。这个术语正如读上去那样，也就是这些名字在每个家庭都是众所周知。换言之，她们非常有名。

But enough of the Kardashians! Let’s go back to those terms.

说够了卡戴珊家族。让我们回到这些术语。

Both "limelight" and "spotlight" come from the world of theater.

“Limelight”和“spotlight”这两个词都来自于剧场。

"Spotlight" is easy to understand. Spotlights 4 are the bright lights used in a theatrical 5 production. They shine light on the most important action in a play. It is where people should be looking.

聚光灯（spotlight）这个词很好理解，聚光灯是指戏剧作品中使用的明亮灯光，它们照亮剧中最重要的情节，也就是应该被看到的演员所在。

For the history of "limelight," we turn to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary. Its explanation is more interesting.

对于limelight一词的历史，我们转向韦氏在线词典，它的解释更为有趣。

A limelight is a lighting 6 instrument. It was used in theaters to light the front of the stage. The light came from a fire. The fire was directed at a box filled with the mineral lime 1. Then a lens 7, a piece of glass, would concentrate the brightness 8, making the light more intense 9.

灰光灯（limelight)是一种照明器具。它在剧院中被用于点亮舞台的前方。这些光来自于火焰。这些火焰冲着一个装满石灰的盒子。然后用可以集中亮度的透镜使得光线更加强烈。注：灰光灯就是早期的聚光灯。

Merriam-Webster notes that Thomas Drummond, an engineer, invented limelight in 1816. He wanted to make boating safer by lighting dark coastlines. But limelight was too dangerous to be used in lighthouses. In fact, it is a wonder that more of those early theaters equipped with limelight did not burn to the ground.

韦氏在线词典指出，工程师托马斯·德拉蒙德（Thomas Drummond）于1816年发明了灰光灯。他希望通过照亮黑色的海岸线使得行船更加安全。但是灰光灯在灯塔中使用过于危险。事实上，早期剧院装备灰光灯没有失火真是奇迹。

When used as a noun 10, "limelight" and "spotlight" are interchangeable. One word can be used in place of the other. However, "spotlight" is probably the more common term.

当用作名词时，limelight和spotlight是可以互换的。然而，spotlight可能更为常见。

The big difference is that English speakers use "spotlight" as both a noun and a verb. "Limelight" is only used as a noun. So you could not use "limelight" in these examples.

最大的区别是英语人士将spotlight同时用作名词和动词，Limelight只能用作名词。所以，以下例子不能使用limelight。

The teacher spotlighted 11 a period of ancient history to his students.

老师向学生着重讲述了一段古代史。

While the owner of the company is in town, it is important to spotlight any problem that requires her attention.

当公司老板在镇上的时候，重要的是突出那些需要引起她关注的问题。

Now, spotlight and limelight may have both come from the theater, but we use them everywhere.

现在，spotlight和limelight可能都来自于剧院，但是我们在任何地方都能用到它们。

The basketball player stole the limelight from her teammates with her amazing three-point shots.

这位篮球运动员以她惊人的三分投篮从队友身上抢走了风头。

A wealthy businessman did not want to be in the spotlight of the project and chose to remain in the background.

一位富商不想成为该项目关注的焦点，他选择留在幕后。

Situations, issues and problems can all be spotlighted or can all be in the limelight. Here are two examples:

有些情况、议题和问题都可能引起人们的注意。以下是两个例子：

The real estate 12 agent made sure to spotlight the fact that the house was located in a safe neighborhood with highly-rated schools.

这位房地产经纪人确保突出了这样一个事实，即该房子位于一个安全的社区，还附带名校。

On the campaign trail, the politician’s personal scandals 14 were very much in the limelight.

在竞选活动中，政治家们的私人丑闻非常引人注目。

To be in the limelight or the spotlight means that you are the object of public attention. As the expression goes, ‘all eyes are on you.’ You have taken center stage. This is also a theater term.

To be in the limelight or the spotlight意思是成为公众关注的对象。如其所示，“所有目光都集中在你身上。”你登上了舞台中央。这句也是一个剧院术语。

In the theater, the center of the stage is usually a place everyone can see. The actor taking center stage is easy to recognize. However, that does not mean that the actor taking center stage can't be upstaged by another actor.

在剧院中，舞台中央通常是每个人都能看到的地方。登上舞台中央的演员很容易被认出来。然而，这并不意味着登上舞台中央的演员不会被其他演员抢戏。

"Upstaged" means to direct attention away from something.

Upstaged是指将注意力引走。

People can be upstaged.

人们会被抢戏。

For example, when two people are married, the bride is supposed to be in the limelight. She often wears a beautiful, white gown 15. It would be in very poor taste to upstage the bride by wearing something white and even more eye-catching. No one is supposed to upstage the bride!

例如，当两人结婚时，新娘应当成为众人关注的焦点。新娘通常穿着漂亮的雪白长裙。穿白色或更醒目的颜色抢走新娘的风头就太没眼色了。所有人都不应该抢新娘的风头。

An issue can also upstage another.

某个议题也能抢走其它议题的风头。

For example, let’s say the main issue of the parent-teacher meeting was supposed to be raising money for the school. But that issue was upstaged by the discovery that the principal 16 was fired! All the parents wanted to know more about the scandal 13!

例如，我们假设家长会的主要议题原本应该是为学校筹集资金。但是这个议题被校长遭解雇这一发现抢戏了。所有家长都想要更多了解这个丑闻。

So, just remember, anything that has been upstaged is no longer center stage. It’s no longer in the limelight or spotlight.

所以请记住，被抢戏就就不再是舞台中央，不再被人关注。

And that's Words and Their Stories for this week.

Have you ever found yourself in the limelight? Or were you responsible for shining the spotlight on something that needed attention? Have you ever been upstaged? Let us know in the Comments Section.

I'm Anna Matteo.

Spotlight. Shine bright. Tonight. Spotlight.

Words in This Story

stage – n. a raised platform : the part of a theater on which the acting 17 takes place and which often includes the wings

concentrate – v. to think about something : to give your attention to the thing you are doing, reading, etc.

background – n. a position that attracts little attention : used to describe something that occurs without requiring attention while something else is also occurring

upstaged – v. to take attention away from (someone or something else, such as another performer)

scandal – n. an occurrence in which people are shocked and upset because of behavior that is morally or legally wrong