VOA慢速英语2011--Food Expressions

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. A listener from Brazil, Elenir Scardueli, sent us a list of popular expressions about food. So today we will talk about expressions that use vegetables and fruits.

现在是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故节目。巴西的一位听众给我们发来了一串有关食物的常用表达的名单。所以我们今天就来讨论一下包含蔬菜和水果的表达方式。

For example, a cucumber 1 is a long, green vegetable that people often eat in salads. You might say a person is as cool as a cucumber if he never seems to worry about anything and stays calm in a stressful situation. If you put a cucumber in a solution of vinegar and spices for a long time, it becomes a pickle 2. But if you are in a pickle, you are in trouble or a difficult situation.

黄瓜是一种长把的绿色蔬菜，人们在沙拉中经常吃到。如果一个人看上去从不为任何事担忧，遇到紧急情况能保持冷静，你就可以说他as cool as a cucumber（冷静、从容不迫）。把黄瓜搁到醋里一段时间后就成了泡黄瓜（腌菜）。但如果说一个人in a pickle，意思是正处于困境中。

If two people are very similar, you might say they are like two peas in a pod.

如果两个人长得很像，你可以说他们象一个豆荚里的两颗豌豆（like two peas in a pod），意思就是一模一样，一个模子里刻出来的。

There are several expressions about beans. If someone is very energetic, you might say she is full of beans. If you say something does not amount to a hill of beans, you mean it is of little importance. I might say you don’t know beans about a subject if you do not know anything at all about it. But if you spill the beans, you tell something that was supposed to be a secret.

还有很多和豆相关的表达方式。如果一个人精力充沛，你可以说他full of beans（精力充沛、生龙活虎）。如果你说一些东西does not amount to a hill of beans，意思是无足轻重。如果你对此一点都不懂，我可以说你don't know beans about a subject（一窍不通）。但如果说你spill the beans，意思是你说漏嘴，泄漏了机密。

Potatoes are a popular food in many areas. But something is considered small potatoes if it is not important. You probably would not want to hold a hot potato in your bare hands. This also means a problem or issue that no one wants to deal with. Someone might call you a couch 3 potato if you sit and watch television all day and get little or no physical exercise.

马铃薯是很多地方的常见食物。一些不重要的事被视为small potatoes（鸡毛蒜皮）。你可能也不希望hold a hot potato in your bare hands（接手烫手山芋），意思是无人愿意处理的问题或争端。如果你整天坐在沙发上看电视，很少或根本不锻炼，有人可能会称你为couch potato（沙发土豆，意为电视迷）。

Like potatoes, turnips 5 are root vegetables that grow in the ground. Here is an old saying: you cannot squeeze 6 blood out of a turnip 4. That means you cannot get something from a person that he or she is not willing or able to give.

和土豆一样，萝卜是一种长在地里的根类蔬菜。有一句老话说：you cannot squeeze blood out of a turnip（石头榨不出水）.意思是你无法从不愿意或无法给予的某人手里得到什么。

Farmers have to separate the valuable parts of their crops from the waste. So separating the wheat from the chaff 7 means keeping what is valuable and rejecting what is worthless 8.

农民们必须把农作物中有价值的部分分离出来。因此separating the wheat from the chaff意思是去其糟粕留其精华。

Students often have to take a difficult test to gain entrance to a special school. So you could say the ones who are chosen are the best ones, or the cream of the crop.

学生们必须参加艰难的考试才能赢得“名校入场券”。因此你可以说，被录取的都是最好的学生，也就是the cream of the crop（精英、百里挑一）

There is an old saying that forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest. That means some people get pleasure from doing something that they are not supposed to do.

有句老话说，forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest（禁果最甜），意思是人们从一些不应该做的事情中得到乐趣。

Bananas are a popular fruit to eat. But if you go bananas, you are wild with excitement or worry.

香蕉是一种常见水果，但如果说你go bananas，意思是你非常兴奋或担心。

Finally, let us talk about lemons. Lemons have a sour taste if you eat them plain. But lemons make a nice drink when you mix their juice with sugar and water. So here is an expression about lemons that we like: If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. This means you should always try to make the best of a bad situation.

最后，让我们来说说柠檬。柠檬直接吃时酸酸的。但当你把柠檬汁、糖、水混合到一起就成了可口的饮品。因此就有和柠檬有关的这样一种表达：If life gives you lemons, make lemonade。意思是在困境中也要做到最好。