VOA慢速英语2011--Words and Their Stories: Dog Talk

Words and Their Stories: Dog Talk

词汇典故：和狗相关的词汇

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节目。

Americans use many expressions with the word dog. People in the United 1 States love their dogs and treat them well. They take their dogs for walks, let them play outside and give them good food and medical care. However, dogs without owners to care for them lead a different kind of life. The expression, to lead a dog's life, describes a person who has an unhappy existence.

美国人使用很多和狗相关的词汇。在美国，人们喜欢狗，也善待它们。他们带狗散步，让它们到户外活动，并给它们提供优质食物与医疗。然而，无人照顾的流浪狗生活就大不一样了。to lead a dog's life就描述了生活不尽如意的一类人。

Some people say we live in a dog-eat-dog world. That means 2 many people are competing for the same things, like good jobs. They say that to be successful, a person has to work like a dog. This means they have to work very, very hard. Such hard work can make people dog-tired. And, the situation would be even worse if they became sick as a dog.

有人说，我们生活在一个竞争激烈的世界（dog-eat-dog world）。很多人竞争同一样东西，例如好工作。他们称，一个人想要成功就得拼命工作（work like a dog）。如此坚辛的工作使人疲惫不堪（dog-tired）。同时 ，如果他们病得厉害（sick as a dog），情况会更糟。

Still, people say every dog has its day. This means that every person enjoys a successful period during his or her life. To be successful, people often have to learn new skills. Yet, some people say that you can never teach an old dog new tricks. They believe that older people do not like to learn new things and will not change the way they do things.

尽管如此，人们常说every dog has its day，意思是说人一生中总有出头之日。想要成功，人们往往需要学习新的技能。然而，有人说，you can never teach an old dog new tricks，以此比喻年长的人不喜欢学习新事物，不会改变他们做事的方式。

Some people are compared to dogs in bad ways. People who are unkind 3 or uncaring can be described as meaner than a junkyard dog. Junkyard dogs live in places where people throw away things they do not want. Mean dogs are often used to guard this property 4. They bark or attack people who try to enter the property. However, sometimes a person who appears to be mean and threatening is really not so bad. We say his bark is worse than his bite.

有些人被以一些不好的方式来与狗比较。不友好或冷漠的人们可以用meaner than a junkyard dog来形容。Junkyard dogs生活在垃圾场。凶狠的狗通常用来看护这类场所。有人试图进入这类场所时，它们便狂吠或攻击。然而，有些人看上去凶狠极具威胁，实际没那么严重。我们就说his bark is worse than his bite.

A junkyard is not a fun place for a dog. Many dogs in the United States sleep in safe little houses near their owners' home. These doghouses provide shelter 5. Yet they can be cold and lonely in the winter.

垃圾场对狗来说可不是个好玩的地方。美国的很多狗都睡在主人家附近安全的小狗屋里，这些狗屋给他们提供庇护。然而冬天它们在狗屋里就又冷又孤单。

Husbands and wives use this doghouse term when they are angry at each other. For example, a woman might get angry at her husband for coming home late or forgetting their wedding anniversary 6. She might tell him that he is in the doghouse. She may not treat him nicely until he apologizes. However, the husband may decide that it is best to leave things alone and not create more problems. He might decide to let sleeping dogs lie.

夫妻之间彼此生气时就会用到doghouse这个字眼。例如，妻子可能因为丈夫回家太晚或忘记他们的结婚纪念日而生气。她可能会告诉丈夫，他被打入冷宫了（in the doghouse）。在丈夫道歉前她都不会好好对他。然而，丈夫可能会决定最好还是顺其自然，不要再制造更多矛盾。也就是to let sleeping dogs lie.

Dog expressions also are used to describe the weather. The dog days of summer are the hottest days of the year. A rainstorm may cool the weather. But we do not want it to rain too hard. We do not want it to rain cats and dogs.

狗一类的词汇还用来形容天气。The dog days of summer是指一年中最热的三伏天。下雨可以降温，但我们可不希望下倾盆大雨（to rain cats and dogs）。

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This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, was written by Jill Moss 7. I'm Faith Lapidus.

不要看现在的宠物狗娇宠高贵，但还是有为数众多无人照看的流浪狗过着极其悲惨的生活。这一现象也衍生出短语“to lead a dog’s life”，形容人过着贫困潦倒、惨不忍睹的生活。例如：Tom’s been leading a dog’s life since he got divorced 8. （汤姆自离婚后一直过着混沌潦倒的日子。）

狗向来被认为是温顺友好的动物。正因为如此，“dog eat dog”才显得更加残酷。一个能让 “狗吃狗”的世界，可想而知是一个竞争多么激烈、残酷无情的世界。“dog-eat-dog world”就是形容冷酷无情的竞争世界。

汉语中形容一个人努力工作，多数用牛、马来比喻，英文则用狗来表示。短语“work like a dog”指一个人努力、卖命地工作。

“dog-tired”这个词相当形象地把筋疲力尽、累到快要趴下的神态勾勒了出来。想象一下狗在疲劳的时候伸舌头、趴瘫在地上的可爱模样，“dog-tired”形容的情景跃然纸上。

养狗的朋友都知道，狗一旦吃错了东西，反应是很激烈的。短语“sick as a dog”正是从这个典故发展而来，表示病得很严重。这里所指的“病”，倾向于进食引起的病症，如胃痛、呕吐等等。

“Every dog has its days.”这句谚语如今愈来愈为人所知，“每个人都有属于自己的运气/每个人都有时来运转的一天”。这种乐观积极的心态正是现代社会生活中最需要的。

“You can’t/can never teach an old dog a new trick.”可意译为“老古董学不会新东西”。“an old dog”这里是指不愿改变想法的、守旧的人。细心的读者朋友会发现，《疯狂英语口语版》2009年3月号的“生活聊吧”栏目中出现过一句“You can’t teach an old dude a new trick.”表达的是同样的意思。

前面说过，许多无人照看的狗的生存环境很恶劣。比如“junkyard dogs”，就是生活在垃圾里的狗。他们通常神情凶狠，一旦发现有人接近自己的领地，便会警惕十足。假想一下，如果一个人比这种狗还凶狠残酷，那他的冷漠、难以接近，估计也已经登峰造极了。“meaner than a junkyard dog”就用来形容残酷、冷漠的人。

我们俗语常说的“刀子嘴、豆腐心”在英语中也可用“His bark is worse than his bite.（他虽叫得凶，但不咬人。）”来表示。

我们经常在欧美电影或电视剧上看到，宠物狗通常都在院子的一角有专属于自己的天地——狗屋（doghouse）。不过当“doghouse”被引入夫妻关系中，就没那么美妙了。假如你妻子告诉你“You’re in the doghouse!”那你就应该好好想清楚自己究竟做错了什么事，得遭遇如此“冷遇”了。

“let sleeping dogs lie”顾名思义，就是不要去吵醒睡着的狗。把睡着的狗吵醒，后果可是相当严重，因此这个短语即可引申为 “不要自找麻烦、自讨苦吃”的意思。

如果你还不知道“三伏天”英语要怎么说，那么从现在起要记牢“the dog days of summer”这个短语啦！他正是指一年中最热的时候。

“rain cats and dogs”作“下倾盆大雨”解，许多人都不陌生。不过说起其出处，却是众口不一。其中最靠谱的一种说法，即“雷电大作的声音与猫狗打架的声音相似”。