VOA慢速英语2015 偷吻?

Have You Ever 'Stolen' A Kiss? 偷吻?

Hello! Welcome to the VOA Learning English program, Words and Their Stories, where every word has a story.

欢迎收听美国之音英语学习栏目，单词故事。

And Happy New Year!

新年好!

The start of a new year is a time of reflection, or deep thinking.Many people plan for the future and, at the same time, feel nostalgic for the past.In other words, they think about the past in a dreamy way – a little happy and a little sad.

新年伊始是反思或者深思的时候。很多人都打算为未来规划，同时也会怀念过往。换句话说，他们以一种梦幻的方式怀念过往：有点开心也有点忧伤。

One popular New Year’s song is especially nostalgic.

有首新年歌曲尤其怀旧。

Dan Fogelberg was a popular U.S. singer-songwriter during the 1970s.His song “Same Old Lang Syne 1” is set around the New Year.

Dan Fogelberg是美国20世纪70年代一名很受欢迎的创作歌手。他的《情景依旧》（Same Old Lang Syne）就是以新年为背景创作的。

When two former lovers – high school sweethearts, perhaps?– meet in a grocery store, they talk about old times and wonder what might have been.

曾经的一对情人（或许是高中时代的恋人）在杂货店相遇，谈起过往时光，并幻想可能会发生的一切。

“Lang syne” means at a distant time in the past.

“Lang syne”意味昔日、很久之前。

In the first part of the song, Fogleberg writes, “I stole behind her in the frozen 2 foods, and I touched her on the sleeve.”

歌曲第一节，Fogleberg写道：“在冷冻食品区我偷偷躲在她的背后，然后碰了下她的衣袖。”

Met my old lover in the grocery store,The snow was falling, Christmas Eve,I stole behind her in the frozen foods,And I touched her on the sleeve.

在杂货店里遇见了旧情人那是下着雪的圣诞节前夕在冷冻食品区我偷偷躲在她背后然后碰了一下她的衣袖

Fogelberg did not actually steal anything from the store.Stealing would get him arrested.And that would make the song very different.

Fogelberg其实并没有偷杂货店的东西。盗窃很可能让他被捕。故事也会变得很不相同。

No, in this case, “to steal” means to do something secretly.You can steal a glance at your secret love from across a crowded room.If someone steals a kiss from you, they sneak 3 up and surprise you with a kiss.If someone steals your heart, they cause you to fall deeply in love with them.And if two lovers steal away into the night, they escape secretly to be together.

事情不是这样的，这里所说的“ to steal”意为秘密做某事。你可以在拥挤的房间偷偷看一眼自己的密恋。“Steal a kiss”意为某人偷偷走近吻了你，让你大惊不已。如果是某人“steal your heart”，意思是他俘获了你的心，让你爱上他。如果说恋人“steal away into the night”，意思为这对恋人悄悄地共度时光。

Who knew stealing could be so romantic!

谁会觉得“偷”还能这么浪漫呢？

Moving on to the next selection 4 from the song, we find two common expressions.

再来看下面一段节选，其中有两个常用表达。

We took her groceries to the checkout 5 stand. The food was totaled up and bagged.We stood there lost in our embarrassment 6.As the conversation dragged.

我们把她买的东西一起拿到柜台结果全部被装在一块儿算帐我们愣在那儿有点尴尬就这样有一搭没一搭的谈着

Let’s talk about “to be lost in embarrassment.”

下面我们来谈一下“to be lost in embarrassment”（陷入尴尬）。

If you lose yourself in something, an event or emotion takes over your mind and body.For example, I love getting lost in a good book.Lovers get lost in each others’ eyes.You can also lose yourself in your work and forget to see family and friends.

“Lose yourself in something”意为某事或者某种情绪占据了你的内心和身体。比如，我可能会沉迷于一本好书。恋人们迷失在对方的眼神中。此外，你还可能会沉迷于自己的工作，而忘了家人和朋友。

Next, what happens when a conversation drags?It does not move smoothly 7.If two people are embarrassed, their conversation can be slow and awkward 8.You can also say a book or movie drags if the story lines move too slowly.

谈话拖拖沓沓时会发生什么呢？谈话不顺利。如果谈话的两个人非常尴尬，那么其谈话过程就会很慢很尴尬。如果一本书或者电影的故事情节发展缓慢，那么也可以说这本书或者这部电影很拖沓。

Conversations with a former lover can be embarrassing.It can be even more embarrassing if you are still attracted to that person.

与之前的恋人谈话可能会非常尴尬。如果对方仍然吸引你，那么对话就会更加尴尬。

Later in the song, Fogelberg writes about his former lover’s appearance.He says the “years had been a friend to her, and that her eyes were still as blue.”

接下来这首歌的这节描写了之前恋人的模样他写道：“我说她依旧青春靓丽，迷人的双眼湛蓝如昔”。

I said the years had been a friend to her.And that her eyes were still as blue.But in those eyes I wasn’t sure.If I saw doubt or gratitude 9.

我说她依旧青春靓丽迷人的双眼湛蓝如昔但我不确定，她的眼底显露出的是怀疑还是感激

When you say the years had been a friend to someone, you are saying that they look younger than their age.You can also say that the years have been kind to someone.It is a nice thing to say.

如果说“the years had been a friend to someone”，意思为某人看起来比实际年龄年轻。此外还可以用“the years have been kind to someone”表达这个意思。这么说真的很好。

But you can also change this expression around and say the years have not been kind to someone, meaning they look older than they really are.

但是还可以换种表达，即“years have not been kind to someone”，意思为某人比实际看起来要老。

And that brings us to the end of this Words and Their Stories.

接下来就是词汇掌故栏目的结尾了。

Steal away by yourself to practice these expressions.Perfecting them will ensure your English conversations won’t drag.Or perhaps just lose yourself in this song!

拿走这些表达自己去练习吧。孰能生巧，确保自己的英语对话不再那么拖沓。或许你也会迷恋上这首歌的。

I’m Anna Matteo, wishing everyone a happy New Year!

Anna Matteo为您报道，祝大家新年快乐！

We drank a toast to innocence,We drank a toast to time.Reliving in our eloquence,Another old lang syne.

我们敬天真无邪为时光荏苒干杯我们再次争辩不休侃侃而谈那是另一幅美好的昔日情景

Words in This Story

reflection – n. consideration of some subject matter, idea, or purpose

nostalgia 10 – n. pleasure and sadness that is caused by remembering something from the past and wishing that you could experience it again <A wave of nostalgia swept over me when I saw my childhood home.>

embarrassing – adj. to make (someone) feel confused and foolish in front of other people

awkward – n. causing embarrassment <an awkward moment>