VOA慢速英语2015 虫子和蛇:动物让我们又爱又恨

Worms and Snakes: Animals We Love to Hate 虫子和蛇:动物让我们又爱又恨

Hello and welcome to the VOA Learning 1 English program, “Words and Their Stories.”

欢迎来到VOA学习词汇频道

They slither. They are slimy. For most people, they are high on the list of animals nobody loves.

它们滑滑的、细细的，恐怕是最不受人类喜欢的动物种类了

They are worms and snakes. From ancient folk stories to modern animated 2 films, snakes and worms do not often play the hero. Fair or not, they are usually the characters that set bad examples.

他们就是虫子和蛇。不管是古代歌谣还是现在的动画电影。虫子和蛇都没一个好形象。与之相反，还出演反派角色

This is also true in American English. In our idioms and expressions worms and snakes are often the bad guys.

在英语里也是这样。和虫子以及蛇有关的词语都不是什么好词

First, let's talk about worms.

先来聊聊虫子把

If you don't like worms, one is bad enough. But a whole can of worms is really bad! A can of worms is a very difficult issue or set of problems. And to open a can of worms means to share those problems with other people who may not want to know about them.

如果你不喜欢虫子，仅仅只有一只也会让你抓狂。但是一整罐虫子简直无法形容。A can of worms指的就是很难解决的问题。open a can of worms表示向一些不想帮助你的人求助

Now, worms are good at slowly digging themselves into the ground. And when they are in the ground they are difficult to catch. This is the root of two common expressions.

现在虫子开始慢慢向土里爬进去。当他们钻到土里的时候，就很难拿出来了。这就是下面两个短语的来历

If you worm your way into something, you get something you want by slowly using tricks and lies. For example, “I can't believe he wormed his way back into her life! She won't ever learn!” And if you worm your way out of something, you are avoiding or escaping something by using again tricks or lies.

worm your way into something表示你想慢慢耍诈。比如“我简直无法相信她一直都在骗我，她根本不学习。” if you worm your way out of something，你是在试图利用同样的技巧逃避问题

But not all worm expressions are bad. A common expression, the early bird get the worm means the person who gets up early is in a better position or gets the worm. Good for the bird. Bad for the worm.

也不是所有和虫子有关的短语都是不好的。比如the early bird get the worm表示早期的鸟儿有虫吃。对鸟来说好消息，对虫子来说坏消息

Now, let's talk about snakes.

下面来说说蛇吧

When snakes move, they slither along the ground or in the grass. It seems as if they do not want to be seen. So, a snake in the grass is a sneaky person who cannot be trusted.

蛇动的时候，他们都是沿着地上和草地上爬行。感觉像是不要被人发现一样。所以snake in the grass比作那种不被人相信的人

Here's how you can use it in a sentence: “Be careful around her. She is just a snake in the grass.”

现在你可以造句了，Be careful around her. She is just a snake in the grass

Another reason many people fear snakes is because they bite. And who wants to get bit by a snake, right? So, snakebit means to be very unlucky. For example, if your favorite soccer team is snakebit, they are losing every game.

还有一些人怕蛇咬。没有人想背蛇咬。所以snakebit比作不吉利，比如if your favorite soccer team is snakebit, they are losing every game.

Even if many people do not like them, snakes are useful. Their beautiful skins are used for boots and bags. But have you ever used snake oil? It is probably better if you haven't.

尽管人们不喜欢蛇，但是蛇的价值很高。蛇皮可以用来做靴子和包。但是你用过蛇油吗？

In American English, snake oil is a method or treatment that does not work. It's a trick.

在美国英语中，蛇油指的是一种无用的方法的治疗手段。是种诈骗

Some word historians 3 say this expression comes from Asian-American workers in the 1800s who brought real snake oil over with them. Some believed the oil from a certain type of snake could help joint 4 and muscle pain. But then people started making fake 5 snake oil that did not do anything. So, a snake oil salesman is a fake, an imposter, a charlatan 6. They are not to be trusted.

一些词语学家表示这种表述来自与1800年来到美国的亚洲人常常带着真的蛇油。他们一些人相信蛇油可以缓解肌肉疼痛。但是人们涂了假蛇油的就没有作用。所以卖蛇油的人就是一些骗子、走私客。是不值得相信的

Maybe that's why the snake oil business has never really recovered.

这也许就是蛇油行业再也没有重新恢复的原因

Beside the creepy way they move, snakes and worms have something else in common. In American English, calling someone a snake or a worm means that person is not liked or respected.

除了蛇独特的爬行方式之外，蛇和虫子还有许多共同的地方。在美国英语中，把一个人叫蛇或者虫子都是对一个人的不尊重

And that's it for today's program.

上面就是今天节目的主要内容

I leave you with one more worm expression. There is an informal and rather dark way to refer to a dead body -- food for worms or simply worm food. In fact, there is even a dark children's nursery 7 song about worms coming to eat a dead body buried in the ground.

还有最后一个和虫子有关的短语。不常用，常常和死尸有关——food for worms or simply worm food。和儿童歌曲有关，因为歌里有虫子出来吃死尸的内容

Like I said early in the program, snakes and worms are creepy.

正如我在节目一开始说的那样，虫子和蛇的确很恶心

Words in This Story

slither – v. to move by sliding your entire body back and forth 8 : to move smoothly 9, quietly, or secretly like a snake

slimy – adj. covered with slime : informal very dishonest, bad, or immoral 10

creepy – adj. strange or scary : causing people to feel nervous and afraid

imposter – n. a person who deceives 11 others by pretending to be someone else

charlatan – n. a person who falsely pretends to know or be something in order to deceive people