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And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语《词汇掌故》节目。
English borrows from many other languages.
英语借鉴了许多其他语言。
And today we talk about a word that comes from German – doppelganger.
今天我们来谈谈一个来自德语的词——doppelganger（幽灵；相貌极相似的人）。
The word "doppelganger" comes from German folklore.
“doppelganger”一词来源于德国民间传说。
The online dictionary Merriam-Webster describes the old story.
在线词典《韦氏词典》描述了这个古老的故事。
All living creatures have a spirit who is invisible but exactly the same as the living person.
所有生物都有一个看不见但与活人完全一样的幽灵。
But just because you can't see them, doppelgangers are not ghosts.
但仅仅因为你看不到它们，doppelgangers就不是幽灵。
They are sometimes described as "the spiritual opposite or negative of their human counterpart."
它们有时被描述为“人类精神的对立面。”
Even though the word comes from spiritual folklore, we use it in a very real way.
虽然这个词来自展现精神的民间传说，但我们却以一种很现实的方式使用它。
When two people look very similar, we can call them doppelgangers.
我们可以称两个长得非常相似的人为doppelgangers。
English has other expressions that have a similar meaning.
英语中还有其他有类似意思的短语。
If someone looks like someone else, you can call them a look-alike, spitting image or mirror image.
如果某人长得像另一个人，你可以称他们为look-alike（相貌相近的人），spitting image（相似的人）或mirror image（相似的人）。
Let's hear two friends use some of these expressions.
让我们来听两个朋友是如何使用其中一些短语的。
Were you at the airport yesterday?
你昨天在机场吗？
No. I haven't been to the airport in over a year.
没在。我已经有一年多没去机场了。
Are you sure about that?
你确定吗？
I think I would know if I were at the airport. Why do you ask?
如果我在机场，我想我会知道的。你为什么这么问？
Well, if you weren't there, then I ran into your doppelganger. She was a mirror image of you!
如果你不在机场，那我就是碰到了与你长相酷似的人。她简直就是你的翻版！
Wow, I've heard about doppelgangers. But I didn't think I really had a look-alike out there in the world.
哇，我听说过相貌极相似的人。但我认为在这个世界上没有和我长得相像的人。
Well, you do. And they are on their way to Costa Rica.
确实有和你长相相似的人。他们正在前往哥斯达黎加的途中。
I wish I could trade places with my doppelganger!
我希望我能和与我相貌极相似的人互换位置！
If you know someone who looks exactly like another person, you can also call them a dead ringer.
如果你认识一个长得和另一个人长得一模一样的人，你也可以称他为dead ringer（相像之人）。
Experts say this expression comes from American horse racing, and usage began in the late 19th century.
专家表示，这个短语来自美国赛马，人们在19世纪末开始使用这个短语。
Sometimes, racehorse owners would race a horse under a false name and pedigree.
有时，赛马的主人会用假名字和假血统来赛马。
They did this to trick people who bet money on race results.
他们这样做的目的是欺骗那些对比赛结果下注的人。
These horses were called "ringers."
这些马被称为“冒名顶替参加竞赛的马”。
Here is how to use this expression in a sentence: My best friend in college is a dead ringer for George Clooney.
下面举例说明如何在句子中使用这个短语：我大学里最好的朋友长得和乔治·克鲁尼一模一样。
When we're out in public, he gets asked for his autograph all the time.
当我们在公共场合时，总是有人向他要签名。
In the expression "dead ringer," the word "dead" does not mean lifeless.
在“dead ringer”这个短语中，“dead”这个词的意思并不是无生命的。
In this case, it means exact or precise.
在这种情况下，它的意思是确切的。
It is a way to add emphasis, or highlight something.
这是一种强调某物的方式。
For example, if I am sure that my friend is right about something, I can say she is dead right.
例如，如果我确信我的朋友在某事上是正确的，我可以说她是完全正确的。
We can also say someone is "dead wrong" if they are most certainly wrong.
如果某人肯定错了，我们也可以说他“完全错误”。
The next time you want to describe two people who look the same, you can choose any of these expressions.
下次当你想描述两个长得一模一样的人时，你可以选择这些短语中的任何一个。
And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. Until next time … I'm Anna Matteo.
以上就是本期《词汇掌故》节目的全部内容。下次见……我是安娜·马特奥。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
