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And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
您现在收听的是VOA慢速英语词汇掌故节目。
Today we talk about a physical action called “wringing.
今天我们谈论一个叫做“拧”的身体动作。
” That is “wring” beginning with a silent “w.
那是“wring”，以不发音的“w”开头。
” The dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster describes the verb “wring” as squeezing or twisting something like clothing to remove moisture or liquid.
韦伯字典将动词“wring”描述为挤压或扭曲像衣物之类的东西以去除水分或液体。
You can also “wring” someone to get more information.
你也可以“绞尽脑汁”地去套取某人的更多信息。
In the old days, people used a “wringer” to remove water from their clothing.
在过去，人们使用“拧干机”来去除衣物中的水分。
With a wringer, you put clean but very wet fabric between two rollers and turn the handle to squeeze water out.
使用拧干机，你把干净但非常湿的织物放在两个滚筒之间，然后转动手柄将水挤出。
Imagine if that was your hand instead of your clothes.
想象一下，如果那是你的手，而不是你的衣服。
Ouch! That would really hurt.
哎哟！那会很痛的。
And this gives us a common expression: to put through the wringer.
这就给我们带来了一个常见的表达：to put through the wringer（受尽磨难）。
When someone is put through the wringer, they face a very difficult or unpleasant experience.
当某人“put through the wringer”时，他们面临着非常困难或不愉快的经历。
Now, let’s hear the expression used in a conversation between two friends.
现在，让我们听听两位朋友在对话中使用该表达。
A: Hey, I heard you trained with Julia for your race. How did it go?
A：嘿，我听说你为了比赛和朱莉娅一起训练。怎么样了？
B: It was hard. Julia was really tough on me.
B：这很难。朱莉娅对我真的很严厉。
She put me through the wringer! And I couldn’t walk for days afterward.
她让我受尽折磨！之后的好几天我都无法走路。
For another example, let’s say you are looking for a new job.
再举一个例子，假设你正在寻找一份新工作。
The employer wants you to go through several weeks of difficult training and then pass a test at the end.
雇主希望你经历数周的艰难训练，然后在最后通过一项测试。
You can say you were put through the wringer.
你可以说你受尽了折磨。
However, when writing this expression, make sure that you write “wringer” with a “w” and not “ringer” that begins with an “r” .
然而，在写这个表达式时，确保你写的是“wringer”，以“w”开头，而不是以“r”开头的“ringer”。
The two words sound alike but are spelled differently and have completely different meanings.
这两个单词发音相似，但是拼写不同，而且含义完全不同。
A “wringer” with a “w” is the device we talked about earlier.
“w”开头的“wringer”是我们之前谈到的设备。
It's used to remove water from clothing and fabric.
它用于去除衣物和织物中的水分。
A “ringer” without a “w” is a person who “enters a competition under false representations.”
“ringer”去掉“w”就是一个人“以虚假身份参加比赛”。
The term "ringer" can also refer to someone or something that strongly resembles another.
术语“ringer”也可以指与另一个人或事物非常相似的人或事物。
The verb “wring” with a "w" is also used to describe an action in which someone twists their hands together.
动词“wring”，带有一个“w”，也被用于描述某人将双手扭在一起的动作。
They usually do this when they are nervous or worried about something.
人们通常在紧张或担心某事时这样做。
And that gives us another expression: hand-wringing.
因此，我们有了另一种表达方式：hand-wringing（束手无策）。
Merriam-Webster defines hand-wringing as an extreme expression of concern or guilt.
韦氏词典将“hand-wringing”定义为极度关切或内疚。
The dictionary publisher noted a recent example written by Christopher L.Gasper on BostonGlobe.Com on February 18, 2023.
词典出版商注意到 克里斯托弗-加斯帕在2023年2月18日，周五，在 BostonGlobe网站上写的一个例子。
“For all the hand-wringing the NBA has done about players coming straight out of high school, the track record is good.”
“尽管NBA对球员直接从高中进入联盟感到非常担忧，但实际情况却很好。”
In other words, there is nothing to worry about having basketball players coming to the NBA straight out of high school.
换句话说，让篮球运动员从高中直接进入NBA没有什么可担心的。
And that’s all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories.
以上就是本期词汇掌故的全部内容。
Until next time I’m Anna Matteo.
下次再见，我是安娜·马特奥。
