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 something found in water – waves. Surfers are experts at riding waves in the ocean.
今天我们来谈谈水中的东西--波浪。 冲浪者是在大海里乘风破浪的高手。
But even if you have never been in the ocean or tried the sport of surfing, you can still ride the waves.
但是,即使你从未去过海洋或尝试过冲浪运动,你仍然可以“ ride the waves(冲浪,顺势而为)”。
If you ride the wave of something you gain from a widespread popularity or approval of something.
如果你顺势而为,你就会从某一事物的广泛流行或认可中获益。
The online dictionary Merriam-Webster defines it this way: “to experience a time when many people share a strong feeling or attitude about something at the same time.”
在线词典 Merriam-Webster 是这样定义的: "许多人同时对某件事情有强烈的感觉或态度。
For example, let’s say a woman runs for office but she doesn’t have any political experience.
例如,假设一位女性竞选公职,但她没有任何政治经验。
She does, however, belong to a famous and popular political family.
她的确出身于一个著名且受欢迎的政治世家。
After she wins, many people say she rode the wave of her family’s fame.
在她获胜后,很多人说她是借助了她家族的名气。
But this expression doesn’t always mean taking advantage of something in a bad way.
但这个表达并不总是意味着以不好的方式利用某物。
For example, a sports team may want to ride the wave of their recent wins to keep on winning. Catching the wave is a similar expression.
例如,一支运动队可能想借助最近获胜的势头继续获胜。“Catching the wave(逐浪)”是一个类似的表达。
If you catch the wave, you also take advantage of an opportunity. You are at the right place at the right time.
如果你赶上了浪潮,你也就抓住了一个机会。你在正确的时间出现在了正确的地点。
Now, sometimes we aren’t riding or catching waves, but making waves instead.
现在,有时候我们不是在冲浪或者逐浪,而是在make waves(兴风作浪)。
When we make waves we do something that makes people notice us. Often they notice us in a bad way.
当我们兴风作浪时,我们会做一些让人们注意到我们的事情。通常他们会以一种不好的方式注意到我们。
And the waves we make cause problems -- similar to waves in water making trouble for boats and swimmers. Here’s an example.
我们制造的波浪会引发问题——就像水中的波浪会给船只和游泳者带来麻烦一样。下面是一个例子。
If you start a new job, it is usually not a good idea to make waves.
如果你开始了一份新工作,通常来说,掀起风浪并不是一个好主意。
When you make waves you create trouble and interfere with usual business operations. We can also say to rock the boat. This also means to cause problems. We use the word “wave” in several phrasal verbs.
当你兴风作浪时,你就会制造麻烦,干扰正常的业务运作。我们也可以说是 "rock the boat"。这也是指制造麻烦。 我们在多个短语动词中使用 "wave "一词。
Let’s start by combining it with “on” and “off. ” Waving someone on is the same thing as giving them a sign to keep moving.
首先,我们将它与“on”和“off”结合起来。“”Waving someone on”类似于他们一个信号让他们继续前进。
For example, when police officers direct traffic they wave people on.
例如,当警察指挥交通时,他们挥手示意人们前进。
The police are guiding drivers or walkers across roads.
警察正在引导司机或行人过马路。
Waving someone on can also mean to encourage someone.
“Waving someone on”也可以表示鼓励某人。
If your friend is running in a race, you can wave them on to the finish line.
如果你的朋友正在赛跑,你可以向他们挥手,鼓励他们跑到终点线。
However, if you wave something or someone off, you cancel, dismiss, or refuse them.
然而,如果你“wave something or someone off”,你就是取消、解雇或拒绝他们。
For example, when I offered help to the man who had fallen off his bike he just waved me off.
例如,当我向那个从自行车上摔下来的人提供帮助时,他只是挥手让我走开。
He either didn’t need or want my help or maybe was too embarrassed to accept it. You can also combine “wave” with “down” .
他要么不需要也不想要我的帮助,要么就是太尴尬而不好意思接受。你也可以把“wave”和“down”结合起来。
To wave down someone or something is also a signal to stop.
“To wave down someone or something”也是一种停止的信号。
For example, you can wave down a friend or wave down a taxicab.
例如,你可以挥手叫朋友过来,或者挥手叫出租车过来。
And if you wave something or someone aside you are either directing them or dismissing them. It depends on the situation.
如果你挥手示意某物或某人到一边,你要么是在指挥他们,要么是在打发他们。这取决于具体情况。
Now, let’s hear some of these “wave” terms used in a short example.
现在,让我们在一个简短的例子中听听这些有关“wave”的一些用法。
Once I invited a friend to a concert. The musical group was very popular.
有一次我邀请了一个朋友去听音乐会。这个乐队很受欢迎。
They were riding the wave of a similar but earlier rock and roll band.
他们借着一支类似但更早的摇滚乐队的东风,一路高歌猛进。
Many people would come to their concerts just to gather in the parking lot and listen to the music from a distance. And that is what happened during this concert. But this venue was different than most.
许多人会来他们的音乐会,只是为了聚集在停车场,从远处聆听音乐。这就是这场音乐会期间发生的事情。但是这个场地与大多数场地不同。
It was outside and did not have a barrier around it. So, people without tickets started sneaking in.
它是在室外的,周围也没有设置障碍。所以,没有票的人开始偷偷溜进去。
Someone would find a place where they could sneak in and wave on others to do the same.
有人会找到一个他们可以偷偷溜进去的地方,并挥手让其他人也这样做。
As a result the venue got so crowded that the security guards had to wave ticket-holders aside to a different entrance.
结果场地变得非常拥挤,以至于保安不得不挥手示意持票者到另一个入口。
And if you didn’t have a ticket and hadn’t snuck in, they just waved you off.
而且,如果你没有门票,也没有偷偷溜进去,他们就会挥手让你离开。
As my friend and I waited in line to enter, I warned her that the concert would be very crowded. But she waved my concerns aside. She didn’t care. We went in anyway.
当我和我的朋友排队等候进入时,我警告她音乐会会非常拥挤。但她挥手让我不要担心。她不在乎。我们还是进去了。
But after the concert was over, I immediately waved down a taxi to go home. I had had enough of the large crowd.
但是音乐会结束后,我立刻挥手叫了一辆出租车回家。我受够了拥挤的人群。
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.
我们下期节目再见……我是安娜·马特奥。