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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 those times when things do not go as planned.
今天，我们谈论那些事情没有按计划进行的时候。
All the planning in the world does not guarantee that your plans will happen the way you had planned.
世界上所有的计划都不能保证按部就班的进行。
Things can happen that are outside of your control.
可能会发生一插曲，这些是你无法控制的。
To talk about those times when things go awry, American English has two directional expressions: go south and go sideways.
说到事情不顺利的时候，美式英语中有两个方向性的表达：“go south” 和 “go sideways”。
Let’s start with go south.
我们先从“go south”开始。
If something goes south, it stops working or falls apart.
如果某事物出了问题，它就不能运作或者会崩溃。
It can also mean that something decreases in value or loses quality.
该词也可以意味着某物价值降低或质量下降。
We often use it to describe a situation where everything has gone wrong.
我们经常用它来描述一种情况，即一切都出了问题。
If your career goes south, you need to look for a new job. If your new computer goes south, it stops working.
如果你的事业走下坡路，你需要找一份新工作。如果你的新电脑出故障，它就死机了。
If a relationship goes south, the two people are heading toward a breakup.
如果一段关系出了问题，这两个人就分道扬镳了。
And if a trip goes south, one bad thing after another happens.
如果一次旅行变得糟糕，一件坏事接着一件坏事发生。
You miss your plane, your passport gets stolen, and the hotel loses your reservation. That makes for a vacation that has gone south.
你误了飞机，护照被偷，酒店又误办了你的预订。这可真是一次糟糕的度假。
Now, let’s hear two friends use this expression.
现在，让我们听听两个朋友是如何使用这个表达的。
A: So, how is your friend’s new bakery doing?
A：那么，你朋友的新面包店怎么样了？
She opened it earlier this year, right?
她今年早些时候开了这家店，对吧？
B: She did. But then she ran into trouble. Her investor pulled out. And then her head baker quit.
B：是的。但后来她遇到了麻烦。她的投资者撤资了。然后她的首席面包师也辞职了。
So, her business went south pretty quickly after that.
所以，她的生意在那之后很快就走下坡路了。
A: Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. But I’m not surprised.
A：哦，听到这个消息我很难过。但我并不惊讶。
You need a lot of money up front to start a business. And for a bakery … you definitely need a baker.
创业需要很多钱。对于面包店来说……你肯定需要一个面包师。
B: Well it didn’t help that another bakery with lower prices opened down the street. Her business was bound to go south after that.
B：嗯，街那头开了家价格更低的面包店，这对她的生意也没什么好处。在那之后，她的生意注定要走下坡路了。
Sideways is another direction you don’t want your projects or efforts to go.
“sideways” 代表你不希望你的项目或努力偏离的另一个方向。
As a direction word, sideways means to go to either side – not forward or backward.
作为一个方向词，“sideways”意味着向任何一侧移动——不是向前或向后。
As an idiomatic expression, to go sideways also means things do not go as planned.
作为一个惯用表达，“to go sideways”也意味着事情没有按计划进行。
But this expression can be used a little differently from going south.
但是这个表达的用法与“going south”有点不同。
Often when things go sideways, they go wrong in strange ways. In other words, things get weird. Sometimes you want things to go sideways.
当事情发生偏差时，往往会以奇怪的方式出错。换句话说，事情会变得很奇怪。 有时，你希望事情走向改变。
For example, a good story often goes sideways. You think it’s going to go in one direction but then there is a plot twist.
例如，一个好故事往往剧情比较曲折。你以为它会朝着一个方向发展，但随后会有一个情节转折。
Situations change and the story goes in an unexpected direction. Used this way, going sideways is a good thing. But what about on a family camping trip? Let’s hear this expression used in that situation.
情况发生了变化，故事朝着意想不到的方向发展。当这样使用时，“going sideways”是一件好事。但是在家庭露营旅行中呢？让我们听听在这种情况下使用的这个表达。
A: How was your family camping trip?
A：你的家庭露营旅行怎么样？
B: It was okay. But some really strange things happened. Nature things...
B：还可以。但是发生了一些非常奇怪的事情。自然方面的事情……
A: Tell me more. What happened?
A：和我多讲讲。发生了什么？
B: Well, the first night a raccoon stole all my food.
B：嗯，第一晚一只浣熊偷走了我所有的食物。
The second night while I slept, spiders spun webs all over my tent while I slept.
第二天晚上，当我睡着的时候，蜘蛛在我的帐篷上到处织网。
And then on the third day while I was swimming in the lake, a fish bit me!
然后在第三天，当我在湖里游泳时，一条鱼咬了我！
A: That IS a lot of weird nature stuff. I didn’t even know fish could bite.
A：这确实是很多奇怪的自然现象。我甚至不知道鱼会咬人。
B: Me neither! But I guess on a camping trip that’s gone sideways … anything is possible!
B：我也不知道！但是我想，在一次出了岔子的露营旅行中……任何事情都有可能发生！
And that’s the end of 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.
下次见，我是安娜·马特奥。
