英语词汇实用小百科 星座astrology

Xiaohua: Hello and welcome to Round Table’s Word of the Week. This week, we are talking about one of my favorite topics, astrology, 星座！

Mark: Oh, you are interested in astrology, are you?

Xiaohua: Yeah!

Mark: Not to be confused with astronomy, although of course they are linked, because astrology seeks to determine human characteristics from analysis of star patterns or constellations¹.

Xiaohua:其实在早期的时候，英语里面的astrology和astronomy的意思都是一样的。Do you know that astrology actually used to mean astronomy? It’s only later that they got to mean different things.

Mark: I didn’t know that. But we just explained that there is obviously a link between the constellations.

Xiaohua: So let’s go through these twelve horoscopes, shall we?

Mark: Yep, let’s go through them. There are twelve of them. So there is Capricorn, that’s the goat.

Xiaohua: Capricorn是摩羯座。

Mark: This comes from the Latin, Capricornus, which means "horned like a goat."

Xiaohua: 带角的山羊就是Capricorn的意思。

Mark: Then we have the Aquarius, the water carrier, again from the latin meaning "water carrier." Quite straightforward².

Xiaohua: 水瓶座拉丁文里面的意思就是水瓶。

Mark: Then there is the Pisces the fish. Actually, it’s from the Latin for "fish" .

Xiaohua: Pisces , 双鱼座，在拉丁文里面是”鱼”的复数形式。

Mark: We have Aries the "ram³", another horned animal.

Xiaohua: 白羊座是Aries。

Mark: Taurus is the "bull".

Xiaohua: Taurus金牛座。

Mark: And then Gemini the "twins"

Xiaohua: 双子座是一对孪生子。

Mark: After that is Cancer, the "crab⁴".

Xiaohua: Cancer是巨蟹座的意思，因为Cancer在拉丁语里面就是螃蟹。

Mark: And then Leo, the "lion".

Xiaohua: Leo,狮子座。

Mark: Then there is Virgo, "the virgin⁵".

Xiaohua: Virgo，处女座。

Mark: And Libra. Libra is interesting, it’s the scales. And this comes from the Latin libra, meaning "pound” or “balance".

Xiaohua: Libra在拉丁语里面就是”平衡”和”称”的意思，所以它是天秤座的名称。

Mark: That’s quite interesting, ‘cause lb, which is short-form of libra, is still used in some countries like the United States and Great Britain, for the weight measurement of pounds, lb. Then there is Scropio, the "scorpion⁶".

Xiaohua: 天蝎座。

Mark: Finally Sagittarius, which is the "archer⁷."

Xiaohua: Sagittarius是拉丁语里的"archer"“射手”的意思。

Mark: Now my question is, which one are you, Xiaohua?

Xiaohua: Ok, I am a Cancer. And I used to hate this word so much because it also means “malignant tumor”! I always thought “why is it that they have to be the same?”

Mark: Well, that’s right. Originally it meant the crab, and later it gained this medical reasoning. I must agree with you. I am quite pleased not to be Cancer as the stars, ‘cause people just don’t like that word these days of course for obvious reasons.

Xiaohua: But I have say cancer people are very popular, because people love them.

Mark: That’s right. Cancer people are supposed to be complicated and home-loving. And people with the sign love to be in familiar surroundings and nurture⁸ relationships. Is that true of you?

Xiaohua: Very true, I’m a very typical Cancer. 巨蟹座据说是比较爱家，非常喜欢在熟悉的环境中培养人际关系。That’s who we are. But then Mark, what is your sign?

Mark: My star sign is Pisces. And Pisces is the fish. It’s usually depicted⁹ as one fish swimming one way and the other fish the other way. In other words, sometimes we can get a little bit scatterbrained, a little bit emotional, and very creative and imaginative people. And I think I do fit the characteristics of a typical Pisces.

Xiaohua: I see. 所以双鱼座非常浪漫、非常喜欢想象，有时候有点小分裂的特性，是马克的特质。I agree with that. I always see you with this dreamy look, as if you mind is wandering somewhere else.

Mark: I think it’s important to have a good imagination, which is something that Pisces are blessed with. One of the other stars that I must mention…because I must say I don’t believe in any of this, except with one star sign which is Virgo. It does seem that there seems to be some truth. Now I speak as somebody who grew up in a family of Virgos, all of them! These people, the Virgo people, have the characteristics of being very neat and tidy, obsessed¹⁰ with time keeping and punctuality and so forth¹¹, and quite picky about their food. Can you imagine someone like me, a Pisces, with my sort of free-spirited ways and never wearing a watch even when people used to wear watches, living with a family of Virgos?

Xiaohua: 好吧，像马克这样浪漫又不守时的双鱼座住在一个全部是处女座的家庭里的确是有点奇怪。But although Virgo people like to keep time and are incredibly neat, they are a little bit introverted and shy as well, right?

Mark: Yes. But I think it’s true if you went around an office or something like that, and you saw a particularly neat desk, there is a one-in-twelve chance that person is a Virgo!

Xiaohua: Hahhah..that’s true. Unfortunately we don’t have all the time to go through the problems of each and every astrological sign.

Mark: No. And if there is one thing that astrology proves, it’s that there is one born every minute.

Xiaohua: Yes.

1 constellations   

n.星座( constellation的名词复数 )；一群杰出人物；一系列（相关的想法、事物）；一群（相关的人）

参考例句：

• The map of the heavens showed all the northern constellations. 这份天体图标明了北半部所有的星座。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His time was coming, he would move in the constellations of power. 他时来运转，要进入权力中心了。 来自教父部分

2 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

3 ram   

(random access memory)随机存取存储器

参考例句：

• 512k RAM is recommended and 640k RAM is preferred.推荐配置为512K内存，640K内存则更佳。

4 crab   

n.螃蟹，偏航，脾气乖戾的人，酸苹果；vi.捕蟹，偏航，发牢骚；vt.使偏航，发脾气

参考例句：

• I can't remember when I last had crab.我不记得上次吃蟹是什么时候了。
• The skin on my face felt as hard as a crab's back.我脸上的皮仿佛僵硬了，就象螃蟹的壳似的。

5 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

6 scorpion   

n.蝎子，心黑的人，蝎子鞭

参考例句：

• The scorpion has a sting that can be deadly.蝎子有可以致命的螫针。
• The scorpion has a sting that can be deadly.蝎子有可以致命的螫针。

7 archer   

n.射手，弓箭手

参考例句：

• The archer strung his bow and aimed an arrow at the target.弓箭手拉紧弓弦将箭瞄准靶子。
• The archer's shot was a perfect bull's-eye.射手的那一箭正中靶心。

8 nurture   

n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持

参考例句：

• The tree grows well in his nurture.在他的培育下这棵树长得很好。
• The two sisters had received very different nurture.这俩个姊妹接受过极不同的教育。

9 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

10 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

11 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。