英语PK台 第468期:听故事学俚语

 　　1. The grass is greener on the other side of the fence.

　　邻家芳草绿，隔岸风景好

　　The grass always looks green from afar. Only when you go closer will you realize that it is not so. Similarly, this proverb simply goes to say that one must always be content with what one has and not keep comparing it with what others have.

　　邻家芳草绿。只有真正走近细看才知并非如此。相同地，这个谚语简单地说明了：人要知足常乐，没事别总跟别人比来比去。

　　When we are not happy with what we have, then what the other person possesses always looks better. Only when we place ourselves in their position will we realize that everyone has their own set of problems and difficulties.

　　当我们对所拥有之物并不满意，那么，别人所拥有之物就会看上去格外诱人。除非身处他人之境地，方能了解人皆有各自问题与困境。

　　Raj had always dreamt of working in the USA. It was his long time ambition to study abroad and also find employment there. He was not happy to stay and work in India. He was always complaining about the living conditions, corruption¹, pollution, population and traffic. He forever spoke² highly about the disciplined life, working culture, clean surroundings and economic opportunities that other countries had to offer.

　　Raj 一直梦想着去美国工作。长久以来他就拥有留学海外并求职就业的远大抱负。留在印度工作生活并不太令他满意。他总是抱怨自己国家的各种问题：生活条件，政治腐败，环境污染，人口众多及交通拥堵。一直以来，令他称赞有加的是世界上其他国家拥有的那种有规有矩的生活，工作文化，干净的环境和经济发展的各种机遇。

　　In short Raj thought that living abroad was the best way to earn money and enjoy a lavish³ lifestyle. So when he got an offer to work in the USA, he readily grabbed the opportunity.

　　总而言之，Raj觉得生活在国外是最理想的生活，既能挣钱又能过上舒适阔绰的生活。所以当他得到一份美国的工作时，简直是求之不得，欣然应允。

　　Raj enjoyed his stay in the US during the first few months. The new surroundings and varied⁴ landscape were a source of great wonder and excitement for him. But slowly he realized that he was missing Indian food. He realized that people abroad led a very mechanical life and there was no interaction between neighbours. Since everyone gave too much importance to privacy and individual space, people were not really close to one another. Raj felt very lonely because of this. He also understood that he would always be treated as a second citizen - an outsider .

　　到了美国后的头几个月，Raj 十分享受。新环境新风景对他来说充满了惊喜与刺激。然而，渐渐地，他开始想念印度的美食，他发现这些外国人过着一种机械式的生活，譬如邻里之间毫无来往，个人隐私及个人空间被过于看重，人与人之间并不真正愿意连接彼此。Raj 开始感到孤独，同时他也意识到，在此地他将会被永远视作“二等公民”，一个局外人。

　　Although one could earn a lot of money and stay in clean surroundings, Raj realized that things like family camaraderie⁵, colourful festivities that we have in India, the variety in food,clothes, culture and entertainment were all missing there. He was missing the very crowds that he had complained about.

　　虽然能够在一个干干净净的地方挣大钱，Raj 也意识到这里并没有亲情，五彩斑斓的各种节日，种类繁多的美食、缤纷的衣装、独特的文化与娱乐…这些只有在家乡印度才能找到的东西。他非常想念自己曾经抱怨的一切。

　　It was then that he realized that every place and situation had its own advantages and disadvantages. It is foolish to compare people,places or things. Each has a distinct feature. We always think that the other side looks more appealing. Only when you experience you realize that everywhere there are problems to be faced and issues to be solved. So the best way to be happy is to stay content and stop grumbling⁶.

　　直到这时，他才明白每个地方每种处境都各有优劣。比较这些人、地、物是不是个聪明的主意。每一种类型都有特色。我们总是觉得别处看上去更吸引人。只有亲身经历才会发现哪哪儿其实都有一堆亟待解决的问题。所以，知足一点，少抱怨一些，人也许能活得快乐一些。

　　2. Do not cross your bridges before you come to them.

　　世上本无事，庸人自扰之

　　This proverb means that we should not worry about problems until the time when they actually come up. There is no point in worrying about something till it really happens. We will not lead a happy life if we keep imagining things. We have to face reality as it happens. Here the word BRIDGE is used to denote problems. Just as we cross a bridge when we reach it, we should tackle problems when we face them.

　　这句谚语意思是当问题真正来临之前我们不要过多地忧虑。过分担心那些没有真正成为问题的事毫无用处。不断臆想事情会如何发生就是在自寻烦恼。事情如果发生了就面对现实。谚语里的“桥”意即问题。只有当到了桥跟前我们再过桥，我们真正面对问题的时候再处理它就好。

　　Archana was never good at Maths more out of fear for the subject than any real difficulty in learning it. She was always very tense before the exams and this time was no exception. Half-yearly exams were to begin in a couple of days and the mathematics was scheduled as the second exam.

　　Archana数学不好。她对这个科目的恐惧远胜于学习中遇到的困难。每逢考前总是相当紧张，这次也不例外。期中考试还有几天就要来了，数学考试被安排在第二场。

　　Her first was Science and Archana's mother was very worried in seeing her daughter being so nervous. Archana's mother decides to take this matter with Archana directly and went to Archana to talk to her daughter.

　　第一场考科学。Archana的母亲看见女儿如此紧张有些担忧。此次她决定郑重其事地跟女儿好好谈谈这个问题。

　　"Archana... don't you have to start studying for your science paper? Why are you wasting time worrying about your Maths exam? You have prepared well and I am sure you will get full marks. When you put in all your efforts the result will always be positive. So please start studying the other subjects."

　　“Archana，难道你不需要赶紧开始准备你的科学考试吗？为什么还在浪费时间担心数学？你已经准备得相当好了，我相信你能得满分。当你尽全力了，结果总是好的。所以，赶紧复习一下其他科目吧。”

　　"I know mother. But what if my preparation is not enough? What if I get tough sums? What if I forget the theorems?" replied Archana. "Worrying about it is not going to make things easier is it? If you waste time worrying, you will end up losing marks in other subjects." said her mother. The day of the exams came. She wrote all the exams. She did her best, but she was not satisfied with her performance in those exams.

　　“我知道，妈妈。可万一我准备得不充分怎么办？万一我遇到难题怎么办？万一我忘记了公式定理怎么办？”Archana 回答说。“你这么担心也不会让事情变得容易一些吧？如果你浪费时间在担心数学上，那你其他科目也要丢分了。妈妈说。

　　That is exactly what she felt as well when the results came out. The Maths paper had been very easy and Archana had scored very good marks. But she had wasted so much time in worrying about it that she failed to do well in her Science paper and managed to just pass. She realized her stupidity and decided⁷ that in future she will prepare well for all her exams and stop creating imaginary problems which resulted in her bad performance.

　　但考试结果出来时，她也是同感。数学比较简单，Archana考得相当不错。但是她花了太多时间焦虑，以至于科学考砸了，刚过及格线。现在她终于意识到自己有多傻，于是决定未来的考试每一科都要好好准备，与此同时不再制造一些会影响自己考砸的想象中的难题。

　　This incident created awareness⁸ in Archana and her friends to the effect that worrying about the imaginary problems will help none and such a stupidity will result in waste of time and energy.

　　这件事让Archana和她的朋友充分意识到为想象中的问题担忧根本无济于事，同时这样的愚蠢会导致焦虑时间与精力的巨大浪费。

1 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

4 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

5 camaraderie   

n.同志之爱，友情

参考例句：

• The camaraderie among fellow employees made the tedious work just bearable.同事之间的情谊使枯燥乏味的工作变得还能忍受。
• Some bosses are formal and have occasional interactions,while others prefer continual camaraderie.有些老板很刻板，偶尔才和下属互动一下；有些则喜欢和下属打成一片。

6 grumbling   

adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的

参考例句：

• She's always grumbling to me about how badly she's treated at work. 她总是向我抱怨她在工作中如何受亏待。
• We didn't hear any grumbling about the food. 我们没听到过对食物的抱怨。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。