VOA慢速英语2020 "母亲节"相关表达（在线收听）

Now, it's time for Words and Their Stories, a program from VOA Learning English. On this program we explore common expressions in American English.

Every year in the United States, we celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May. So, in honor of mothers and mothering, today we are talking about expressions that use the words "baby," "child" or "kid."

Ah, babies!

Babies need lots of love, care and attention. Most new parents spend every waking moment caring for, worrying over and thinking about their baby.

This applies to other things too! In American English, anything that you have focused and worked on for long periods of time can become your "baby."

Let's say your friend Sam is opening a new coffee shop. He has invested his own money into it. For months he spends all day every day getting the shop ready for customers. In the evenings, he works on hiring, advertising and menu options. And at night, as he tries to sleep, he worries about it. He really wants it to be a success.

So when Sam's friend asks about the progress of the business, she could say, "So, how's your baby coming along?" Yes, using "baby" in this way is slightly informal. But it is very common and okay to use in just about any situation.

The opposite of caring for a baby would be throwing it out with its bathwater. What?! "That is terrible!" you might be saying.

Yes, it is terrible except -- when we do it in conversation. Then it is a useful expression.

Throwing the baby out with the bathwater means to get rid of all of something, (like the baby and the water it was bathing in) even though some parts of it were valuable and definitely worth keeping (like the baby)!

We often use this expression when we advise people to not act rashly or go to extremes.

For example, let's say a married couple has been working with a designer for months on redecorating their home. They choose furniture, carpeting and wall color. But then suddenly, the designer pulls out of the project. The husband and wife are upset.

The husband does not want to start from the beginning. He didn't enjoy doing it the first time!

But the wife says, "Look, there's no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Let's keep all things we have already chosen. We can hire a new designer just to help us put them in the house."

Problem solved!

Now, not all expressions related to children are actually about children. Some of them are about adults.

If a grown-up is a babe in the woods, he is defenseless and naive. He is easily fooled, and nobody expects much from him. The opposite of a babe in the woods is a veteran, someone who is seasoned or experienced.

For example, the law office had mostly seasoned, professional lawyers. But one young man was just out of school. He did not even know the most basic rules for the courtroom. As a result, he lost his first case. The judge called him a "babe in the woods."

Such a person is different than a new kid on the block. A new kid on the block is simply a newcomer to a group of people who know each other well. Here, "block" means part of a neighborhood.

When you are the new kid on the block, you do not know yet how things operate in a new environment. Your ignorance can be good or bad. Maybe you bring new energy, skills, or talent to the group. Or maybe you spend a lot of time wandering around looking for the bathroom.

Whether you are a teenager in a new high school or a grown-up starting a new job, being the new kid on the block is often uncomfortable.

Do you know what is not uncomfortable? Playing. Children do it naturally and effortlessly. So when we say a job is child's play, we mean it is very easy to do.

Note that this expression can be a little bit mean, because it suggests that the work is so simple even a child could do it (which is actually its own expression.)

Let's say in a meeting one of your co-workers says that she finds creating a spreadsheet really difficult. You say loudly to everyone, "Really? I finished mine in a few minutes. It was child's play! You just input the information."

This makes your co-worker angry. She is so angry with you that she looks for a way to get you back. In other words, she might do something mean in return. At lunchtime she finds her chance!

When you step outside for something to eat, you leave all your notes about an important, top-secret meeting on your desk. When you return, your co-worker is telling everyone else about the details of the meeting – details that no one was supposed to know.

You say to her, "Where did you get that information?"

She looks at you coldly. "On your desk," she says. "It was like taking candy from a baby."

Of course, babies should not be eating candy. But if a baby were eating candy, and an adult took it away, the baby could not fight back. He might cry and be upset, but he is helpless compared to the adult.

And that is the situation with your co-worker. She just walked in and picked up your notes. She is the adult. The notes are the candy. And, unfortunately, you are the baby.

Now, if someone takes candy away from a baby, the parents might demand that the person replace it. This isn't so bad. Going to a candy store is fun!

For many kids, being in a candy store is pure joy. Wide-eyed and smiling from ear to ear, they run from sweet to sweet, imagining how everything will taste and trying to decide what to choose.

So, if someone is very excited about all the possibilities in front of her, we say she is like a kid in a candy store.

For example, whenever I go into a library, I feel like a kid in a candy store. There are so many books I haven't read and I don't know where to start first!

And that's the end of this Words and Their Stories. I'm Anna Matteo. And I'm Bryan Lynn.

现在是《词汇掌故》节目时间，一档来自美国之声的学英语节目。节目探讨美式英语里的常见表达。

美国人在每年五月的第二个星期日庆祝母亲节。所以，为了向母亲们和母亲的养育致敬，今天我们将谈论含有单词“baby（婴儿）”、“child（儿童）”或者“kid（小孩）”的表达。

啊，宝贝们！

婴儿需要更多呵护和关注，多数新晋父母白天费劲心思照顾自己的小宝贝，为他们提心吊胆。

这也适用于其他事物！在美语里，任何你关注和从事了很长时间的事物都能成为你的“宝贝”。

假设你的朋友山姆新开了一家咖啡店。他自己投的钱。数月来，他每天全天为店铺接待顾客做准备。晚上，他忙于招聘、营销以及菜单内容。深夜睡觉的时候，他也挂念着店铺的事情。他真得希望店铺能经营得很好。

那么当山姆的朋友问到他生意的进度，她可能会说：“那你的宝贝咖啡店怎么样了？”是的，这样使用“baby”有点不正式。但是这种用法很常见且几乎在任何情境下都很适用。

和“照顾一个婴儿”相反的，会是“将婴儿和洗澡水一起倒掉（throw it out with its bathwater）”。什么？！“那太可恶了！”你也许会这么说。

是的，那很可恶除了——我们在交谈中这样使用这个表达。这个时候，它是一个很有用的表达。

“throw the baby out with the bathwater（全盘否定/不分良莠，全部丢弃）”意思是处理掉某事物的所有部分（就像婴儿和它的洗澡水），即使该事物的一些部分是珍贵的且绝对值得留下的（就像婴儿）！

我们经常在我们建议别人做事不要太鲁莽或者处理事情太极端时使用这个表达。

例如，假设一对已婚夫妇和设计师一起工作数月重装他们的家。他们挑选家具、地毯材质和墙壁的颜色。但是突然，设计师离开了他们的装修工程。丈夫和妻子很烦恼。

丈夫不想重新来过，他压根就不喜欢装修。

但是他的妻子说道：“你看，我们没有必要全部丢弃。我们把已经挑选好的东西留下。我们可以再请个新设计师帮我们将那些东西归置好在咱们家里。”

问题解决啦！

不是所有和孩子相关的表达的意思实际上都和孩子有关联。其中一些是和大人有关。

如果一个成年人是“a babe in the woods（幼稚盲从的人）”，那他毫无戒备之心且天真无邪。他很容易被愚弄，没人会对他抱有太多期望。“a babe in the woods”的反义词是“veteran（老手/经验丰富的人）”，指的是老练或者有经验的人。

例如，律师所里大多是经验丰富的专业律师。但是其中一个年轻人是刚毕业的。他甚至不知道法庭上最基本的规章。这导致他失去了他的第一个案子。法官说他还太幼稚。

这种人不同于“a new kid on the block（新人）”。“a new kid on the block”只是指彼此互相很熟识的一个团队里来的一个新人。这里的“block”意思是指一个街区的一部分。

当你是一个新人的时候，你还不知道新环境下事物是怎么运作的。你的无知可能是好事，也可能是坏事。也许你会你的团队带来了新的活力、技能或者聪明才智。或者也许你花了很长时间四处找卫生间。

无论你是一个高中少年或是新入职的成年人，作为一个新人的感觉往往都是令人感觉不太自在的。

你知道什么是自在吗？玩乐。孩子们玩起来很自然且毫不费力。所以，当我们说一份工作很简单（child's play），意思是这份工作很容易做。

注意下，这个表达可能有点刻薄，因为它表明这份工作简单到一个孩子都能做（这实际上是它的表达方式）。

假如在一场会议上，你的一个同事说她发现创建一个电子表格真得很难。你说得很大声，每个人都听到了：“真的吗？我几分钟就创建好我的表格了。这太简单了！你输入信息就好。”

这让你的同事很生气。她很生你的气，她想找个法子报复你。也就是说，她可能做什么坏事来报复你。午餐时，她找到了机会！

当你走出去拿点东西吃的时候，你将所有的关于一场重要且绝密的会议笔记放在你的桌子上了。当你回来的时候，你的同事正和其他人说着会议的细节——理应没人知道的细节。

你对她说：“你从哪知道的那些信息？”

她冷冷地看着你。“你桌子上，”她说。“这就像从一个婴儿手上拿走糖果一样容易（take candy from a baby）。”

当然，婴儿不该吃糖。但如果一个婴儿在吃糖，一个大人拿走糖，婴儿是无法反抗的。他也许会哭、生气，但是和大人相比，他是无助的。

这就是你同事面对的情景。她只是走进去，拿走你的笔记。她就是那个“大人”，笔记就是“糖果”。不幸地是，你就是那个“婴儿”。

现在，如果某人从婴儿手里抢走糖，那父母可能要求那个人重换一个。这不算糟糕。糖果店很好玩！

对于很多孩子来说，身处糖果店里就很快乐。大大的眼睛，笑得合不拢嘴，在糖果间跑来跑去，想象着所有的糖果尝起来的口味，试图决定要选什么糖果。

因此，如果某人非常兴奋地面对着她所拥有的所有可能性，我们说她像糖果店里的孩子一样（like a kid in a candy store 无比兴奋）。

例如，我不论何时走进图书馆，我都感觉无比兴奋。有那么多我没读过的书，我都不知道从哪本书开始读了！

这就是本期《词汇掌故》的全部内容了。我是安娜·马特奥。我是布莱恩·林恩。