VOA慢速英语2012 Words and Their Stories: Fall Guy

 

Words and Their Stories: Fall Guy

词汇典故：替罪羊

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

现在是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故节目。

Every week at this time, the Voice of America tells about popular words and expressions used in the United States. Some expressions have made a jump from sports events to everyday life. One such expression is fall guy. A fall guy is the person who someone decides will be the loser or victim.

每周这个时候，美国之音都会讲述美国的常用词汇和短语。一些短语从体育赛事演变到日常生活中，fall guy（替罪羊）就是这样一个短语。替罪羊是指由他人决定成为输家或牺牲者的人。

The first fall guys were men who wrestled¹ for money. At the end of the nineteenth century, wrestling was a very popular sport in the United States. Wrestling competitions were held not only in big cities, but also at country fairs and traveling shows. As the sport became more popular, it became less and less of a sport. Many of the matches were fixed². The wrestlers knew -- before the match -- which one of them would be the winner.

最早的“fall guy”是一些靠摔跤挣钱的人。20世纪末，摔跤在美国是一项十分盛行的运动。摔跤比赛不仅在大城市里举行，也在乡村集市和巡回表演中进行。随着这项运动越来越流行，它也变得越来越不像一项体育运动。许多比赛都是安排好的表演。摔跤手在赛前就知道谁是赢家。

The goal in wrestling is to hold your opponent's shoulders down against the floor. This is called a fall. Sometimes, one of the wrestlers would be paid before the match to take the fall. He would agree to be the loser...the fall guy.

摔跤的目的是把对手的双肩按在地板上。双肩着地就是所谓的fall。有时，其中一名摔跤手会在赛前被买通被打败（take a fall）。他就会同意成为输家，也就是fall guy。

Today, a fall guy is anyone who is tricked into taking the blame for the crime or wrongdoing of someone else. There are fall guys in many situations -- people who publicly take the blame when something goes wrong.

如今，fall guy是指被诱骗为他人的犯罪或不正当行为担责的人。许多情况下都有在出问题是公开承担责任的替罪羊。

A fall guy takes the rap³ for something wrong or illegal. He accepts responsibility and punishment for what someone else did. The fall guy may have been involved in the situation, but was not the person who should be blamed.

替罪羊为错误或非法的事情承担责任，也就是承担他人犯事的责任和惩罚。替罪羊可能已经被卷入这种状况，但不是应当受到责难的人。

The word rap has meant blame for several hundred years. The expression to take the rap first was used about one hundred years ago.

Rap这个单词几百年前就指“惩罚”。Take the rap这个短语最初被用到是在大约一百多年前。

Another similar expression is bum⁴ rap. A person receives a bum rap if he is found guilty of a crime...but is really innocent⁵.

另一个类似短语是bum rap（不公正的责难或惩罚）。受到不公正惩罚的这个人被认为有罪，但实际上很无辜。

Sometimes, a fall guy may not realize he is the fall guy until he is the victim of a bum rap. In that case, he may feel that he has been framed⁷. To frame⁶ someone is to create false evidence to make an innocent person seem guilty.

有时候，替罪羊在自己成为不公正惩罚的牺牲者前，可能没有意识到自己是替罪羊。在这种情况下，他可能认为自己被诬陷。诬陷他人是指制造虚假证据使得无辜者看上去好像有罪。

Some word experts say the expression to frame someone comes from the way wood must be fitted closely⁸ around a painting or photograph to frame it. In the same way, evidence must be designed perfectly⁹ if it is to frame an innocent person to make him or her seem guilty.

有些词汇专家表示，to frame someone这个短语源自做相框时木板必须和画或照片紧密贴合。同样，如果要诬陷一个无辜者使其看上去像有罪，证据必须被设计得非常完美。

This VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES was written by Marilyn Rice Christiano. This is Warren Scheer.

1 wrestled   

v.（与某人）搏斗( wrestle的过去式和过去分词 )；扭成一团；扭打；（与…）摔跤

参考例句：

• As a boy he had boxed and wrestled. 他小的时候又是打拳又是摔跤。
• Armed guards wrestled with the intruder. 武装警卫和闯入者扭打起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

3 rap   

n.轻敲，拍击，责骂，厉声说出，说唱音乐，谈话，最少量；vi.轻敲，敲门，表演说唱音乐，畅谈；vt.抓，抢，拍击

参考例句：

• I heard a rap on the door.我听到有轻轻的敲门声。
• Today we are going to rap about relationships.今天我们要聊聊关系的问题。

4 bum   

n.臀部；流浪汉，乞丐；vt.乞求，乞讨

参考例句：

• A man pinched her bum on the train so she hit him.在火车上有人捏她屁股，她打了那人。
• The penniless man had to bum a ride home.那个身无分文的人只好乞求搭车回家。

5 innocent   

adj.无罪的，清白的；无害的；天真的，单纯的

参考例句：

• I'm not quite so innocent as to believe that.我还不至于简单到相信那种事的地步。
• I was very young,and very innocent.我那时非常年轻，幼稚无知。

6 frame   

n.框架，结构，体格；vt.构成，设计，制定，使适合，陷害； 框架，（是指在数据链路层中，将网络层数据包加上开始与结尾信息包组成一个框架）

参考例句：

• The house has a wooden frame which is faced with brick.这个房子是木质结构的砖瓦房。
• We must frame up that picture.我们必须给那幅画装上框。

7 framed   

框架坝，框架建筑，榫构合

参考例句：

• The prisoner claimed that he had been framed up by his enemies. 囚犯声称他受到了仇人的诬陷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He framed his life according to a noble pattern. 他以高尚的模式构筑自己生活的框架。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 closely   

adv.紧密地；严密地，密切地

参考例句：

• We shall follow closely the development of the situation.我们将密切注意形势的发展。
• The two companies are closely tied up with each other.这两家公司之间有密切联系。

9 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。