VOA慢速英语2012 Words and Their Stories: Military Expressions

 

Words and Their Stories: Military¹ Expressions

词汇典故：军事词汇

This is Phil Murray with WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, a program in Special English on the Voice of America. We tell about some common expressions in American English.

这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故节目，我是Phil Murray。我们将讲述一些美国英语中的常用短语。

A leatherneck or a grunt² do not sound like nice names to call someone. Yet men and women who serve in the United³ States armed forces are proud of those names. And if you think they sound strange, consider doughboy and GI Joe.

Leatherneck（海军陆战队）或grunt（步兵）听起来都不像是一个对他人的合适称呼，然而美军服役人员都引以为傲。如果你认为这些名称听上去很怪，那就想想步兵（doughboy）和特种部队（GI Joe）这两个名称。

After the American Civil War in the eighteen sixties, a writer in a publication⁴ called Beadle’s Monthly⁵ used the word doughboy to describe Civil War soldiers. But word expert Charles Funk says that early writer could not explain where the name started.

19世纪60年代美国内战之后，一家名为Beadle's Monthly的刊物的作者使用doughboy这个词来称呼美国内战中的士兵。但词汇专家查尔斯·芬克(Charles Funk)表示，那位很久以前的作者无法解释这个名称的由来。

About twenty years later, someone did explain. She was the wife of the famous American general George Custer.

大约20年后，有人做出了解释，这个人就是美国著名将领乔治·卡斯特(George Custer)的妻子。

Elizabeth Custer wrote that a doughboy was a sweet food served to Navy⁶ men on ships. She also said the name was given to the large buttons on the clothes of soldiers. Elizabeth Custer believed the name changed over time to mean the soldiers themselves.

伊丽莎白·卡斯特（Elizabeth Custer）写道，doughboy是供应给海军士兵的一种甜点，它得名于士兵军装上的大领扣。伊丽莎白·卡斯特认为，随着时间的推移，这个名称演变成指代士兵本身。

Now, we probably most often think of doughboys as the soldiers who fought for the Allies⁷ in World War One.

如今，我们可能更多地认为doughboys是指第一次世界大战中的盟军士兵。

By World War Two, soldiers were called other names. The one most often heard was GI, or GI Joe. Most people say the letters GI were a short way to say general issue⁸ or government issue. The name came to mean several things. It could mean the soldier himself. It could mean things given to soldiers when they joined the military such as weapons, equipment or clothes. And, for some reason, it could mean to organize, or clean.

到了第二次世界大战，士兵们有了其它名称。最常听到的名称就是GI，或GI Joe。很多人说，GI这两个字母是general issue或者government issue的缩写。这个名称有多种意思，它可以指士兵，也可以指士兵参军后所发的物品，如武器，装备或服装。另外，由于某种原因，它也可以是整理或者清理的意思。

Soldiers often say, “We GI’d the place.” And when an area looks good, soldiers may say the area is “GI.” Strangely, though, GI can also mean poor work, a job badly done.

士兵们常说，“我们控制了（清理了）这个地方。”当某个区域看上去正常，士兵们通常说该区域是“安全的”。然而奇怪的是，GI也可以指做得不好的工作。

Some students of military words have another explanation of GI. They say that instead of government issue or general issue, GI came from the words galvanized iron⁹. The American soldier was said to be like galvanized iron, a material produced for special strength. The Dictionary of Soldier Talk says GI was used for the words galvanized iron in a publication about the vehicles¹⁰ of the early twentieth century.

有些军事词汇学者对GI有另一种解释。他们说GI既不是指government issue，也不是general issue，GI源于galvanized iron这个词。美国士兵被说成是像白铁皮，这是一种用于特殊强度需求的物质。士兵常用语词典指出，在20世纪早期一份关于汽车的刊物中，GI被用于指代galvanized iron这个词。

Today, a doughboy or GI may be called a grunt. Nobody is sure of the exact beginning of the word. But, the best idea probably is that the name comes from the sound that troops¹¹ make when ordered to march long distances carrying heavy equipment.

今天，doughboy或GI也可以被称为grunt。没人能确定到底grunt这个词是什么时候开始使用的。但是最合理的解释是，这个词源于部队在负重长途行进中所发出的声音。

A member of the United States Marines also has a strange name -- leatherneck. It is thought to have started in the eighteen hundreds. Some say the name comes from the thick collars¹² of leather early Marines wore around their necks to protect them from cuts during battles. Others say the sun burned the Marines’ necks until their skin looked like leather.

海军陆战队员同样有个奇怪的名字——leatherneck。这个词被认为是在18世纪出现的。有人说这个词出自早期海军陆战队员围着脖子用于防止在战斗中受伤的厚实皮领子。也有人说这个词是源于，太阳把海军陆战队员脖子上的皮肤晒得像皮革一样。

1 military   

n.军队；adj.军事的，军人的，好战的

参考例句：

• The area has been declared a closed military zone.这个地区已宣布为军事禁区。
• The king was just the tool of the military government.国王只是军政府的一个傀儡。

2 grunt   

v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝

参考例句：

• He lifted the heavy suitcase with a grunt.他咕噜着把沉重的提箱拎了起来。
• I ask him what he think,but he just grunt.我问他在想什麽，他只哼了一声。

3 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

4 publication   

n.出版，发行；出版；公布，发表

参考例句：

• They don't think this article is suitable for publication.他们认为这篇文章不宜发表。
• The government has delayed publication of the trade figures.政府已将贸易统计数字延后公布。

5 monthly   

adj.每月的，持续一个月的，每月发生的；adv.每月，按月； n.月刊；(复数）monthlies:月经

参考例句：

• The rent on his apartment was his biggest monthly expense.他的房租是每个月最大的开支。
• The monthly rent is $15,inclusive of light and water.每月租金15美元，包括水电费在内。

6 navy   

n.海军，海军人员，海军军力，藏青色

参考例句：

• My brother is in the navy.我兄弟在海军服役。
• He has transferred from the army to the navy.他从陆军转到海军。

7 allies   

联盟国，同盟者； 同盟国，同盟者( ally的名词复数 )； 支持者； 盟军

参考例句：

• The allies would fear that they were pawns in a superpower condominium. 这个联盟担心他们会成为超级大国共管的牺牲品。
• A number of the United States' allies had urged him not to take a hasty decision. 美国的一些盟友已力劝他不要急于作决定。

8 issue   

n.出版，发行，（报刊等）期、号，论点，问题，结果， （水，血等的）流出；vt.使流出，放出，发行（钞票等），发布（命令），出版（书等）发给；vi.发行，流出，造成...结果，进行辩护，传下

参考例句：

• I bought the book the day after its issue.这书出版后的第一天，我就去买了它。
• I'll support her down the line on that issue.在那个问题上我将全力支持她。

9 iron   

n.铁，熨斗，坚强，烙铁，镣铐；vt.烫平，熨，用铁包；vi. 烫衣服

参考例句：

• The iron has lost its magnetic force.这块铁已失去了磁力。
• We need an electrician to mend the iron.我们要请电工修理熨斗。

10 vehicles   

n.运载工具；传播媒介；（为展露演员才华而）特意编写的一出戏（或电影等）；[画]展色剂；交通工具( vehicle的名词复数 )；车辆；传播媒介；手段

参考例句：

• There is not much clearance for vehicles passing under this bridge. 车辆在这座桥下通过时没有多少余隙。
• to carry out random spot checks on vehicles 对车辆进行抽检

11 troops   

n.troop(复数)部队,军队

参考例句：

• troops on active service 现役部队
• The troops were ordered back to barracks . 士兵们被命令返回营房。

12 collars   

衣领( collar的名词复数 )； 领子； （狗等的）项圈； （管子或机器部件的）圈

参考例句：

• The best way to get stains off collars is to use liquid detergent at full strength. 去除领子上的污点最好的办法是使用未稀释的液体洗洁净。
• Pedestrians had turned up collars, and trousers at the bottom. 行人们竖起了外套衣领，卷起了裤脚边。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹