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VOA慢速英语2012 Words and Their Stories: Top Brass

时间:2012-11-16 02:05来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
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Words and Their Stories: Top Brass1

词汇典故:Top Brass

I'm Susan Clark with the Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

我是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故节目主持人苏珊·克拉克。

The Italians have an old saying, "Il dolce far niente." The words mean it is sweet, or enjoyable, to do nothing.

意大利人有句老话:“Il dolce far niente.”意思是,无所事事很甜蜜、享受。

On weekends and during holidays, many of us enjoy doing nothing. But most of the time we have to work. And, to keep our jobs, we must work hard. Our employer2 will not like it if we do nothing.

周末和假期的时候,许多人喜欢无所事事。但大部分时间我们必须工作。为了保住工作,我们必须努力工作。雇主也不喜欢我们无所事事。

American workers often call their employers3 bosses. The word boss comes from the Dutch word, baas, meaning master.

美国人通常称雇主为老板。"boss"这个词来源于荷兰语"baas",意思是“老板”。

Sometimes company bosses are called the brass. They also are sometimes called top brass, or brass hats.

有时候公司老板被称为"the brass",有时候也称为"top brass",或者"brass hats"。

Experts disagree about how these strange expressions started. But, they may have come from Britain. Leaders of the nineteenth century British army wore pieces of metal called oak4 leaves on their hats. The metal, brass, has a color similar to that of gold. So a leader or commander came to be called a member of the brass. Or he might have been called a brass hat. Or, even the top brass.

关于这个奇异的短语的起源,专家们意见不一。这个短语可能源自英国。19世纪英国军队领导人帽子上镶嵌着几片“金属橡树叶”,它由铜制成,颜色和黄金差不多。所以军队领导或者指挥官就被称作the brass成员,或被称为brass hat(高级将领),甚至是top brass(军方高层)。

By the nineteen forties, the expression had spread beyond military leaders. It also included civilian5 officials.

到了20世纪40年代,这个短语已经扩展到军事领导人以外,包括了文职人员。

A newspaper in the American city of Philadelphia used the term in nineteen forty-nine. It called the most important police officials, top brass.

1949年美国费城一家报纸使用这个术语,将高级警员称为top brass。

Other expressions that mean boss or employer have nothing to do with brass or hats. One of these is big cheese. A cheese is a solid food made from milk.

其它有老板或雇主含义的短语和金属橡树叶或帽子无关。这其中之一就是big cheese。cheese(奶酪)是一种牛奶制成的固体食品。

The expression probably started in America in the late nineteenth century. Some experts believe it comes from a word in the Uersian or urdu languages -- chiz. The meaning is a thing. So the meaning of big cheese may be a big thing.

这个短语可能起源于19世纪晚期的美国。一些专家认为它来自乌尔都语 -- chiz,意思是一种东西。所以big cheese的意思就是大人物。

Other experts say the word cheese in this expression was really an incorrect way of saying chief. The word chief means leader. So the expression may mean big leader.

另一些专家称,这个短语中的cheese实际是chief的错误表达。chief意思是领导。所以这个短语意思可能是“大领导”。

An employer usually does not object to being called boss. But most workers would not call their employers big cheeses, top brass or brass hats to their faces.

雇主通常并不反对被称为"boss",但大部分员工不会当面将雇主称为"big cheeses","top brass"或"brass hats"。

These words are not really insulting6. But neither do they show great respect.

这些词并非无礼,但也没有尊敬的意思。

Employers also have expressions to describe their workers. One of them that describes a good worker is that he or she works7 like a Trojan.

雇主也有形容员工的短语。其中形容好员工的一个短语就是他或她"works like a Trojan(工作努力)"。

This expression probably comes from the ancient writings of the Greek poet Homer. He wrote about the Trojans who lived in the city of Troy. He said Trojans worked very hard to protect their city.

这个短语可能来自希腊诗人荷马的史诗。他写到了居住在特洛伊城的特洛伊人。他说,特洛伊人努力保护自己的城市。

Now, the expression often is used to describe an employee who works hard for a company. A loyal8, hard-working employee is said to work like a Trojan.

现在这个短语经常被用于形容努力工作的公司员工。忠诚、勤劳的员工被称为"work like a Trojan"。

So be happy if your company's brass hats say you work like a Trojan. They may consider you valuable enough to increase your pay.

所以如果公司老板说你"work like a Trojan",他们可能认为你值得加薪。


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 brass DWbzI     
n.黄铜;黄铜器,铜管乐器
参考例句:
  • Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
  • Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
2 employer ItNzrt     
n.雇用方,雇主
参考例句:
  • My employer deducted ten pounds from my wages this week.我的雇主从我本周的工钱中扣除了十英镑。
  • His monthly salary is paid into the bank by his employer.他的月薪由雇主替他存入银行。
3 employers c4ca8e40822542cf2630923de480b818     
雇主( employer的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Employers must consider all candidates impartially and without bias. 雇主必须公平而毫无成见地考虑所有求职者。
  • The onus is on employers to follow health and safety laws. 雇主有义务遵行健康安全法。
4 oak YHoxP     
n.栎树,橡树,栎木,橡木
参考例句:
  • The chair is of solid oak.这把椅子是纯橡木的。
  • The carpenter will floor this room with oak.木匠将用橡木铺设这个房间的地板。
5 civilian uqbzl     
adj.平民的,民用的,民众的
参考例句:
  • There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
  • He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。
6 insulting mqizEs     
侮辱的
参考例句:
  • She was really insulting to me. 她对我实在粗鲁无礼。
  • All of us bristled at the lawyer's speech insulting our forefathers. 听到那个律师在讲演中污蔑我们的祖先,大家都气得怒发冲冠。
7 works ieuzIh     
n.作品,著作;工厂,活动部件,机件
参考例句:
  • We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
  • The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。
8 loyal VAtxw     
adj.忠诚的,忠心的
参考例句:
  • He is a loyal friend.他是一位忠诚的朋友。
  • I judge him to be loyal.我认为他很忠诚。
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