VOA慢速英语2013 Old Proverbs Still Speak the Truth

 

Old Proverbs Still Speak the Truth

Now, the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.

Today we explain more proverbs. A proverb is a short, well-known saying that expresses a common truth or belief. Proverbs are popular around the world. Many proverbs give advice about how to live. Some proverbs are hundreds of years old, but they are still used today.

For example, my son is just like his father in many ways. We often say the two of them prove the proverb that the apple does not fall far from the tree.  

My daughter is very short. She would like to be taller. But I tell her that good things come in small packages. The size of something is not always important. Some valuable things are very small, like diamonds and other jewels.

But I also tell my children that all that glitters¹ is not gold. Do not be fooled by appearances. Something may look valuable, but may not really be valuable. Also, I tell them do not judge a book by its cover. You should not judge something only by its appearance.

Another proverb is do not bite off more than you can chew. This means do not try to do more than you are able to do.

Some times I tell my children to cooperate to solve a problem. After all, two heads are better than one. Two people working together can get better results. But another proverb says too many cooks spoil the broth². If too many people try to do something, then the job will not be done well.

I also tell my children that two wrongs do not make a right.You should not do something bad just because someone did the same to you.

Some people are pessimists³: they always think about how bad things are or will be. Other people are optimists⁴: they always look on the bright side. They think things will be all right.

Optimists might say that every cloud has a silver lining⁵. They can find something good even in a bad situation. Other people are both pessimists and optimists. They hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

Some people often worry about what they will do in a situation that might happen in the future. We could tell them do not cross that bridge until you come to it.

It is usually much better to prevent a problem from happening than it is to find ways to solve it. So we say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Finally, I always liked this proverb: You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.  Honey is sweet while vinegar is not. In other words, you can win people to your side more easily with gentle persuasion⁶ than by hostile actions.

This VOA Special English program was written by Shelley Gollust. I'm Barbara Klein.

1 glitters   

闪烁，闪耀，闪光( glitter的第三人称单数 )； 眼睛闪现（某种强烈情感）

参考例句：

• I mean that all glitters is not gold. 我是说，不是所有闪光的东西都是金子。
• All is not gold that glitters. 闪光的东西不一定都是金子。

2 broth   

n.原(汁)汤(鱼汤、肉汤、菜汤等)

参考例句：

• Every cook praises his own broth.厨子总是称赞自己做的汤。
• Just a bit of a mouse's dropping will spoil a whole saucepan of broth.一粒老鼠屎败坏一锅汤。

3 pessimists   

n.悲观主义者( pessimist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pessimists tell us that the family as we know it is doomed. 悲观主义者告诉我们说，我们现在的这种家庭注定要崩溃。 来自辞典例句
• Experts on the future are divided into pessimists and optimists. 对未来发展进行预测的专家可分为悲观主义者和乐观主义者两类。 来自互联网

4 optimists   

n.乐观主义者( optimist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Even optimists admit the outlook to be poor. 甚至乐观的人都认为前景不好。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Optimists reckon house prices will move up with inflation this year. 乐观人士认为今年的房价将会随通货膨胀而上涨。 来自辞典例句

5 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

6 persuasion   

n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派

参考例句：

• He decided to leave only after much persuasion.经过多方劝说，他才决定离开。
• After a lot of persuasion,she agreed to go.经过多次劝说后，她同意去了。