VOA慢速英语2020 “羊尾巴摇两下”有多快？

How Fast Is ‘Two Shakes of a Lamb’s Tail’?

And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning¹ English.

欢迎收听VOA英语学习《词汇掌故》节目。 

The English language has many expressions that describe a fast-moving event.Some expressions relate to body movements.We say something happens in the blink² of an eye or in a heartbeat.Other expressions are related³ to the world of nature.

英语中有许多描述事件迅速发生的表达方式。有些表达与肢体动作有关。比如“眨眼间或心跳的瞬间发生某事（in the blink of an eye or in a heartbeat）”。还有些表达与自然界有关。

Today we will talk about a speed-related expression involving an animal.Now, because we are talking about speed and animals, you might think it is a big cat, such as a lion or cheetah-- or maybe even a small, but speedy animal such as a hare⁴.

今天，我们将讨论一个与速度相关的表达，就包含动物在里面。现在，因为我们在谈论速度和动物，所以您可能会认为这只动物是一只大型猫科动物，例如狮子或猎豹，或者甚至是像野兔这种体型虽小但移动迅速的动物。

But it is none of them. You guessed it!

但都不是这些。你猜到了！  

The expression today involves sheep – baby lambs to be exact!

今天的表达与绵羊有关，确切地说是小羊羔！ 

But why? Lambs are cute. But they are not really known for their lightning speed. Well, our expression is about a specific part of the animal – its tail.

但为什么呢？羔羊很可爱。但它们不以闪电般的速度而闻名。嗯，我们讨论的表达方式与羔羊的某个特定部分有关，那就是它的尾巴。

I suspect lambs can shake their tails very fast.Because when something happens quickly, we say it happens in "two shakes of a lambs tail." Here is an example:

我猜小羊能很快速地摇动尾巴。因为当某事发生得很快时，我们会用“two shakes of a lamb’s tail ”（“羊尾巴摆两下的时间内”）来表示。例如：

"Im going to the store. Ill be back in two shakes of a lambs tail!"

“我要去商店。我会马上回来（in two shakes of a lamb’s tail）！” 

This expression is a cuter and more descriptive way of saying "quickly."Maybe instead of sending a text message with the letters BRB (be right back),we could use the image of a lamb shaking its tail. That would fun!

这种表达方式是“quickly”（ 快速）的一种更有趣、更具描述性的说法。或许我们在发消息时，可以不用字母BRB（“马上回来”的英文缩写）这样的文字，而使用羔羊摇尾巴的图片来表示。那会很有趣！

Being cute like a lamb may be fun. But it has its drawbacks⁵.Cute things are often not taken seriously.And this cute factor is the main reason Americans rarely use "two shakes of a lambs tail" in a serious situation.

像小羊羔一样可爱可能很有趣，但也有其缺点。可爱的东西往往不被认真对待。严肃情况下，美国人很少使用“two shakes of a lamb’s tail”这一表达，主要是因为其中的可爱因素。

For example, if I see a person get hit by a car,I would not say, "Hold on! Help will be here in two shakes of a lambs tail!"

例如，假设我看到有人被汽车撞了，我不会说：“坚持住！ ‘羊尾巴摆两下的时间内’救援就会到了！”

That would not make the injured person lying in the middle of the street feel reassured⁶.In an emergency like that, I would say something like, "Help is on the way!"

那样说不会使躺在马路中央的伤者感到安心。像在那样的紧急情况下，我会说“救援就在路上了！”这样的话。

Generally speaking, an emergency is not a good time to use cute animal expressions.

一般来说，紧急情况下最好不要使用含有动物的可爱表达。 

Some language experts say "two shakes of a lambs tail" was first used in written English in the 1800s. They think that it was used in spoken English much earlier than that.

一些语言专家表示，“two shakes of a lamb’s tail”这一表达首次用于书面英语是在19世纪00年代。他们认为这一表达用在英语口语中的时间要比这早得多。

You should know that we often shorten⁷ this expression to simply "two shakes"– as in, "Ill be there in two shakes!"

要知道我们经常将这一表述缩短，简化为“two shakes”，例如“我很快（in two shakes）就会到那里！”

You should not use that one for emergencies either.

这种简化表达同样不能用于紧急情况下。  

And that is Words and Their Stories for this week.But we will be back in two shakes of a lambs tail. Well, actually…well be back next week!

以上就是本周《词汇掌故》节目的全部内容。 但我们马上（in two shakes of a lamb’s tail）就会回来的。好吧，实际上……我们下周再见！

Until next time…Im Anna Matteo!

我们下次节目见…我是安娜·马特奥！  

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 blink   

vi.眨眼睛，闪烁；vt.眨（眼睛），使闪烁

参考例句：

• In a blink of an eye he had disappeared.一眨眼的工夫他就没影了。
• The boy disappeared around the corner in a blink of an eye.一眨眼，这男孩就在拐角处不见了。

3 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

4 hare   

n.野兔

参考例句：

• The tortoise wins the race while the hare is sleeping.兔子正睡觉时，乌龟赢得了比赛。
• I saw a hare in my backyard this morning.今天早晨我看见后院有一只野兔。

5 drawbacks   

缺点，不利条件，障碍( drawback的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The house had many drawbacks, most notably its price. 这房子有很多缺陷，尤其是它的价格。
• This method has quite a few drawbacks. 这种做法弊病不少。

6 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 shorten   

vt.弄短，缩小，减少

参考例句：

• Minor accidents can shorten the life of a car.小事故会缩短汽车寿命。
• My dress is too long I must shorten it.我的连衣裙太长了，我得把它截短些。