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Are You Too Smart for Your Own Good?

时间:2015-08-31 14:42:09

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(单词翻译)

Are You Too Smart for Your Own Good?

Now, the VOA Learning1 English program Words and Their Stories.

Today we take a look at the word “smart.”

If someone says you are smart, what do you they mean? Is it a good thing or something bad? The answer is not as easy as you might think.

This is because the word smart has many meanings.

For example, someone could say you look smart or are dressed smartly. That means they like what you are wearing and your physical appearance. To use a slang2 expression, they could say, “You look really cool!”

But if something smarts, it can be unkind3 or hurtful, either physically4 or mentally. If you accidentally5 trip over a chair and fall down, you might shout, “Ow! That smarts!” Or if a friend says something that hurts your feelings, you can say you are smarting from the hurtful comments. In fact, maybe that person is no longer your friend.

If you are standing6 too close to a campfire, you could say your eyes are smarting from the smoke of the fire. Here the word “smarting” means a sharp pain.

But the most common meaning of smart is to be intelligent. If someone is smart as a whip7, they are able to think very quickly.

However, different people have different ways of being smart. Some people are considered street smart. They may not have a strong education. But they are good at dealing8 with people and problems in the real world. 

Other people might be book smart. This means they have spent many years in school. But they may not be so smart when dealing with people or real-world problems.

And then there is the definition9 of smart that means to talk or behave disrespectfully. If you say something disrespectful to your parents, they might say, “Don’t get smart with me!” Here, “smart” means to show a lack of respect by saying something unkind. In fact, a child who has a smart mouth makes rude comments, not smart ones.

This definition of smart can also be used as a verb. If you smart off to the wrong people, they could hit you in the face.

And this leads to the term “Smart Aleck.” If someone calls you a “Smart Aleck,” it might sound like a good thing. But it’s not.

Smart Alecks are people who think they are smarter than they really are. "Aleck" is the short name for Alexander. You might also see it written as “Alec” or “Alex.” For a long time, word historians10 thought Smart Aleck was a general term, not a specific person.

However, an American researcher argued in 1985 that the expression “Smart Aleck” is actually based on a real man. Gerald Cohen used newspaper stories and other research to support his findings11.

He wrote that Alec Hoag and his wife, Melinda, were thieves in New York City in the 1840s. Melinda would bring men home with a promise of sex. While she kept the men busy, Alec would enter the room through a secret door and steal their money.

Sometimes the men who were robbed would go to the police. But Alec Hoag reportedly paid police officers to help protect him and his wife.

But when he tried to cheat those officers of their money, they arrested him. They also gave him the nickname12 “Smart Alec,” which means to be too smart for own good.

We leave you with the theme song from “Get Smart,” a popular spy show that ran on television from 1965 to 1970. It was also made into a movie. The spy, Maxwell Smart, was not-so-smart but always seemed to beat the bad guys anyway.

Words in This Story

specific – adj. clearly defined or identified


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 learning wpSzFe     
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 slang 2Thz2     
n.俚语,行话;vt.使用俚语,辱骂;vi.辱骂
参考例句:
  • The phrase is labelled as slang in the dictionary.这个短语在这本字典里被注为俚语。
  • Slang often goes in and out of fashion quickly.俚语往往很快风行起来又很快不再风行了。
3 unkind QkXwX     
adj.不仁慈的,不和善的
参考例句:
  • He was never unkind to her.他从未亏待过她。
  • Unkindness often reacts on the unkind person.恶人有恶报。
4 physically iNix5     
adj.物质上,体格上,身体上,按自然规律
参考例句:
  • He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服,心绪也很乱。
  • Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。
5 accidentally kJ6yv     
adv.偶然地;意外地
参考例句:
  • Mary accidentally let out that her mother had telephoned.玛丽无意中说出她的母亲来过电话。
  • As I turned around,I accidentally hit him in the face.我转身时不经意撞了他的脸。
6 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
7 whip agPwG     
n.鞭子,鞭打,奶油甜食,车夫,组织秘书;vt.抽出,鞭打,捆扎,搅拌,打败;vi.突然移动,飘浮
参考例句:
  • The cruel man lashed the horse with his whip.那个粗暴的人用鞭子抽马。
  • The cruel master beat his slaves with a whip.残酷的主人鞭打他的奴隶。
8 dealing NvjzWP     
n.经商方法,待人态度
参考例句:
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
9 definition YxjxE     
n.定义;限定,确定;清晰度
参考例句:
  • The book attempts a definition of his role in world politics.该书要阐明的是他在世界政局中的作用。
  • I made a definition for this word.我给这个字下了定义。
10 historians aa2dff49e1cda6eb8322970793b20183     
n.历史学家,史学工作者( historian的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Historians seem to have confused the chronology of these events. 历史学家好像把这些事件发生的年代顺序搞混了。
  • Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。
11 findings 4tYzV9     
n.发现物( finding的名词复数 );调查(或研究)的结果;(陪审团的)裁决
参考例句:
  • It behoves us to study these findings carefully. 我们理应认真研究这些发现。
  • Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。
12 nickname aGuxJ     
n.绰号,昵称;v.给...取绰号,叫错名字
参考例句:
  • She called me by my nickname.她叫我的外号。
  • Why do you fasten such a nickname on her?你为什么给她取这样一个绰号?

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