VOA慢速英语2012 Words and Their Stories: Proverbs, Part 1

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Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

现在是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故节目。

Today we talk about proverbs. A proverb¹ is a short, well known³ saying that expresses a common truth or belief. Proverbs are found in most cultures and are often very old.

今天，我们来讨论谚语。谚语是一种简短、众所周知的说法，用来表达一个普遍的真理或信条。谚语存在于多种文化，通常非常古老。

In American history, Benjamin Franklin was famous for his proverbs. Franklin lived in the seventeen hundreds. He was a leader of the American Revolution⁴ against English rule. He was also a scientist, inventor and writer.

在美国历史上，本杰明·富兰克林（Benjamin Franklin）就以其谚语而闻名。富兰克林生活在19世纪。他是反对英国统治的美国独立战争领袖，还是一位科学家、发明家和作家。

For many years, Franklin published a book called "Poor Richard's Almanac." He included many proverbs that he had heard or created. Some of them are still used today. Like this one: "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." 

富兰克林多年来曾出版了一本名为《穷理查年鉴》的书，收录了很多他听到或创造的谚语。有些谚语沿用至今。例如这条谚语：“早睡早起,使人健康、富有、明智。 ”

Franklin is also remembered for other proverbs like, "A penny⁵ saved is a penny earned." This means⁶ that money should not be wasted.

还有些其它谚语会使人不由地想起富兰克林。“省钱就是赚钱。”意思是人们不应该铺张浪费。

Here are other examples of proverbs that Americans use. The first ones are about love. Some people say, "All is fair in love and war." They mean that anything you do in a relationship or in battle is acceptable⁷.

还有些美国人常用的其它谚语。第一条是关于爱情的。有人说，“情场战场，不择手段。”意思是，在情场和战场上，你做的任何事情都情有可原。

Another proverb about love is, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." This means you love someone even more when he or she is far away. But other people say, "Out of sight, out of mind." You may not even think about that person when he or she is not with you. Which of these proverbs do you think is most true?

另一个爱情方面的谚语是：“别久情更深。”意思是，当某人远离时你爱得更甚。但也有人说，“眼不见，心不烦。”意思是说当某人不在你身边时，你甚至可能不会想起这个人。你觉得哪句谚语更切实呢？

Another proverb says "Love is blind." In other words, when you are in love with someone, you may refuse to see anything bad about that person.

另一句谚语说：“情人眼里出西施。”换句话说，当你爱着某人，你可能会看不到这个人的任何缺点。

Here is another popular saying about love: "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach." Some people believe that a woman can win a man's love if she prepares his favorite foods.

还有另一条关于爱情的比较流行的说法：“要抓住男人的心，先抓住他的胃。”有些人认为，如果女人为一个男人做他爱吃的，就能赢得他的爱。

Some people are only interested in having a relationship with someone who is very good-looking. You might tell them that "Beauty is only skin deep." Your girlfriend may be lovely to look at, but she may also have some bad qualities. Or the opposite may be true. Your boyfriend is a wonderful person, but not good-looking. So what a person looks like is not really important.

有些人只喜欢和漂亮的人做朋友。你可以告诉这种人，“美色是肤浅的。”你的女朋友可能看上去很漂亮，但她还可能有些不好的品质。或者恰恰相反，你的男朋友为人很棒，却不是很帅。所以，一个人的外表并不重要。

Another proverb is true in love and war or other situations: "Actions speak louder than words." It means that what you do is more important than what you say.

另一句是在战场、情场，以及其他状况下都非常适用的谚语：“行动胜于空谈。”意思是做比说更重要。

Sadly, we have no more time for this program. So we must say, "All good things must come to an end."

可惜的是，我们今天没时间继续讲述这个话题了。因此我们必须说，“天下无不散之筵席。”

(MUSIC)

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