VOA慢速英语2015 不是所有的母亲都是"漂亮麻麻"

Not All Mother Expressions Are As Nice As Mom 不是所有的母亲都是"漂亮麻麻"

Now, the VOA Learning¹ English program Words and Their Stories. Each week at this time, we tell about everyday expressions in American English and how to use them. 

In the United States, Mother’s Day falls on the second Sunday in May. It was back in 1908 when a woman named Anna Jarvis created this unofficial holiday to honor² mothers. However, Ms. Jarvis would later criticize³ Mother’s Day. She said it had become too commercial -- too much about spending money.

She had a good point.

Traditionally, children and husbands celebrate mothers of all ages by buying flowers, cards and other gifts or taking them to dinner in a nice restaurant. But today, you will not need any money at all. We instead will talk about some expressions that use the word "mother."

To start with, most mothers give birth. So, your motherland is where you were born and your mother tongue is your native language.

Some cultures believe Mother Earth gave birth to everything that exists on our planet⁴. In Greek mythology⁵, a goddess named Gaia was the great mother of all. She was said to have created the Earth and the Universe. Mother Nature is a little different. This term relates to the natural world as if it were a woman.

It has been said that there is nothing as great as a mother’s love. Some mother expressions mean just that. The mother lode⁶ comes from mining. It means the place where the largest amount of gold, silver, or anything else of value can be found.

But now, the term mother lode means a rich supply of anything. We often use the word "strike” with this expression. For example, you might say, “She just graduated college and struck the mother lode with her new job!” In other words, the woman’s new job is making her rich!

When we call something “the mother of all,” this means it is the biggest or best of something. Here is an example: “We are going to throw the mother of all parties this weekend. So you have to come!”

Naturally, the word “mother” can be used to mean to give birth, even to something you cannot touch, such as an idea or wisdom. The saying “necessity is the mother of invention” means that when people really need to do something, they will find a way to do it. And “experience is the mother of wisdom” means that people learn from what happens to them.

You might think all expressions about mothers are sweet and loving. Not so.

A boy who is “tied to his mother’s apron⁷ strings⁸” is controlled by his mother. We can also call him a “mama’s boy.” Both of these terms are even more insulting⁹ if you are talking about a man, not a young boy. It can be a huge mistake for a woman to marry a “mama’s boy” who is still “tied to his mother’s apron strings.”

A show about mothers would not be complete without talking about the very popular but mysterious Mother Goose. The short poems and songs that Mother Goose supposedly wrote are very much a part of growing up in the United States. Real or not, you could say Mother Goose is the mother of all nursery¹⁰ rhyme writers.

We do know that writer Robert Louis Stevenson was real. He is famous for such stories as “Treasure Island,” “Kidnapped,” and “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” He also wrote this poem titled, simply, “To My Mother.”       

You too, my mother, read my rhymes

For love of unforgotten times,

And you may chance to hear once more

The little feet along the floor.  

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 honor   

n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬

参考例句：

• I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
• It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。

3 criticize   

vt.批评；批判，指责；评论，评价

参考例句：

• Whenever you criticize him,he always has an excuse.你批评他，他总有说头儿。
• You are free to criticize my work.你可以随意批评我的工作。

4 planet   

n.行星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun. 海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Rubbish, however, is only part of the problem of polluting our planet. 然而, 垃圾只是我们这个星球的污染问题的一个方面。

5 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

6 lode   

n.矿脉

参考例句：

• We discovered the rich lode bellied out.我们发现丰富的矿脉突然增大了。
• A lode of gold was discovered。他们发现了一处黄金矿藏。

7 apron   

n.围裙；工作裙

参考例句：

• We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
• She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。

8 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

9 insulting   

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。

10 nursery   

n.托儿所；苗圃

参考例句：

• They have decided to start up a nursery in the factory.他们已决定要在工厂里开办一个托儿所。
• Her company ran its own workplace nursery.她的公司开办了内部的托儿所。