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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
The Tortoise and the Hare
Now, it is time for Words and Their Stories, a weekly program from VOA Learning English.
现在，是时候收看VOA学习英语的每周节目“单词及其故事”了。
English expressions come from a number of different places and some are quite old. Perhaps one of the oldest expressions is "slow and steady wins the race." It comes from a collection of stories known as Aesop's Fables2. Aesop is thought to have lived over 2,000 years ago in ancient Greece.
英文表达来自许多不同的地方，有些则很古老。也许最古老的表达方式之一是“缓慢而稳定地赢得比赛”。它来自一系列被称为伊索寓言的故事。人们认为伊索（Aesop）曾在2000年前的古希腊生活过。
"Slow and steady wins the race" means that if you set a goal for yourself and keep working toward it, you will reach that goal. However, to accomplish that goal you mustn't waste time on mindless or meaningless things. You must not lose focus.
“缓慢而稳定地赢得比赛”意味着，如果您为自己设定一个目标并继续朝着这个目标努力，那么您将实现该目标。但是，要实现该目标，您一定不要在无意识或毫无意义的事情上浪费时间。您一定不能失去重点。
And that brings us to one of Aesop's fables called "The Tortoise and the Hare."
这把我们带到了伊索寓言中的一个，叫做“乌龟与野兔”。
As you probably know, a hare looks like a large rabbit. It has long ears and runs very fast, much faster than any tortoise. That cannot be debated.
您可能知道，野兔看起来像一只大兔子。它的耳朵长并且运转非常快，比任何乌龟都快得多。不能争论。
As in many fables, the animals are given human personality traits. The hare has a loud, bragging4 personality and seems overconfident. Tortoise is focused. In "The Tortoise and The Hare" these two animals race each other!
就像许多寓言一样，这些动物具有人类的人格特质。野兔有一个大声，吹牛的个性，似乎过分自信。乌龟是重点。在《乌龟与野兔》中，这两种动物相互竞赛！
But now that we know they also have human personalities5, what will happen?
但是，既然我们知道他们也具有人格特征，将会发生什么？
Let's find out. Here is the Learning English version of "The Tortoise and the Hare."
让我们找出答案。这是《乌龟与野兔》的学习英语版本。
NARRATOR: One day, Tortoise was walking through the woods. She had business to take care of. So, she walked through the forest with her usual determination. When Tortoise passed by Hare, he was standing6 against a fence post. She simply nodded her head and walked on ... very slowly.
旁白：有一天，乌龟正走过树林。她有事要照顾。因此，她以一贯的决心走过了森林。当龟龟经过野兔时，他站在栅栏上。她只是点了点头，然后走着……非常缓慢。
HARE: Hey, Tortoise. Where are you going?
野兔：嘿，乌龟。你要去哪里？
TORTOISE: I have some important business to take care of.
乌龟：我有一些重要的事情要处理。
NARRATOR: Hare found this very funny. He did not want to waste the chance to make fun of Tortoise for being so slow.
旁白：野兔觉得这很有趣。他不想浪费这么慢的机会来嘲弄龟龟。
HARE: If it's so important -- why don't you hurry? You'll never get anything done walking like that.
野兔：如果这很重要-为什么不着急呢？那样走下去，你永远做不完。
TORTOISE: Like what?
乌龟：喜欢什么？
HARE: Slowly, you fool!
野兔：慢慢地，你这个笨蛋！
NARRATOR: Tortoise lifted her head slowly and answered.
旁白：乌龟缓缓抬起头回答。
TORTOISE: I will take care of my business and I will get it done sooner than you think.
乌龟：我会照顾好我的生意的，比你想的要早。
HARE: Yeah, I doubt that! Look at your slow feet! They are no match for my fast feet. Watch me run!
野兔：是的，我对此表示怀疑！看你慢脚！他们没有我的快脚。看着我跑！
NARRATOR: Hare ran around and around in circles. He was indeed very fast.
旁白：野兔绕圈跑来跑去。他确实非常快。
HARE: See? I told you I was fast.
野兔：看到了吗？我告诉过你我很快。
TORTOISE: Yes, you are very fast. And you are very confident in your speed. I have an idea -- why don't we run a race?
乌龟：是的，你很快。而且您对自己的速度很有信心。我有个主意-为什么我们不参加比赛？
HARE: A race? Between me ... and you? Ha ha ha!
野兔：比赛吗？在我和你之间？哈哈哈！
NARRATOR: The idea of running a race with Tortoise was so funny to Hare that he laughed and laughed. But finally, he agreed. He wanted to embarrass Tortoise for even having the nerve to challenge him.
旁白：与龟赛跑的想法对野兔是如此有趣，以至于他笑了又笑。但最后，他同意了。他想让龟龟感到尴尬，甚至不愿挑战他。
HARE: You have some nerve challenging me. Sure! I'll race you!
野兔：您有些勇气挑战我。当然！我会和你比赛！
TORTOISE: Great. We will meet back here tomorrow at this time. Don't be late ...
乌龟：太好了。我们明天明天将在这里开会。不要迟到...
NARRATOR: Now, Fox was standing nearby and heard everything. She agreed to be the judge. So, the next day, Fox marked the distance for the race and started the runners off with her famous whistle. (Fox was well known among all the woodland creatures for having the best whistle.)
旁白：现在，福克斯站在附近，听到了一切。她同意当法官。因此，第二天，福克斯（Fox）标记了比赛的距离，并以她著名的哨子开始了赛跑。 （狐狸在所有林地生物中口哨最好。）
FOX: Tortoise! Hare! You will start the race on my whistle. On your mark! Get set!
FOX：乌龟！野兔！你将在我的哨声中开始比赛。各就各位！准备好！
NARRATOR: And off they went! After only a short time, Hare was very far in front of Tortoise. Now, Hare, being a petty animal, did not just want to win. He wanted the Tortoise to feel foolish. So, he started running backward and yelled insults at her.
旁白：他们走了！短短的时间之后，野兔离乌龟很远。现在，作为小动物的野兔不仅想赢。他希望乌龟感到愚蠢。因此，他开始向后跑，并对她大吼大叫。
HARE: You are so far behind me! You look really small! How does it feel to be a loser!
野兔：你远远落后于我！你看起来很小！成为失败者的感觉如何！
NARRATOR: Then Hare ran even further ahead of Tortoise. As he ran, he said to himself:
旁白：然后，野兔比乌龟跑得更远。奔跑时，他对自己说：
HARE: How dare that Tortoise thinks she can beat me? I am one of the fastest animals in these woods. You know, I'm not just going to beat her. I'm going to teach her a lesson.
野兔：乌龟竟敢敢打败我？我是这些树林里最快的动物之一。你知道，我不只是要打败她。我要教她一堂课。
NARRATOR: So, he stopped. He was going to wait until the Tortoise caught up with him. And then tease her some more. Hare said:
旁白：所以，他停了下来。他要等到乌龟赶上他。然后逗她更多。野兔说：
HARE: I'll just stay here under this tree and rest a bit. I'm so fast that I'll be able to beat Tortoise and take a nap!
野兔：我只待在这棵树下休息一下。我太快了，我可以打败乌龟并打个a！
NARRATOR: Tortoise just kept going -- slowly but steadily7. She said to herself:
旁白：乌龟一直在走-缓慢而稳定。她对自己说：
TORTOISE: I am just going to keep my eyes on the prize. Slow and steady. Onward8 I go!
乌龟：我只是继续关注奖品。缓慢而稳定。我继续前进！
NARRATOR: After some time passed, Tortoise came to where Hare was sleeping.
旁白：经过一段时间，乌龟来到了兔子睡觉的地方。
HARE: (snoring)
野兔：（打nor）
NARRATOR: Hare slept on peacefully as Tortoise passed by him quietly. When Hare finally awoke, Tortoise was near the finish line. Seeing his mistake, he now ran as fast as he could! But he could not catch her in time and Tortoise won the race!
旁白：当乌龟悄悄地经过他时，野兔平静地睡着了。当野兔终于醒来时，乌龟接近终点线。看到他的错误，他现在跑得尽可能快！但是他赶不上她，乌龟赢得了比赛！
So, what is the lesson from this fable1? Sometimes in life, the person who succeeds is not the one who is the ablest but the one who is the most focused and determined9.
那么，这个寓言的教训是什么？在生活中，有时候成功的人不是最能干的人，而是最专注和最坚定的人。
Also, if you waste your time bragging and showing off – as the Hare did – you might not reach your goals.
另外，如果您浪费时间炫耀和炫耀（像野兔一样），则可能无法实现目标。
And that brings us to the end of this program. But join us again next week for another Words and Their Stories.
这使我们结束了该程序。但是，下周再加入我们的行列，了解他们的故事。
重点词汇：
Words in This Story：
fable – n. a short story that usually is about animals and that is intended to teach a lesson
personality trait – n. a quality or characteristic that distinguishes the character, action and attitude of a person
brag3 – v. to speak in a way that shows too much pride
overconfident – adj. having too much confidence about something : confidence – n. a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something
focused – adj. concentrated on one topic or goal
determination – n. a quality that makes you continue trying to do or achieve something that is difficult
embarrass – v. to make (someone) feel confused and foolish in front of other people: to make (a person, group, government, etc.) look foolish in public
petty – adj. showing or having a mean narrow-minded attitude
eyes on the prize expression This means that you should keep your focus on achieving a positive end result or goal
show off – verbal phrase to impress other people with his or her abilities or possessions
收听单词发音 |
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fable
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| n.寓言；童话；神话 | |
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2
fables
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| n.寓言( fable的名词复数 )；神话，传说 | |
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brag
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| v./n.吹牛，自夸；adj.第一流的 | |
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bragging
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| v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的现在分词 )；大话 | |
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personalities
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| n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 ) | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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