VOA090402-WORDS AND THEIR STORIES

Listeners' favorite expressions about how to live the good life.
听众们最喜爱的有关怎么幸福生活的句子

 

Now, the VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
现在是美国之音慢速英语节目，词汇和掌故

 

Today we explain more popular proverbs. A proverb is a short, well known saying that expresses a common truth or belief.  Proverbs are popular around the world.
今天我们解释更流行的谚语。谚语短小，有名的话，它表达了一种普遍的真理或者信念。谚语在世界范围内都流行。

 

Many listeners have sent us their favorite proverbs.  They give advice about how to live.  We begin with two popular proverbs about staying healthy by eating good food: One is an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Another is you are what you eat.
很多听众已经给我们送来了他们喜欢的谚语。他们提供了怎么生活的建议。我们就以两个流行的谚语开始，这两个谚语是关于通过良好的饮食来保持健康：一个是一天一个苹果让你远离疾病，另外一个是你吃什么东西决定了你的身体健康。

 

Several proverbs about birds also give advice. You may have heard this one:  The early bird catches the worm. This means a person who gets up early, or acts quickly, has the best chance of success.    
很多提议是关于鸟的谚语。你可能听过这个谚语：早起的鸟儿有虫吃。这句话的意思是一个早起的人，或者反映迅速的人会活得最好的成功机会。

 

Another famous proverb is a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. This means you should not risk losing something you have by seeking something that is not guaranteed.
另一个著名的谚语是一只到手的鸟值两只在树上的鸟。这句话的意思是你不用冒着失去已经拥有的东西的风险去寻找没有保证的东西。

 

Here is another piece of advice: Do not count your chickens before they are hatched. In other words, you should not think too much about some future event before it really happens.
另一条建议：不要孵化之前计算小鸡的数目。换句话说，你不应该在某事真正发生之前想过多未来的事情。

 

Another proverb warns do not put all your eggs in one basket.  This means you should not put all of your resources together in one place because you could risk losing everything at one time. Many Americans learned this the hard way by investing all their money in stock shares, which then lost value.  Another proverb says a fool and his money are soon parted. This means someone who acts unwisely with money will lose it.
另一个谚语警告说不要把所有的鸡蛋都放在一个篮子里。这意味着你不应该将所有的资源放在一起，因为这样你可能会在一个时期失去所有东西的风险。很多美国人是通过艰难的道路学到这个道理，将所有的钱投资到股票中，但是后来失去了价值。另外一个谚语说白痴和他的财富很快就要分离。这意味着非理性的消费将会导致失去一切。

 

Here is more advice: If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Also, never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
一个更有意义的建议：如果刚开始你没能成功，那就再多次试验。同时，不要把今天能做的事情拖延到明天。

 

You might learn that haste makes waste if you do something so fast, resulting in mistakes. Most people would agree with this proverb: honesty is the best policy.
你应该知道心急吃不了热豆腐，如果你做某事太快，结果可能是错误的。大部分人会认同下面这句谚语的观点：诚实是最好的策略。

 

Yet another proverb advises us not to be concerned about something bad that you cannot change. It says there is no use crying over spilled milk.        
但是另一个谚语建议我们不要把你不能改变的事情想得太坏。这意味着为溢出的牛奶悲伤是没有意义的。

 

Do you agree with the proverb that children should be seen and not heard?  Maybe you have told your children that hard work never hurt anyone.  But other people say that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.  They believe it is not wise to spend all your time working and never having fun.
孩子们看见了这些谚语，但是不会听，你同意这样的观点吗？也许你曾经告诉你的孩子们努力学习没有坏处。但是有人说只学习不娱乐会让杰克变成一个呆板的孩子。他们相信将所有的时间都花在学习上而从来没有娱乐的方式是不明智的。

 

Finally, here is one of our favorite proverbs: People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.  This means you should not criticize other people unless you are perfect yourself.
最后是我们最喜欢的谚语之一：生活在玻璃房里的人们不要试图往外扔石头。这是说你不应该指责其他人，除非你自己非常的完美。