(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Now, the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.
Today we tell about the expression "apple pie order." It means "in perfect order, very well organized."
Nobody is sure where and when the expression "apple pie order" began. Some say that Scottish and English writers used the expression a long time ago. Others say it first was used in the northeastern American states known as New England.
The housewives of New England cut their apples in even slices. Then they filled pie pans with them in an organized way, row upon row. As one writer said, the women of New England loved to have everything in its place. This perhaps explains why it generally is believed that the expression "apple pie order" began in New England.
Another old expression describes the opposite condition -- wild disorder.
That expression is apple of discord. It comes from ancient mythology. The myth says that all the gods and goddesses were sitting around the table to celebrate the marriage of Thetis and Peleus. One of the goddesses -- Discord -- was a troublemaker. She threw a golden apple on the table to be given as a prize to the most beautiful goddess.
It was not an easy decision to make. How could they choose among Juno, Minerva and Venus. Paris was given the task of deciding. He decided to give the golden apple to Venus. Juno and Minerva were very angry and threatened him. This, the myth says, began the long Trojan war.
At one time, the tomato was called a love apple. That was a mistake. This is how the mistake happened:
In the sixteenth century, Spain imported the tomato from South America after Spanish explorers had landed there. Spain then exported the tomato to Morocco. Italian traders carried it on to Italy. The Italian name for the tomato was "pomo di Moro" -- apple of the Moors.
When French growers imported it from Italy, they thought "di Moro" meant "d'amour" -- the French word for love. And so "pomo di Moro" became the apple of love.
People believe many things about the apple. One belief is that it has great powers of keeping people healthy. A very common expression is "an apple a day keeps the doctor away."
Another belief is based on fact. The expression is "one rotten apple spoils the barrel." When an apple begins to go bad, it ruins all the other apples around it in the container. The expression has come to mean that one bad person in a group can cause everyone to act bad.
You have been listening to the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories. I'm Warren Scheer.
译文属可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载
词汇解释
1.mythology n. 神话；神话学；神话集
In ancient mythology there was no impassable gulf separating the divine from the human beings.
在上古神话中， 神与人之间没有不可逾越的鸿沟。
2.troublemaker n. 捣乱者，闹事者；惹麻烦的人
The fair coordinator has been given powers to expel suspected troublemakers.
那位公正的协调员已被赋予权力，以驱逐涉嫌闹事者。
3.spoil vt. 溺爱；糟蹋；掠夺
It's important not to let mistakes spoil your life.
重要的是不要让错误毁了你的生活。
内容解析
1.As one writer said, the women of New England loved to have everything in its place.
in place 适当，适当的；在适当的地方，在恰当的位置
They put in place the tools of my new business.
他们把我干这一新行当所需要的用具安放得井井有条。
He went fore to see whether the sail was properly in place.
他走到船头看帆是否挂好了。
2.Another belief is based on fact. The expression is "one rotten apple spoils the barrel."
base on 使建立在…基础上
We must base ourselves on the interests of the people.
我们一定要从人民的利益出发。
The movie is based on a real-life incident.
这部电影以现实生活中的一件事为基础。
参考译文
这里是美国之音慢速英语“词汇典故”栏目。
今天我们来讲解apple pie order这个成语，意思是井然有序，非常整齐。
没人知晓这个成语源于何时何地，有人说苏格兰和英格兰作家们很久以前就用了这个用法，也有人说美国东北部的新英格兰州最早开始使用这个短语。
新英格兰的主妇们把苹果切成均匀的薄片，然后整整齐齐地排满整个平底锅。就像一位作家说的那样，新英格兰的妇女们喜欢把一切布置的秩序井然。这可能就解释了为何通常认为这个成语来自新英格兰。
另一个成语表示截然相反极度混乱的意思，wild disorder（祸源，祸根），它源于远古神话。
神话故事中，男女众神围坐在桌前庆祝贺忒提斯和珀琉斯的婚礼，其中一个女神--争吵女神（Discord）是个爱惹麻烦的人，她把一个金苹果扔在桌上，作为对最美新娘的奖励。
要做出这个决定可不容易，他们得在朱诺、米诺瓦、和维纳斯中做出选择，这个任务交给了帕里斯，他决定将金苹果授予维纳斯，朱诺和米诺瓦都很生气，就威胁他，由此引发了漫长的特洛伊之战。
西红柿一度被称作爱情苹果，这其实是个误会，这是怎么回事呢？
16世纪，西班牙探险家到达南美，从那引进了西红柿，然后将其出口到摩洛哥。意大利商人把它运到意大利。西红柿的意大利名是pomo diMoro——意思是摩尔人的苹果。
法国种植者又将西红柿从意大利进口过来，他们以为 di Mor是法语中的爱情（d'amour）一词，因此pomo di Moro就成了爱情苹果。
人们相信许多与苹果有关的事，有一个说法是，苹果有巨大的能量，能保持身体健康，一个很长常用的表达是“An apple a day keeps thedoctor away.”（一天一个苹果，不用生病找医生）
另外一个说法与事实有关，这个成语是"One rotten apple spoils the barrel."（一个烂苹果，染坏一筐苹果），一个苹果腐烂了，它也会毁掉同容器周围的其它苹果。其引申意思是，团队里一个差劲的人会使每个人的表现都很差。
这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故，我是Warren Scheer。
