(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Now, the VOA Special English program, Words and Their Stories.
Green is an important color in nature. It is the color of grass and the leaves on trees. It is also the color of most growing plants.
Sometimes, the word green means young, fresh and growing. Sometimes, it describes something that is not yet ripe or finished.
For example, a greenhorn is someone who has no experience, who is new to a situation. In the fifteenth century, a greenhorn was a young cow or ox whose horns had not yet developed. A century or so later, a greenhorn was a soldier who had not yet had any experience in battle. By the eighteenth century, a greenhorn had the meaning it has today - a person who is new in a job.
About one hundred years ago, greenhorn was a popular expression in the American west. Old-timers used it to describe a man who had just arrived from one of the big cities back east. The greenhorn lacked the skills he would need to live in the hard, rough country.
Someone who has the ability to grow plants well is said to have a green thumb. The expression comes from the early nineteen hundreds.
A person with a green thumb seems to have a magic touch that makes plants grow quickly and well. You might say that the woman next door has a green thumb if her garden continues to grow long after your plants have died.
The Green Revolution is the name given some years ago to the development of new kinds of rice and other grains. The new plants produced much larger crops. The Green Revolution was the result of hard work by agricultural scientists who had green thumbs.
Green is also the color used to describe the powerful emotion, jealousy. The green-eyed monster is not a frightening creature from outer space. It is an expression used about four hundred years ago by British writer William Shakespeare in his play "Othello."
It describes the unplesant feeling a person has when someone has something he wants. A young man may suffer from the green-eyed monster if his girlfriend begins going out with someone else. Or, that green-eyed monster may affect your friend if you get a pay raise and she does not.
In most places in the world, a green light is a signal to move ahead. A green light on a traffic signal means your car can continue on. In everyday speech, a green light means approval to continue with a project. We want you to know we have a green light to continue this series next week.
This VOA Special English program, "Words and Their Stories," was written by Marilyn Christiano. I'm Warren Scheer.
词汇解释
1.ripe adj. 熟的，成熟的；时机成熟的
The ripe apples throw out a sweet,intense smell.
成熟苹果放出浓郁的香味。
2.greenhorn n. 生手；不懂世故的人；易受骗的人
He is a greenhorn in this field.
他在这个领域还是个新手。
3.green thumb 有特殊园艺才能
Mrs. Smith has a green thumb. Her garden is beautiful.
史密斯太太精于园艺，她的花园很漂亮。
4.pay raise 加薪；涨薪
The trade unions bargained away their rights in exchange for a small pay raise.
工会不惜牺牲自己的权利以换取微薄的加薪。
内容解析
1.A young man may suffer from the "green-eyed monster" if his girlfriend begins going out with someone else.
suffer from 忍受，遭受；患…病；受…之苦
How long have you been suffering from a headache?
你头痛有多久了?
Your son suffers from your excessive shielding.
你的过分袒护，反而害了你的儿子。
go out with 和…出去；与某人约会
Instant romance could be yours if you go out with friends.
如果和朋友聚会，可能会有一见钟情的浪漫情缘。
You could meet potential new mates if you go out with friends or take pleasure trips.
如果你和朋友聚会或是外出游览，你可能会交到新的恋人。
参考译文
这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故。
绿色是自然界中很重要的色彩，是草丛和树叶的颜色，也是大多数成长中作物的颜色。
有时候，绿色意味着年轻、清新和成长。
有时，这个词用来描述那些不成熟或尚未完成的东西。比如，greenhorn(新手)是那些没有经验的人。在15世纪，greenhorn是小母牛，或尚未长出角的公牛。大约一个世纪后，greenhorn使之那些尚没有战场经验的士兵。到了18世纪，greenhorn就有了现在的意思，即工作上的新手。
大约100年前，greenhorn在美国西部很流行。老一辈们用这个词来描述那些刚从东部大城市来的人。greenhorn缺少在那片艰难、崎岖土地上生存所需的技能。
那些具备将植物长得很好本领的人被称为a green thumb(精于园艺)，这个表达起源于20世纪早期。
那些园艺本领强的人似乎拥有魔力，能让作物长得又快又好。如果你的作物早就死了，而隔壁女子的花园还在生长，那你就可以说她精于园艺。
The Green Revolution(绿色革命)是指若干年前新型大米等谷物的发展，这些新作物产量更高。绿色革命是那些精于园艺的农业科学家辛勤工作的结果。
绿色还用来描述嫉妒这种强烈的感情，green-eyed monster(嫉妒)不是来自外太空的生物，而是400多年前英国作家威廉·莎士比亚在戏剧《奥赛罗》中的表达。
这个词用来描述别人拥有自己没有的东西的感觉，如果一个年轻人的女朋友开始和别人约会，他就会嫉妒。或者，如果你涨薪水了，而你的朋友没有，那你的朋友就会嫉妒。
在世界上大多数地方，green light(绿灯)表示前进。交通信号的绿灯意味着汽车可以前进，在日常用语中，green light意味着批准项目继续进行。我们希望获得“绿灯”，能在下周继续这个系列的节目。
这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故，作者玛里琳·克里斯蒂安诺，我是沃伦`希尔。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
