VOA词汇掌故(翻译+字幕+讲解):你擅长有关后勤的工作吗?
日期:2018-09-17 15:54

(单词翻译:单击)

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Now, the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories.

On today's show we look at a few words as they relate to a famous story in American history: the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In 1803, the United States purchased a large part of North America from France. The area was called the Louisiana Territory.

After the deal was made, President Thomas Jefferson proposed a fact-finding trip, or expedition, to the Louisiana Territory. He chose Meriwether Lewis to lead the expedition team. Lewis, in turn, asked a friend, William Clark, to join the team in its trip across what is now the northwestern part of the U.S. mainland.

There are many things that must be done to organize a complex activity, like an expedition. These things are called logistics. The word logistics has military roots. It comes from a late 19th century French word, "logistique," meaning sheltering and supplying troops.

Now, let's consider two words that sound almost alike. They are "compliment," spelled with the letter "i," and "complement," spelled with an "e." To learn more about both words, we turn to Kelly Jean Kelly. She went on her own expedition, of sorts, to find out more about Lewis and Clark.

你擅长有关后勤的工作吗?

KJK: Anybody who has ever traveled knows how important logistics are. You have to make your plane reservations if you're flying. You have to make your hotel reservations. You have to figure out how far you're going every day. You have to figure out how to get where you're going on time and what you need to bring and what you need to have. I am very bad at logistics. It is not my strength.

AM: It is not your strong suit.

KJK: It is not my strong suit.

KJK: But fortunately I have an absolutely wonderful travel partner, another colleague here in Learning English, named Roger Hsu. And Roger is the videographer and the producer of the history videos. And he's very good at telling a story with pictures. I usually think of telling a story with words. But Roger uses images to tell a story. So, that is one of his great strengths.

KJK: Luckily for me, his other great strength is logistics. So, he made sure that we were always where we needed to be at the right time and with the right equipment. And that was incredibly, incredibly valuable. I'm very thankful for Roger, who is also just a lovely person by the way."

AM: So it was important that you were together as a team and someone was able to pick up the slack, meaning to do perhaps what the other person doesn't do very well.

KJK: Correct, correct. And this is one of the things that historians talk about with Lewis and Clark that those two men had complementary skills. So complementary spelled with an "e" and not with an "i." And compliment is when you say something nice about somebody. So, Roger is a very nice man and a good travel partner. So, that's a compliment. But he and I are complementary in that we have different skills but they go together very well.

KJK: Some historians say that Lewis was very good at logistics. He organized everything before the trip and he bought the supplies that they needed. And he made arrangements with the government to get the money and have everything organized. And William Clark, his partner, was very good with the people on the ground. He organized the other soldiers and other people on the trip. He helped make friendly relationships with the people they met. So Lewis and Clark were an excellent team because they had complementary skills.

Thanks, Kelly. And that's Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English. I'm Anna Matteo.

重点解析


1.relate to 和...有关
All these questions relate to philosophy.
这些问题都跟哲学有关。

2.turn to 求助于
When we have questions we turn to each other for answers.
当我们有疑问时,我们会相互求助答案。

3.strong suit 强项
People can maximize their potential and strengthen their other intelligences if they are aware of which intelligence is their strong suit.
如果人们意识到哪种智能是他们的强项,他们便能将潜能发挥到极致并加强其它智能。

4.pick up the slack 填补空白
Japanese savers will be selling bonds in retirement -- and there aren't enough younger workers to save enough to pick up the slack.
日本储户会在退休的时候把债券卖掉,而由于更年轻的劳动者没有那么多,他们的储蓄不足以填补这个空白。

参考译文

这里是VOA学英语《词汇掌故》节目。

在今天的节目中,我们来看一些和美国历史上最著名的故事《刘易斯和克拉克远征》有关的词汇。1803年,美国从法国手里购买了北美的很大一块地区。该地区被称为路易斯安那领区。

在做出这笔交易之后,托马斯·杰斐逊总统提出了到路易斯安那领区进行实情调查之旅。他选择了梅里韦瑟·刘易斯率领这支考察队。刘易斯又邀请朋友威廉·克拉克加入考察队,开始了穿越如今美国本土西北部的行程。

组织一项像探险的复杂活动需要做好很多事情。这些事情被称之为后勤。Logistics这个单词具有军事根源。它源于20世纪后期的一个法语单词logistique,意思是军队宿营和补给。

现在,让我们来思考一下两个发音类似的单词,它们就是compliment,里面有个i,以及complement,里面有个e。为了学习这两个单词,我们求助于凯利·吉恩·凯利。她自己进行了考察以更多了解刘易斯和克拉克。

凯利·吉恩·凯利:出门旅行过的人都知道后勤的重要性。如果搭飞机,你得预定机票。你得预定酒店,你得弄清楚每天要走多远,弄清楚如何准时抵达目的地,以及你要带什么,需要什么。我不擅长于后勤,这不是我的强项。

安娜·马特奥:这不是你的强项。

凯利:这不是我的强项。

凯利:不过好在我有一个非常好的旅伴,也就是我们的另一位同事,罗杰·许。罗杰是一位摄影师,也是历史影片制片人。他很擅长于用图片讲故事。我通常考虑用文字讲故事。但是罗杰用图片讲故事。所以这是他的优势之一。

凯利:对我来说幸运的是,他的另一项优势就是后勤。所以他确保了我们总是能在合适的时间带着合适的设备出现在我们需要的地方。而这点非常宝贵。我非常感谢罗杰,另外他也是一个非常可爱的人。

马特奥:所以,重要的是你有一个团队,而有人能够填补空缺,就是去做那些别人可能无法做好的事情。

凯利:对。这是历史学家谈到刘易斯和克拉克时常说的一件事情,这两人的技能能够互补。因此,Complementary这个单词中有个e,而不是i。而compliment就是称赞某人。罗杰是一个非常好的人,也是一个很好的旅伴。这是一种称赞。但是他和我能互补,我俩具备不同的技能但是配合很好。

凯利:一些历史学家说,刘易斯非常善于后勤。他在行程前安排好了一切,他购买了他们所需的物资,与政府达成协议获得资金,并让一切井井有条。而他的合作伙伴克拉克和底下的人相处很好。他组织好了旅途中的其他士兵和同行人。他帮助和他们见到的人达成友好关系。所以刘易斯和克拉克是一个优秀的团队,因为他们具备互补的技能。

谢谢凯利。以上就是本期美国之音慢速英语词汇掌故节目的全部内容。我是安娜·马特奥。

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重点单词
  • militaryadj. 军事的 n. 军队
  • complementaryadj. 补充的,互补的
  • colleaguen. 同事
  • complexadj. 复杂的,复合的,合成的 n. 复合体,综合体,
  • figuren. 图形,数字,形状; 人物,外形,体型 v. 演算,
  • strengthenv. 加强,变坚固
  • logisticsn. 后勤学,运筹学,物流
  • slackn. 松弛的部分,松散,淡季,中止 adj. 松弛的,不
  • intelligencen. 理解力,智力 n. 情报,情报工作,情报机关
  • valuableadj. 贵重的,有价值的 n. (pl.)贵重物品