VOA慢速英語:Old Proverbs Still Speak the Truth

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

現(xiàn)在是美國之音慢速英語詞匯掌故節(jié)目時間。

Today we explain more proverbs. A proverb is a short, well-known saying that expresses a common truth or belief. Proverbs are popular around the world. Many proverbs give advice about how to live. Some proverbs are hundreds of years old, but they are still used today.

今天我們來講述更多諺語。諺語一般是表達一種共同的真理或信念的簡短、眾所周知的說法。諺語風(fēng)靡全球，很多諺語提出了生活哲理，有些諺語已經(jīng)有數(shù)百年歷史但一直被沿用至今。

For example, my son is just like his father in many ways. We often say the two of them prove the proverb that the apple does not fall far from the tree.

例如，我兒子在很多方面都像他的父親。我們常說這兩人驗證了“有其父，必有其子”(apple does not fall far from the tree)這句諺語。

My daughter is very short. She would like to be taller. But I tell her that good things come in small packages. The size of something is not always important. Some valuable things are very small, like diamonds and other jewels.

我女兒身材矮小，她希望長高點。但我告訴她，“濃縮的都是精華”(good things come in small packages)。事物的大小并不總那么重要。有些貴重的東西就很小，例如鉆石和其它珠寶。

But I also tell my children that all that glitters is not gold. Do not be fooled by appearances. Something may look valuable, but may not really be valuable. Also, I tell them do not judge a book by its cover. You should not judge something only by its appearance.

但我也告訴孩子，“發(fā)光的并不一定是金子”(all that glitters is not gold)，不要被表象所蒙蔽。有些東西可能看起來很有價值，但可能不是真有價值。另外，我告訴他們，不要以貌取人(do not judge a book by its cover)，不應(yīng)該通過外表判斷事物。

Another proverb is do not bite off more than you can chew. This means do not try to do more than you are able to do.

另一句諺語是“貪多嚼不爛”(do not bite off more than you can chew)，意思是做事情不要超出自己的能力。

Some times I tell my children to cooperate to solve a problem. After all, two heads are better than one. Two people working together can get better results. But another proverb says too many cooks spoil the broth. If too many people try to do something, then the job will not be done well.

有時候，我告訴孩子們要合作解決問題。畢竟，“人多智廣”(two heads are better than one)，兩人合作會更好。但另一句諺語卻說，“人多事亂”(too many cooks spoil the broth)，如果太多人試圖做某事，可能會做不好。

I also tell my children that two wrongs do not make a right.You should not do something bad just because someone did the same to you.

我還告訴我的孩子“別人錯了,不等于你就對了”(two wrongs do not make a right)，不能因為別人曾錯誤地對你，你就以同樣的方式回敬。

Some people are pessimists: they always think about how bad things are or will be. Other people are optimists: they always look on the bright side. They think things will be all right.

有些人很悲觀：他們總認為事情很糟或者會變糟。有些人很樂觀：他們總是看到好的一面，認為一切都會順利。

Optimists might say that every cloud has a silver lining. They can find something good even in a bad situation. Other people are both pessimists and optimists. They hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

樂觀主義者會說“黑暗中總會有一絲光明”(every cloud has a silver lining)。即使是在惡劣的情況下他們也能發(fā)現(xiàn)美好。其他人既是悲觀主義者又是樂觀主義者，他們“抱最好的希望，做最壞的打算”(hope for the best and prepare for the worst)。

Some people often worry about what they will do in a situation that might happen in the future. We could tell them do not cross that bridge until you come to it.

有些人常常為如何應(yīng)對未來可能發(fā)生的情況而憂心。我們可以告訴他們“船到橋頭自然直”(do not cross that bridge until you come to it) 。

It is usually much better to prevent a problem from happening than it is to find ways to solve it. So we say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

預(yù)防問題發(fā)生總比事后補救更好。所以我們常說“一分預(yù)防相當(dāng)于十分治療”(an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure) 。

Finally, I always liked this proverb: You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Honey is sweet while vinegar is not. In other words, you can win people to your side more easily with gentle persuasion than by hostile actions.

最后，我最喜歡這句諺語：“甜言蜜語比辛辣言詞更容易奏效”(You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar)。蜂蜜是甜的而醋不甜。換句話說，與敵對的行為相比，好言相勸更容易贏得人們的支持。