VOA慢速英語:Hey You! Quit Monkeying Around!
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By Marilyn Rice Christiano
05 October, 2013
Now, the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.
Monkeys are very similar to us in many ways -- most have ten fingers and ten toes, and brains much like ours. We enjoy watching them because they often act like us. In fact, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution says that monkeys and humans share a common ancestor.
Songwriter William Gilbert, in the musical "Princess Ida," wrote:
"Darwinian man, though well-behaved, at best is only a monkey shaved."
His words -- sung to Sir Arthur Sullivan’s music -- make listeners smile. Well, monkeys make us smile, too, because they are creatures full of playful tricks.
This is why many monkey expressions are about tricky people or playful acts. One of these expressions is "monkeyshines," meaning "tricks or foolish acts." The meaning is clear if you have ever watched a group of monkeys playfully chasing each other -- pulling tails, stealing food, doing tricks. So, when a teacher says to a group of students "Stop those monkeyshines right now!," you know that the boys and girls are playing instead of studying.
You might hear that same teacher warn a student not to "monkey around" with a valuable piece of equipment. You "monkey around" with something when you do not know what you are doing. You are touching or playing with something you should leave alone.
Also, you can "monkey around" when you feel like doing something, but have no firm idea of what to do. For example, you tell your friend you are going to spend the day "monkeying around" with your car. Well, you do not have any job or goal in mind -- it is just a way to pass the time.
"Monkey business" usually means secret -- maybe illegal -- activities. A news report may say there is "monkey business" involved in building the new airport, with some officials getting secret payments from builders.
You may "make a monkey out of" someone when you make that person look foolish. Some people "make a monkey out of" themselves by acting foolish or silly.
If one monkey has fun, imagine how much fun "a barrel of monkeys" can have! If your friend says he had "more fun than a barrel of monkeys" at your party, you know that he had a really good time.
"Monkey suits" are common names for clothes or uniforms soldiers wear.
In earlier years in many American cities, you would find men playing musical hand organs on the street. Dancing to the music would be the man’s small monkey dressed in a tight-fitting, colorful jacket similar to a military uniform. So, people began to call a military uniform a "monkey suit."
This VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories was written by Marilyn Rice Christiano. Maurice Joyce was the narrator. I’m Shirley Griffith.
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。
monkeys are very similar to us in many ways. Most have ten fingers and ten toes, and brains much like ours. We enjoy watching them because they often act like us. In fact, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution says that monkeys and humans share a common ancestor.
猴子和我們在很多方面都很相似，都有十個手指和十個腳趾。我們喜歡觀察猴子,因為它們都行為常常和我們相似。達爾文的進化論認(rèn)為，猴子和人類擁有共同的祖先。
Songwriter William Gilbert, in the musical "Princess Ida", wrote:
作曲家(注1)威廉·吉爾伯特在歌劇《艾達公主》中寫道：
"Darwinian man, though well-behaved, at best is only a monkey shaved."
“達爾文派的人雖然乖巧，但充其量只是一只剃掉毛的猴子。”
His words -- sung to Sir Arthur Sullivan’s music -- make listeners smile. Well, monkeys make us smile, too, because they are creatures full of playful tricks.
吉爾伯特寫的劇本，配上阿瑟·沙利文作的音樂，讓聽眾們會心微笑。猴子也能讓我們發(fā)笑，因為它們是花樣百出的生靈。
This is why many monkey expressions are about tricky people or playful acts. One of these expressions is monkeyshines, meaning tricks or foolish acts.
這就是為什么許多和猴子相關(guān)的詞匯，都和狡猾的人或搞笑的行為有關(guān)。monkeyshines就是這些詞匯中的一個，它的意思是詭計或愚蠢行為。
The meaning is clear if you have ever watched a group of monkeys playfully chasing each other: pulling tails, stealing food, doing tricks. So, when a teacher says to a group of students: "Stop those monkeyshines right now!" you know that the boys and girls are playing, instead of studying.
如果你曾經(jīng)看到過一群猴子互相嬉戲，互相扯尾巴、偷食物、?；ㄕ?，monkeyshines這個詞意思就很容易理解。 當(dāng)一位老師對一群學(xué)生們說：“Stop those monkeyshines right now!”你就知道那些孩子們是在玩耍而不是學(xué)習(xí)。
You might hear that same teacher warn a student not to monkey around with a valuable piece of equipment. You monkey around with something when you do not know what you are doing. You are touching or playing with something you should leave alone.
你可能聽到同一位老師提醒一位學(xué)生，不要在一件昂貴的設(shè)備上瞎折騰。當(dāng)你不知道自己在干什么時，就說你是monkey around with something，你正在觸碰或把玩一些你應(yīng)該放下的東西。
Also, you can monkey around when you feel like doing something, but have no firm idea of what to do. For example, you tell your friend you are going to spend the day monkeying around with your car. Well, you do not have any job or goal in mind. It is just a way to pass the time.
此外，當(dāng)你覺得喜歡做某事，但沒有如何做的明確想法時，你也可以是瞎玩(monkey around)。例如，當(dāng)你告訴你的朋友，你準(zhǔn)備花一天折騰你的汽車時，你的腦海中沒有任何任務(wù)或目標(biāo)，那僅僅是打發(fā)時間的一種方式。
monkey business usually means secret, maybe illegal, activities. A news report may say there is monkey business involved in building the new airport, with some officials getting secret payments from builders.
monkey business通常指秘密的，有可能是非法的活動。一則新聞報道可能說，新機場建設(shè)中存在暗箱操作(monkey business)，一些官員收取了建筑商的賄賂。
You may make a monkey out of someone when you make that person look foolish. Some people make a monkey out of themselves by acting foolish or silly.
你可能戲弄了(make a monkey)某人，讓某人看起來很傻。有些人做了一些荒唐可笑的事情，把自己給嘲弄了。
If one monkey has fun, imagine how much fun a barrel of monkeys can have. If your friend says he had more fun than a barrel of monkeys at your party, you know that he had a really good time.
如果你覺得一只猴子很有趣，想象一下一堆猴子該多有趣。如果你的朋友對你說，在你的聚會上他比一堆猴子還有趣，你就知道他玩得很開心。
monkey suits are common names for clothes or uniforms soldiers wear.
monkey suits是衣服或士兵穿的制服的通用名稱。
In earlier years in many American cities, you would find men playing musical hand organs on the street.Dancing to the music would be the man’s small monkey dressed in a tight-fitting, colorful jacket similar to a military uniform. So, people began to call a military uniform a monkey suit.
前些年在美國的很多城市，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)有人在街上表演手風(fēng)琴，一只穿著類似軍裝的緊身迷彩夾克的小猴子在一邊伴舞。于是，人們開始把軍裝稱為monkey suit。
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