VOA慢速英語: 萬圣節(jié)特輯：到處是魔鬼......（雙語）

萬圣節(jié)特輯：到處是魔鬼……

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

這里是美國之音英語學習的詞語掌故。

Many expressions in American English come from the world of religion. Some common idioms are based on high, religious ideals. But today we look at the bad or evil side of religion.

英語中有很多表達來自宗教。一些常見的習語表達是在一些有威望的、宗教人物形象基礎上發(fā)展而來的，但是今天我們來看看宗教中一些壞的或者邪惡的形象。

The Devil is the most powerful spirit of evil in Christianity, Islam and other religions. The devil is clearly at work in these idioms and expressions.

魔鬼是基督教、伊斯蘭教和其它宗教里最強大的魔鬼。魔鬼在一些習語和表達中經常使用。

Speaking of the devil, to speak of the devil means to talk about someone at the same time the person appears. Here's an example,

說到這個短語，“to speak of the devil”的意思是說曹操，曹操到的意思。舉個例子：

“John and I are going to the movies tonight and … hey, speak of the devil! Here comes John now.

“約翰和我今天晚上打算去看電影…嘿，說曹操曹操到，這不約翰就來了。”

"Hey John! We were just talking about you … and speak of the devil you appear.”

“嘿，約翰！我們剛剛還在說你呢……然后你就到了。”

Keep in mind, this expression does not mean that you think the individual is bad or evil.

要記住：這個表達不是說你認為那個人壞或者邪惡。

It's just an issue of timing. But there are many devil expressions that do refer to bad behavior.

那只是個關于時間的問題。但是有很多帶有“devil”的表達確實是指不良行為。

And sometimes when we behave badly, we blame the devil. We say the devil made me do it.

有時候，我們表現較差的時候，我們會怪惡魔，就說：是魔鬼讓我做的。

Or we say something or someone brings out the devil in us. This means we blame someone else for our bad behavior. Let’s use it in a sentence.

或者我們會說某人或某事把魔鬼帶來驅使我們做的。這意味著讓別人為我們的不良行為負責?？纯丛诰渥又械挠梅ā?/p>

“Boy, you are like a different person when your old friend from college comes around.”

“小伙子，你大學朋友出現的時候，你好像變了一個人。”

“I know. I just can’t behave when he’s around. He really brings out the devil in me.”

“我知道，他在身邊的時候，我態(tài)度就好不了，他確實引來了魔鬼。”

When we use this idiom, we really don’t mean evil behavior –more like being mischievous or causing light-hearted trouble. This is different than having a devil-may-care attitude.

我們使用這個習語時，并不是真的說魔鬼的惡行——更像是有點頑皮搗蛋或者找點小麻煩。這與玩世不恭的態(tài)度還不一樣。

Having a devil-may-care way of thinking means you are willing to push the limits more than most people. And you really don’t care what others think.

不顧一切的做法是你會挑戰(zhàn)別人的忍受限度，確實不在乎別人怎么想。

There is also the daredevil. A daredevil is a wild person who likes acting dangerously. A daredevil is, well, daring the devil – which can get you into trouble.

還有daredevil的表達，它的意思是說人行為做事魯莽膽大。這樣的話會給你帶來很多麻煩。

So, it’s good to keep busy and out of trouble. And this is where the expression idle hands are the devil’s workshop comes from. The word idle means inactive or not working. And some people believe that keeping busy keeps you out of trouble.

因此，保持忙碌，就能擺脫麻煩。這也就是“游手好閑是魔鬼的加工廠”這一表達的由來。Idle的意思就是游手好閑、無所事事。有些人認為保持忙碌就能遠離麻煩。

But there are some people who team up with the devil. They play devil’s advocate. To play devil’s advocate is a very useful expression. It has a lot of meaning in just two words.

有些人與魔鬼合作交易。他們會做魔鬼的代言人（故意唱反調）。To play devil’s advocate是個很有用的表達，有很多不同的意思。

When you play devil’s advocate you say things you do not really believe just to start an argument or discussion. And, actually, this is often used in a good way.

當你說些不太相信的話時，就會辯論或者討論，事實上，這是一種褒義的表達。

Exactly. I could say, “Let me play devil’s advocate for a minute so we can seethe other side of this issue.”

我會說：“我提議另一個觀點，這樣我們能從另一方面來看問題。”

And teachers often play devil's advocate to create interesting discussions in the classroom.

老師經常唱黑臉，來使課堂上的討論生動有趣。

But to make a deal with the devil is usually a bad idea. It means you want something so badly that you are willing to sacrifice something important for it – like your soul.

但是與魔鬼交易是個壞點子。這意味著你特別想得到什么事時，愿意犧牲掉重要的一些東西，比如：靈魂來交換。

Often what you sacrifice is not really your soul but rather your morals or self-esteem. But you don’t have to sell your soul or make a deal with the devil to improve your English. Simply listen to VOA Learning English.

通常情況下，你犧牲的并不真的是你的靈魂，而是你的道德或者說是自尊。但是不需要賣掉靈魂與魔鬼做交易來提升英語。只要聽美國之音的英語學習廣播就行。

I’m Jonathan Evans.

我是喬納森·伊凡

And I’m Anna Matteo. And this was one devil of a Words and Their Stories.

我是安娜·馬特奧。這里是詞語掌故。

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Words in this Story

advocate n. a person who publicly supports or recommends a particularcause or policy

idle adj. not working, active, or being used

sacrifice n. the act of giving up something that you want to keep especially inorder to get or do something else or to help someone

mischievous showing a playful desire to cause trouble

dangerous – adj.