VOA 慢速英語(yǔ)：這是什么？

What is this? If you don't the name of something, just point to it and call it a doohickey, thingamajig, or whatchamacallit. This happens to be a two million year old chopping tool.

11 July, 2015

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

It has happened to all of us. You want to talk about an object, but you forgot the name of it. Or you never knew the name at all. Maybe you are not even sure there is a word for it.

所有美國(guó)人都會(huì)有此經(jīng)歷。當(dāng)你想說(shuō)一個(gè)物體，突然忘了它的名字?；蛘吣愀静恢浪拿?。有可能你根本不確定這個(gè)物體是否有名字。

For example, that thing that you need to fix your bicycle. Or perhaps it is something you need for your computer. Or that part on your motorcycle that never, ever seems to work.

比如說(shuō)，一個(gè)可以修理自行車(chē)的工具，或者修理電腦的工具，或者你的摩托車(chē)上的似乎從不運(yùn)作的部件。

If you don't the name of something, just point to it and call it a doohickey, thingamajig, or whatchamacallit. This happens to be a two million year old chopping tool.What are these things?

如果你不知道某一事物的名稱(chēng)，就指向該物體并說(shuō)“那玩意兒”，“某某”或者“那叫什么來(lái)著”。最后原來(lái)這是有兩百萬(wàn)年歷史的斧子。這些是什么呢？

They are called "doohickies." A doohickey is a word you use when you do not know, or you have forgotten, the real name of an object.

這些叫做“玩意兒”。當(dāng)你不知道或者忘了某一事物的真實(shí)名稱(chēng)時(shí)稱(chēng)那物體為“那個(gè)玩意兒”。

The MacMillan Dictionary defines doohickey as "something such as a small object or tool that you cannot remember the name of." The American Heritage Dictionary says it is "something, especially a small device or part, whose name is unknown or forgotten."

麥克米倫字典將doohickey定義為“一件你忘記了名字的小物體或者工具”?！睹绹?guó)遺產(chǎn)字典》定義為：某個(gè)不知名或者忘記名字的物體，特別是一個(gè)小部件或者一小部分。

Language experts say the word first started being used in the United States in the early 1900s. But other experts say they have seen examples of words like these in writings from the middle 1800s.

語(yǔ)言專(zhuān)家稱(chēng)美國(guó)最早在二十世紀(jì)早期才開(kāi)始使用該詞。但是另一些語(yǔ)言專(zhuān)家表示，他們?cè)谑攀兰o(jì)中期的一些作品里就看到了這類(lèi)詞匯。

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary for Learners of American English gives this example of how native speakers might use doohickey: "I need one of those doohickeys, you know, with the long handle."

《美式英語(yǔ)韋伯字典》上給出了引用doohickey詞匯的例證：I need one of those doohickeys, you know, with the long handle."

Merriam-Webster adds that doohickey may be a combination of two other words: "doodad" and "hickey." Strange as it may be, both of these words mean the same as doohickey. The dictionary lists a lot of strange words as synonyms for doohickey. The most common are whatchamacallit, whatnot and whatsit.

韋氏字典補(bǔ)充道doohickey一詞可能是doodad 和hickey 兩個(gè)詞的復(fù)合詞。奇怪的是，這兩個(gè)詞的意思都和doohickey的意思相同。字典上列出了一些和doohickey意義相近的奇怪的詞匯。最常見(jiàn)的是whatchamacallit.whatnot.whatsit.

You will probably never see these words in official documents or newspaper reports. But you might hear them in informal American English, when people are talking to each other.

你可能在官方文件中，報(bào)紙上和新聞報(bào)道中從來(lái)沒(méi)看到過(guò)這樣的詞匯。但是你有可能在美式口語(yǔ)中，當(dāng)兩個(gè)人對(duì)話(huà)時(shí)，聽(tīng)到過(guò)這樣的詞匯，

"Hey, what does this doohickey do, anyway?"

“嗨，這個(gè)玩意兒是干什么用的”

"Dude, bring me that thingamajig, willya?

“伙計(jì)，把那個(gè)東西遞給我好嗎”

"Janine, can you get me one of those whatchamacallits?"

“珍妮，你能幫我弄到這些東西嗎”

Most Americans will know what you are talking about if you use one of those words. Just point at the object, use one of these words, and they will bring it to you.

如果你使用這些詞匯，大多數(shù)美國(guó)人還是能夠明白你在說(shuō)什么，只是指著那個(gè)物體，嘴里說(shuō)一個(gè)這樣的詞匯，他們就會(huì)把東西遞給你。

Doohickey and words like it have their own page on the Wikipedia website. Wikipedia calls them "placeholders." It says words like these are usually nouns and "can be used for people, objects and places."

Doohickey以及這類(lèi)詞匯在維基百科上也有解釋。維基百科上稱(chēng)這些詞匯為“占位文字”，表示像這類(lèi)的詞匯是常見(jiàn)名詞，可以指人，物和地方。

Unofficial studies show Americans are using words like doohickey less than they once did. The decline seems to have started a few years ago. Still, a recent search of Google News showed the word was used in more than 1,000 news articles in just a couple months.

非官方研究顯示美國(guó)人很少運(yùn)用像doohickey這類(lèi)的詞匯。似乎在幾年前這些詞的使用頻率就下降了，然而，最近谷歌新聞?wù){(diào)查顯示在幾個(gè)月內(nèi)有上千條新聞運(yùn)用這些詞匯。

One story told about a store where you can buy a cable that connects a thingamajig to a doohickey. Another told about a doohickey for eggs and even a doohickey that connects to a camera.

一則故事中講到，在賣(mài)纜繩的商店里使用這些詞匯頻率較高。另一個(gè)則是在說(shuō)雞蛋或者有關(guān)照相機(jī)部件的物體時(shí)會(huì)用到這些詞匯。

Workers who repair Kawasaki motorcycles use the word doohickey to describe the vehicle's "counter balancing chain adjustment mechanism."

川崎摩托車(chē)維修工人使用doohickey來(lái)指用來(lái)調(diào)節(jié)鏈條機(jī)制的工具。

You can see a video of them using the word on YouTube.

在YOUTUBE 網(wǎng)站的視頻上你可以看到使用這些詞匯。

I'm Anna Matteo. This Words and Their Stories was written by Christopher Jones Cruise.

Christopher Jones-Cruise wrote this report in VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

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Words in This Story

motorcycle – n. a vehicle with two wheels that is powered by a motor and that can carry one or two people

synonym(s) – n. a word that has the same meaning as another word in the same language

handle– n. a part of something that is designed to be held by your hand

informal – adj. not formal, such as having a friendly and relaxed quality

cable– n. a strong rope made of wires that are twisted together