VOA慢速英語：詞匯掌故：路上的短語

Expressions for the Road!

詞匯掌故：路上的短語

Now, Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English.

現(xiàn)在是美國之音慢速英語詞匯掌故節(jié)目。

The United States is a big country with many, many roads. Many, if not most, of Americans depend on motor vehicles to get from place to place.

美國是一個有著許多公路的國家。雖然不是全部，但是大多數(shù)美國人都依靠機(jī)動車出行。

It goes without saying that, when talking or writing, Americans often use expressions with words from the world of automobiles. Now, let's examine a few common expressions that come from parts of a vehicle.

毫無疑問在交談和寫作時，美國人經(jīng)常會用到來自汽車界的詞語來表達(dá)。現(xiàn)在讓我們來看幾個來源于汽車零部件的常用表達(dá)。

First is the part of the car that protects the front and back of a vehicle -- the bumper. The bumper is what suffers the most damage in a small accident.

首先是用于保護(hù)汽車前部和后部的保險杠。保險杠在小事故中受損最為嚴(yán)重。

The front bumper extends on both sides to the fender, which protects the front wheels. If your car hits someone else's and causes a small amount of damage, we call it a fender-bender.

前保險杠兩側(cè)延伸到用于保護(hù)前輪的擋泥板。如果你開車撞上了別人的車，并造成小的損傷，我們就稱之為小擦掛(fender-bender)。

But let's get back to the word bumper.

但是讓我們回到保險杠這個詞。

American traffic reporters often use the term bumper-to-bumper when describing heavy traffic. It means that vehicles are moving very slowly, and almost touching each other.

美國交通記者經(jīng)常使用bumper-to-bumper這個術(shù)語來描述交通擁擠。它的意思是車流行駛非常緩慢，幾乎要前車貼著后車了。

Americans can use the term bumper-to-bumper as an adjective. If you are late for dinner because of traffic, you can tell your friends, "Sorry, I'm late. But traffic was bumper-to-bumper." They will understand.

美國人還把bumper-to-bumper這個術(shù)語當(dāng)作形容詞。如果你因為塞車而吃飯來遲了，你可以對朋友說：“對不起我遲到了，但是路上太堵了。”他們就會明白的。

Another part of a vehicle – mainly found on small trucks and on some models of cars -- is the tailgate. This is the gate or doorway that opens up in the back of the vehicle. If your car or truck has one, you can lower the tailgate and sit on it.

汽車的另一個零部件是主要出現(xiàn)在小卡車或某些型號汽車上的尾板，這是汽車尾部開啟的一道門。如果你的汽車或卡車有尾板，你可以把它放倒并坐在上面。

This door on the back of larger passenger vehicles has led to something very American: the tailgate party. Tailgate parties usually take place in a parking area, where one or more of these vehicles are stopped. Their tailgates are open, with food or drinks available for the drivers and their passengers.

大型乘用車的尾板引發(fā)了一些非常美國化的事物：尾板派對。尾板派對通常在停車場進(jìn)行，這些車的尾板敞開著向司機(jī)和乘客們提供食物和飲料。

In the United States, tailgate parties are common at large sporting events or music shows.

在美國，尾板派對在一些大型體育比賽或音樂表演上很常見。

Now, many cars do not have tailgates. That's fine. If you spend time with friends and others in a large parking lot before a rock concert or a big game, you are still tailgating!

現(xiàn)在很多汽車都沒有尾板，沒關(guān)系。如果你在搖滾音樂會或大型比賽前跟朋友和其它人聚在大型停車場消磨時間，這就是尾板派對。

So, that form of tailgating is fun. But it is not fun when someone is tailgating your vehicle. A tailgater is someone who drives much too close to the back of your car. At best, this can be a pain, if not making you, the driver, really angry. But tailgating is also dangerous and the cause of many rear-end accidents.

所以，這種尾板派對非常有趣。但是開車時有人跟車太近可不好玩。Tailgater是指跟車很近的司機(jī)。如果這不會讓開車的你感覺生氣，那它充其量只是一種煩惱。但是跟車太近也是非常危險的，經(jīng)常會導(dǎo)致車輛追尾事故。

There are other behaviors that can lead to a traffic accident.

還有些行為會導(dǎo)致交通事故。

Let's take rubber necking, for example. Rubber necking is when drivers slow down on a road to look closely at a wreck or something else eye-catching as they are passing.

讓我們以引頸旁觀(rubber necking)為例。引頸旁觀是指駕駛員開車經(jīng)過時放慢速度看熱鬧。

Some drivers can stretch their neck far out of the window to see something like a serious crash. This is where we get the term. Drivers who rubber neck, however, can create their own accidents. First, they slow down, causing problems for other drivers and affecting the flow of traffic. But more importantly, they aren't looking at the road in front of them!

有些司機(jī)可能會把脖子伸出窗外看熱鬧，比如一場嚴(yán)重交通事故。這就是引頸旁觀的出處。然而，引頸旁觀的司機(jī)可能自己也會發(fā)生事故。首先，他們放慢了速度，給其他司機(jī)造成麻煩并且影響通行。但是更為重要的是，他們沒有在看路。

The first rule of driving should always be look where you are going! Another rule should be, stay calm.

開車的第一條規(guī)則應(yīng)該是一直看著你前行的方向。另一條規(guī)則應(yīng)該是保持冷靜。

The most dangerous kind of driving behavior is road rage. This is anger or violence towards other drivers. Road rage is such a big problem in some areas, that local governments have laws that make some acts of road rage illegal.

最危險的駕駛行為就是路怒，這是對其它司機(jī)的憤怒或暴力。在某些地區(qū)，路怒是如此嚴(yán)重，地方政府制訂了法律使一些路怒行為成為非法行為。

The road hog is more of a pain than dangerous. To hog something means to take too much of something. So, a road hog takes up too much of the road. The road hog sometimes drives in two lanes of traffic. Other times, they may not let other motorists pass them.

路霸(road hog)更多的是痛苦而不是危險。To hog something意思是過多占據(jù)某些事物。所以路霸是指過多霸占了道路。路霸有時候跨線行駛，還有時候不讓其他司機(jī)超車。

And that bring us to the end of our road and this episode of Words and Their Stories! Next time you take a drive, you'll be able to talk about your fellow drivers.

以上就是本期詞匯掌故節(jié)目的全部內(nèi)容。下次你開車時，你就可以談?wù)勸R路上的其他司機(jī)。

And with any hope, you won't run into any rage road. I'm Bryan Lynn.

同時希望你不會遭遇任何路怒。我是布萊恩·林恩。

And I'm Anna Matteo.

安娜·馬特奧報道。