VOA慢速英語:Words and Their Stories: Food Expressions, Part Two

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. We received a list of expressions about food from Elenir Scardueli, a listener from Brazil.

這里是美國之音慢速英語詞匯掌故節(jié)目。我們收到了巴西聽眾Elenir Scardueli發(fā)來的關(guān)于食物的短語清單。

Today we will talk about some good things to eat. If something is new and improved, we say it is the best thing since sliced bread. In the past, bread was only sold in loaves in baked goods stores. Today, American supermarkets sell sliced bread in plastic bags. Many people thought this was easier because you did not have to cut the bread yourself. The person who makes the most money in a family is called the breadwinner.

今天，我們將講述一些好吃的東西。如果某件東西是新出或改進的，我們常說它是the best thing since sliced bread(有史以來最好的東西)。在過去，面包烘烤店只賣成塊的面包。如今美國超市出售袋裝的切面面包，很多人認為這方便了很多，因為不用自己再去切面包(這就是the best thing since sliced bread這種說法的來源)。家庭中賺錢最多的那位被稱為breadwinner(家庭經(jīng)濟支柱，賺錢養(yǎng)家者)。

Bread and butter issues are those that are most important to Americans and affect them directly – like jobs and health care.

Bread and butter issues(民生問題)指的是那些對美國人最重要，影響最直接的事情--例如就業(yè)和醫(yī)保。

Half a loaf is better than none means that getting part of what you want is better than getting nothing at all. If you know which side your bread is buttered on, then you know what your best interests are and will act to protect them.

Half a loaf is better than none(聊勝于無)意思是得到部分你想要的東西總比什么都得不到好。如果說you know which side your bread is buttered on，意思是說你知道什么才是你最大的利益，并將盡力保護它。

Many Americans like their bread toasted. Toast is cooked with dry heat until it starts to turn brown. But you are in big trouble if someone tells you you're toast.

許多美國人喜歡吃烤好的面包。烤就是加熱直到其即將變黃。但如果有人告訴你 you're toast，意思是你有大麻煩了。

If you say something is a piece of cake, it means something is really easy, like a test you take in school. Cakes are often covered with a sweet topping, called icing. Icing on the cake means something good that happens in addition to another good thing. Another expression says you can't have your cake and eat it, too. This means you cannot have everything your way, especially if two wishes oppose each other.

如果你說什么事情是a piece of cake(小菜一碟)。意思是這事很簡單，就像學(xué)校的一次考試。蛋糕表面通常覆蓋了一層被稱為糖衣的甜餡料。Icing on the cake意思就是錦上添花。另一句短語說you can't have your cake and eat it, too.(魚與熊掌不可兼得)，意思是不可能凡事都隨你愿，尤其是兩者互相矛盾的情況下。

Hotcakes are also called pancakes. They contain flour, eggs, milk and baking powder. You cook them in a frying pan and eat them with fruit or a sweet topping. If a new product is popular and selling well, you might say it is selling like hotcakes.

烤餅也稱為煎餅，這種餅是用面粉，雞蛋，牛奶和發(fā)酵粉做成。我們用平鍋煎這種餅，并配以水果和甜餡料一起食用。如果一種新產(chǎn)品很受歡迎銷量火爆，我們就說它selling like hotcakes(暢銷)。

But if a friend of yours did something bad, you might stop being friends with him immediately or drop him like a hotcake.

但如果你的朋友干了壞事，你可能迅速與他絕交(drop him like a hotcake)。

Flat as a pancake describes something that is, well, really flat.

Flat as a pancake(平坦)用來形容某些東西特別平坦。

A tough cookie is not something you want to eat. It is a person who is difficult to deal with, and would do anything necessary to get what he or she wants. This person could be a sharp cookie or someone who is not easily fooled. Very often things do not go the way we planned. Instead of getting angry or sad, you might just accept it and say that's the way the cookie crumbles.

a tough cookie不是指你想吃的什么東西，而是指一個很難對付的人，你會做任何必要的事情來達其所愿。這種人可能還是a sharp cookie，也就是說很難愚弄的人。很多時候事情的發(fā)展并不會如你所愿，這個時候你只能接受現(xiàn)實，并且說一聲that's the way the cookie crumbles(這就是生活，這就是現(xiàn)實)，而不是生氣或難過。

Many pies are also good to eat. If something is easy to do, you could say it is easy as pie. But if you do something wrong or bad, you might have to apologize and show you are sorry. In other words, you might have to eat humble pie.

很多餡餅也很好吃。如果什么事情容易辦到，你可能就會說這件事是easy as pie(易如反掌)。但如果你做錯或搞砸了什么事，你可能就需要道歉并表現(xiàn)出你的歉意。換句話說，你可能就需要eat humble pie(賠禮道歉，忍聲吞氣)。

If you have an idea or plan that is not really possible, someone might say it is pie in the sky. If something is really easy to do, you might say it is like taking candy from a baby. But that would not be a very nice thing to do!

如果你有一個不切實際的想法或計劃，有人可能就會說那是 pie in the sky(空想、空中樓閣)。如果事情真的容易辦到，你可能會說這就像taking candy from a baby(就像搶娃娃的糖果，當然意思是說容易辦到)。但搶娃娃的糖果可不是件光榮的事哈哈!