VOA慢速英語:顏色相關(guān)的詞匯

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

　　Every people has its own way of saying things -- its own special expressions. Many everyday American expressions are based on colors.

　　Red is a hot color. Americans often use it to express heat. They may say they are "red hot" about something unfair. When they are "red hot" they are very angry about something. The small hot-tasting peppers found in many Mexican foods are called "red hots" for their color and their fiery taste. Fast, loud music is popular with many people. They may say the music is "red hot" -- especially the kind called Dixieland jazz.

　　Pink is a lighter kind of red. People sometimes say they are "in the pink" when they are in good health. The expression was first used in America at the beginning of the 20thcentury. It probably comes from the fact that many babies are born with a nice pink color that shows that they are in good health.

　　Blue is a cool color. The traditional blues music in the United States is the opposite of red hot music. Blues is slow, sad and soulful. Duke Ellington and his orchestra recorded a famous song -- "Mood Indigo" -- about the deep blue color, indigo. In the words of the song: "You ain't been blue till you've had that Mood Indigo." Someone who is blue is very sad.

　　The color green is natural for trees and grass. But it is an unnatural color for humans. A person who has a sick-feeling stomach may say she feels "a little green." A passenger on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green.

　　Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has, like a fast new car. That person may say he is "green with envy."

　　Some people are green with envy because a friend has more dollars or greenbacks. Dollars are called "greenbacks" because that is the color of the back side of the paper money.

　　The color black is used often in expressions. People describe a day in which everything goes wrong as "a black day." The date of a major tragedy is remembered as "a black day." A "blacklist" is illegal now. But at one time, some businesses refused to employ people who were on a blacklist for belonging to unpopular organizations.

　　In some cases, colors describe a situation. A "brown-out" is an expression for a reduction in electric power. Brown-outs happen when there is too much demand for electricity. The electric system is unable to offer all the power needed in an area.

　　"Black-outs" were common during World War Two. Officials would order all lights in a city turned off to make it difficult for enemy planes to find a target in the dark of night.

　　I'm Warren Scheer. Listen again next week for another Words and Their Stories program in Special English on the Voice of America.

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　　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。

　　Every people has its own way of saying things, its own special expressions. Many everyday American expressions are based on colors.

　　每個人都有自己獨特的表達方式。美國有很多基于顏色的日常短語。

　　Red is a hot color. Americans often use it to express heat. They may say they are red hot about something unfair. When they are red hot they are very angry about something. The small hot tasting peppers found in many Mexican foods are called red hots for their color and their fiery taste. Fast loud music is popular with many people. They may say the music is red hot, especially the kind called Dixieland jazz.

　　紅色是一種火熱的顏色。美國人經(jīng)常用它來表述熱度。他們可能會說對一些不公平的事情感覺到red hot，意思是說他們對此非常憤怒。很多墨西哥食物中含有的紅色小辣椒因其顏色和火辣而被稱為red hots?？旃?jié)奏的強勁音樂受到了很多人的歡迎。他們可能會說這些音樂非?；鸨?，特別是被所謂的迪克西蘭爵士樂。

　　Pink is a lighter kind of red. People sometimes say they are in the pink when they are in good health. The expression was first used in America at the beginning of the twentieth century. It probably comes from the fact that many babies are born with a nice pink color that shows that they are in good health.

　　粉色是一種稍淡的紅。人們有時會用in the pink來表示身體健康。這個短語二十世紀初期在美國首次被使用，可能來源于許多嬰兒出生時皮膚粉紅，這表明他們身體很健康。

　　Blue is a cool color. The traditional blues music in the United States is the opposite of red hot music. Blues is slow, sad and soulful. Duke Ellington and his orchestra recorded a famous song – Mood Indigo – about the deep blue color, indigo. In the words of the song: "You ain’t been blue till you’ve had that Mood Indigo." Someone who is blue is very sad.

　　藍色是一種冷色調(diào)。美國傳統(tǒng)布魯斯音樂(blues music)正好強勁的音樂相反。布魯斯音樂非常舒緩、憂傷和深情。艾靈頓公爵(Duke Ellington，著名音樂人)及其樂隊錄制了一首著名的關(guān)于深藍色的歌曲-- Mood Indigo。有一句歌詞是這樣的："You ain’t been blue till you’ve had that Mood Indigo." 如果說一個人非常blue，說明他非常憂傷。

　　The color green is natural for trees and grass. But it is an unnatural color for humans. A person who has a sick feeling stomach may say she feels a little green. A passenger on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green.

　　綠色是草木的自然顏色，但人可不是這樣。胃不舒服的人可能會說她覺得有點難受(feels a little green)。船上的乘客由于波浪大而暈船看上去也會臉色發(fā)青(look very green)。

　　Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has, like a fast new car. That person may say he is green with envy. Some people are green with envy because a friend has more dollars or greenbacks. Dollars are called greenbacks because that is the color of the back side of the paper money.

　　有時一個人可能會感覺心煩意亂，因為他的某些東西不如朋友的，例如一輛新跑車。這個人可能會說他非常羨慕嫉妒恨(green with envy)。還有些人會非常嫉妒朋友比他更有錢。美元通常被稱greenback，因為美鈔背面是綠色的。

　　The color black is used often in expressions. People describe a day in which everything goes wrong as a black day. The date of a major tragedy is remembered as a black day. A blacklist is illegal now. But at one time, some businesses refused to employ people who were on a blacklist for belonging to unpopular organizations.

　　黑色也經(jīng)常用于各類短語中。人們將諸事不利的一天稱為黑色日(black day)。發(fā)生重大災(zāi)難的某日也被稱為黑色日?，F(xiàn)在黑名單(blacklist)是不合法的。但曾有一段時間，一些企業(yè)會拒絕雇傭黑名單上的人，因為他們屬于某個不受歡迎的組織。

　　In some cases, colors describe a situation. A brown out is an expression for a reduction in electric power. Brown outs happen when there is too much demand for electricity. The electric system is unable to offer all the power needed in an area. Black outs were common during World War Two. Officials would order all lights in a city turned off to make it difficult for enemy planes to find a target in the dark of night.

　　在某些情況下，顏色也用于描述一種處境。brown out用于表示電力不足。當(dāng)電力需求過度時就會出現(xiàn)電力不足，電力系統(tǒng)無法滿足某個地區(qū)的用電需求。燈火管制(black outs)在二戰(zhàn)期間非常普遍。官方會下令關(guān)閉城市所有燈光，使敵機在黑暗中很難找到攻擊目標(biāo)。