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And now Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English.

欢迎收听VOA慢速英语《词汇掌故》节目Kzz4*upx7)j0wT。

On today's show we talk about an idiom involving fish and a pond.

在今天的节目中，我们要谈论一个与鱼和池塘有关的习语V!s3!Ak6(v9Ffj。

A pond is a small body of water.

池塘是一小片水域N#A3&nxbVE。

It is usually smaller than a lake.

它通常比湖小=OxO30vubd。

And our idiom today is "to be a big fish in a small pond."

我们今天的习语是“to be a big fish in a small pond”wjT!rf;LgKvQNh-2tPF。

"A big fish in a small pond" describes a person who is very well known or important in a small group but is not known or important outside that small group.

“A big fish in a small pond”指的是在小圈子里非常有名或很重要的人，但在那个小圈子之外却不为人所知或不重要K0@fc_LH5ZsA,2。

For example, a high-performing high school student in a small town could be a big fish in a small pond.

例如，一个小镇上成绩优异的高中生可能是“小池塘里的大鱼”qhf_x~n5tF,v。

He may feel overly-confident or overly-important, or he may simply not know how small his "pond" is -- until he moves on to a big university.

他可能会过于自信或觉得自己过于重要，或者他可能只是不知道自己的“池塘”有多小——直到他进入一所大型大学O]kf24vd=|U.W3AV5S3。

He must compete with hundreds of students who were also the best at their high schools.

他必须与数百名高中成绩最好的学生竞争*-TNiX;YWsNq。

His pond just got a much larger and is now filled with many more fish.

他的池塘变得更大了，现在池塘里的鱼也更多了(Gk]]y*(9*Kb。

Here is another example.

下面还有一个例子mg=oC@jbwB)tg。

A young singer was famous in her small town.

一个年轻的歌手在她的小镇上很出名W#_=RygJqPweXkZ)。

She wanted to move to a big city to grow her singing career.

她想搬到大城市去发展她的歌唱事业26DqHmJTS2J3hbY。

Her close friends and family supported her but also warned her.

她的密友和家人都支持她，但也警告她4TSC[i@FP;。

Here in our small town, they said, you are a big fish in a small pond.

在我们这个小镇上，他们说，你是小池塘里的大鱼)X0xYe]6WdOw。

Once you move to New York City, that is going to change. Best be ready!

一旦你搬到纽约市，这种情况就会改变Q=((7M)amIMc~vSvt_k。最好做好准备！

For some people, this can be a painful realization--sometimes called a wake-up call.

对于一些人来说，这可能会是一种痛苦的认识——有时被称为警钟2S^gJ[+XFp。

Sometimes when we use the expression "a big fish in a small pond," we add words to better describe the fish and the pond.

有时，当我们使用“小池塘里的大鱼”这个短语时，我们会加上一些词来更好地描述鱼和池塘bkx.r1)Bmx5zdz9I。

For example, the singer's friends could say that she will be a very small but talented fish in a very big competitive pond.

例如，这位歌手的朋友可能会说，在一个竞争激烈的大池塘里，她将会是一条非常渺小但有天赋的鱼1#)3CUi2LbY7BoiVWi。

Now, some people like being a big fish in a small pond.

现在，有些人喜欢在小池塘里做一条大鱼W8E,EIxS,F。

They never grow their circle of friends or work environment.

他们从不拓展自己的朋友圈或工作环境!G1RICs!E++j。

Sometimes they do not take opportunities that increase their environment, or pond.

有时他们不抓住扩大他们的环境或池塘的机会uHj7jB0=JN。

By staying in a small pond, it is safer.

待在小池塘里更安全5crWa*__t+J_w_U[^O0&。

There are fewer dangers and also fewer competitors.

危险更少，竞争对手也更少Q66[He&7@~a=8*7=~,pT。

The Meriam-Webster online dictionary says that the expression "big fish" has been slang for an important or influential person since the early 1800s.

梅里亚姆-韦伯斯特在线词典上说，自19世纪初以来，“big fish”一词一直是用来指代重要或有影响力的人的俚语h6A_=mG69FVeKMV。

The addition of "in a small pond" -- to mean an unimportant organization -- is more recent.

“in a small pond”——意思是一个不重要的组织——是最近才加进来的y@Ie+Dm~JhGIGf8YlH。

The dictionary goes on to explain another way to use the idiom "a big fish in a small pond."

这本词典接着解释了习语“a big fish in a small pond”的另一种用法h#dm_S,7iK@,.KGdD。

It can also describe a situation in which one person has more power, influence, knowledge, or experience than others within a small group.

它还可以描述这样一种情况，即一个人在一个小圈子里比其他人更有权力、影响力、知识或经验AkKR~0e|g+。

So, sometimes we use this expression to describe people in an insulting way.

所以，有时我们会用这个短语来侮辱别人XJyHXVzvTGOj。

We are saying that they want to stay in a small pond just to feel more important.

我们的意思是，他们想待在一个小池塘里，只是为了感觉自己更重要Nj)0wta&NUEt%。

Their position of authority is not questioned by the other fish in the pond.

他们的权威地位不会受到小池塘中其他鱼的质疑q1MIXc;l)SVlrh)LG。

And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. Until next time… I'm Anna Matteo.

以上就是本期《词汇掌故》节目的全部内容%vMhYX5sxIWii3i。下次见……我是安娜·马特奥！

译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！