(单词翻译:单击)
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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。
There are many kinds of nuts.
坚果有很多种。
There are walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, and pistachios – just to name a few.
有核桃、杏仁、榛子、腰果和开心果——仅举几例。
Nuts are good for you.
坚果对你有好处。
And they come in their own very hard shell.
它们都有非常坚硬的外壳。
So, let’s say you want to eat a walnut but do not have a nutcracker.
所以，假设你想吃核桃，但没有胡桃夹子。
A "nutcracker" is a tool to open, or crack, the hard shell of a nut.
“胡桃夹子”是一种打开坚果坚硬外壳的工具。
Without a nutcracker, you might try to open it with something like a hammer or even a sledgehammer.
如果没有胡桃夹子，你可以尝试用锤子甚至大锤之类的东西打开它。
We use a hammer in building jobs to attach pieces of wood with nails.
我们在建筑工作中用锤子把钉子钉进木头里。
And we use a sledgehammer to break up rocks, tear down walls, or destroy things.
我们用大锤打碎石头、拆墙或毁坏东西。
A sledgehammer is so big and heavy that most people need to use both hands to raise it.
大锤又大又重，大多数人需要用双手才能举起它。
So, if you use a sledgehammer to crack a nut, you will probably destroy the nut inside.
因此，如果你用大锤敲开坚果，你很可能会砸碎里面的坚果。
Then you will have nothing to eat but very small pieces of nut mixed with its hard shell. Not good.
然后，除了非常小的坚果碎末夹杂着坚硬的外壳你就没有东西可吃了。不太好。
In American English, this expression means someone uses more force than is necessary.
在美式英语中，这个短语的意思是某人使用了超过必要的力量。
We also use it to describe problem-solving methods that are extreme.
我们也用它来形容极端的解决问题的方法。
The methods are excessive.
这些方法太过分了。
And in using such over-the-top, or extreme, measures, you can harm your own cause.
而在使用这种过分或极端的措施时，你可能会损害你自己的事业。
For example, a store owner called the police to report a “violent person” who was threatening employees and holding him hostage.
例如，一名店主报警称，有一名“暴力者”威胁员工并将其扣为人质。
When the 20 police officers arrived to the store, the “violent person” turned out to be an 80-year-old woman who was unhappy about a purchase and refused to leave.
当20名警察赶到店里时，结果发现这名“暴力者”是一名80岁的老太太，她对购物感到不满，拒绝离开。
The police captain probably would have said something like this: “Her? I brought 20 police officers for her? That’s like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut!”
警察队长可能会这样说：“她？我因为她带了20名警察？这就像抡着大锤砸核桃！”
And the store owner would possibly be fined for calling in a false report.
而店主可能会因为谎报案情而被罚款。
Sometimes we use this expression to describe a punishment that is over-the-top or does not fit the severity of the crime.
有时我们用这个短语来形容过分的惩罚或与罪行的严重程度不相称的惩罚。
Let’s say a child disobeyed his parents and ate ice cream before a meal.
假设一个孩子不听父母的话，在饭前吃了冰淇淋。
The father punished his child by taking away his food for three days!
父亲惩罚孩子三天不准吃食物！
That is definitely using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
这绝对是抡着大锤砸核桃（杀鸡用牛刀）。
In other words, the punishment does not fit the crime.
换言之，惩罚与罪行并不相称。
Sometimes this expression means the solution to a small problem is overly complex.
有时，这个短语的意思是小问题的解决方案过于复杂。
For example, once at a bookstore, too many people showed up for an event.
例如，有一次在书店，参加活动的人太多了。
They had to wait in long lines and some could not get into the store to speak with the writer.
他们不得不排很长的队，有些人无法进入书店与作者交谈。
So, now the bookstore asks people who come to events to sign three forms saying they understand they may have to wait and may not get in.
因此，现在书店要求前来参加活动的人签署三份表格，表示他们理解他们可能不得不等待，可能无法进入。
Talk about using a hammer to crack a nut.
谈到抡着大锤砸核桃（杀鸡用牛刀）。
Please note. When using this expression, we sometimes say “hammer” instead of “sledgehammer.”
请注意。在使用这个短语时，我们有时会用“hammer”来代替“sledgehammer”。
A hammer may be smaller, but the damage is still the same.
锤子可能更小，但损害还是一样的。
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。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！
