(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Now, Words and Their Stories, a VOA Special English program about American expressions.
I'm Rich Kleinfeldt with some expressions containing the word "hit."
"Hit" is a small word, but it has a lot of power. Baseball players hit the ball. Missiles hit an airplane. A car hits a tree.
"Hit" also joins with other words to create many colorful expressions. One is "hit the road." It means to travel or to leave a place, as suggested in this song "Hit the Road."
Another common expression is "hit the spot." At first it meant hitting a spot at the center of a target with an arrow. Someone who did so was satisfied with his shooting. Now, hitting the spot usually means that a food or drink is especially satisfying.
A round barn in Illinois
Many years ago, Pepsi Cola sold its drink with a song that began "Pepsi Cola hits the spot, twelve full ounces, that's a lot..."
Another expression involving hit is "hit bottom." Something that has hit bottom can go no lower. If the price of shares of a stock hits bottom that might be the time to buy it -- its value can only go up.
A student who tells you his grades have hit bottom is saying he has not done well in school.
When a student's grades hit bottom it is time to "hit the books." "Hit the books" is another way to saying it is time to study. A student might have to tell her friends she cannot go with them to the movies because she has to "hit the books."
Not hitting the books could lead to an unpleasant situation for a student. The father or mother may "hit the ceiling" when they see the low grades. Someone who hits the ceiling -- the top of the room -- is violently angry. A wife may hit the ceiling because her husband forgot their wedding anniversary.
To build something of wood, you usually need a hammer. That is what you use to hit nails into the pieces of wood to hold them together. When you "hit the nail on the head" -- exactly on its top -- it goes into the wood perfectly. And when someone says your words or actions "hit the nail on the head" he means what you said or did was exactly right.
If you are tired after hitting all those nails on the head, then it is time to "hit the hay." That expression comes from the days when people slept on beds filled with dried grass or hay. Some people slept on hay in barns where they kept their farm animals.
Hitting the hay simply means going to bed. That is a good idea. I think I will hit the hay now.
This VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories was written by Frank Beardsley.
I'm Rich Kleinfeldt.
译文属可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载
词汇解释
1.ounce n. 盎司；少量；雪豹
He has used up the last ounce of oil.
他已用完最后一滴油。
2.arrow n. 箭，箭头；箭状物；箭头记号
The arrow stuck in the tree.
这枝箭射插在树上。
3.hammer n. 铁锤；链球；[解剖] 锤骨；音锤
I had no hammer,so I had to pound the nail in with a stone.
我没有锤子，所以只得用石头把钉子敲进去。
4.hay n. 干草
He ignited the wood with a band of hay.
他用一把干草引燃了这些木柴。
内容解析
1.hit the road 开始流浪，上路
He hooked up and hit the road again.
他套好车又上路了。
Follow the footpath and you'll eventually hit the road.
沿这条小径走终究会见到大路的。
2.hit the spot 使人满足；正合需要；恰到好处
A nightcap would hit the spot.
睡前的酒最惬意。
Taking a nice hot bath would really hit the spot.
洗一个舒服的热水澡会很正合我意。
3.hit bottom 向下探底，得到结论，降到最低点，到达最低点；达到最坏程度；不幸到极点
Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.
成功就是在你落到底时你你能跳起多高。
The price we offered has hit bottom and will soon pick up.
我们提供的报价已达到最低点，不久价格就会回升了。
4.hit the books 用功学习；准备功课
I'll have to hit the books to prepare for the finals.
我得温习功课准备期末考试了。
As an academic, my first response was hit the books.
作为学界中人，我的第一反应是翻书。
5.hit the ceiling 勃然大怒
My father hit the ceiling when I damaged the car.
我把车弄坏，可把我爸爸气坏了。
Mr. Block hit the ceiling when he was asked senseless questions.
布洛克先生被问到无意的问题时生气了。
6.hit the nail on the head 说得中肯，一针见血；解释正确
The last observation of yours has hit the nail on the head.
你最后的意见真是一针见血。
Every word he said hit the nail on the head.
他说的真是头头是道。
7.hit the hay 睡觉，就寝
Tom has hit the hay.
汤姆已去睡觉了。
Louts was so tired that he hit the hay soon after supper.
露易丝很累，所以一吃完晚饭就睡觉去了。
参考译文
这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故。
我是Rich Kleinfeldt，今天我要讲几个有关hit的表达。
Hit是个小词，但却有很多用处。棒球手击中了球，导弹击中飞机，汽车撞到树上了。
Hit还与其他词一起组成各种各样的表达，一个就是hit the road,意思是去旅行或出发，就像这首歌Hit the Road里唱的那样。
另一个表达是hit the spot，最初这个词的意思是射中靶心，射中者对自己的射击能力满意。如今这个词通常表示非常令人满意的食物或饮料。
很多年前，百事可乐的广告歌是这样“百事可乐令人满意，12盎司，好多啊！”
另一个与hit有关的表达是hit bottom，这样的东西无法再降到更低点。如果股价hit bottom，那就是说到了购买的时候了，它的价格可能要上涨了。
一个学生告诉你他的成绩hit bottom，意思是他的成绩不好。
当学生成绩不好时，那就到了hit the books的时候了。Hit the books是表示到了学习时候的另一个表达。一个学生或许会告诉朋友，她不能跟他们一起去看电影，因为她要学习。
不学习可能会让学生陷入不愉快的境地，父母在看到差成绩时会hit the ceiling。Hit the ceiling的人非常愤怒，妻子会因为丈夫忘了结婚纪念日而勃然大怒。
用木头做东西需要锤子，用锤子来将钉子钉进木头里，使木头连在一起。当你把锤子恰好敲在钉子头上时，钉子就正好进入木头。有人会说你的言行hit the nail on the head，意思是说你的所言所为恰如其分。
如果你钉完钉子感到累了，那就是到了hit the hay的时候了。这个表达来自人们躺在铺满干草的床上的年代，有的人睡在饲养牲畜的牛棚里。
Hitting the hay意思是去睡觉，这是个好主意，我想我该去睡觉了。
这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故，作者Frank Beardsley。
