(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Now, the VOA Special English program, Words and Their Stories.
People use their mouths for many things. They eat, talk, shout and sing. They smile and they kiss. In the English language, there are many expressions using the word "mouth."
But some of them are not so nice.
For example, if you say bad things about a person, the person might protest and say "Do not badmouth me!"
Sometimes, people say something to a friend or family member that they later regret because it hurts that person's feelings. Or they tell the person something they were not supposed to tell. The speaker might say "I really put my foot in my mouth this time." If this should happen, the speaker might feel "down in the mouth." In other words, he might feel sad for saying the wrong thing.
Another situation is when someone falsely claims another person said something. The other person might protest "I did not say that. Do not put words in my mouth!"
Information is often spread through "word of mouth." This is general communication between people, like friends talking to each other. "How did you hear about that new movie?" someone might ask. "Oh, by ‘word of mouth.'"
A more official way of getting information is through a company or government mouthpiece. This is an official spokesperson. Government-run media could also be called "a mouthpiece."
Sometimes when one person is speaking, he says the same thing that his friend was going to say. When this happens, the friend might say "You took the words right out of my mouth!"
Sometimes a person has a bad or unpleasant experience with another person. He might say that experience "left a bad taste in my mouth."
Or the person might have had a very frightening experience, like being chased by an angry dog. He might say "I had my heart in my mouth."
Some people have lots of money because they were born into a very rich family. There is an expression for this, too. You might say such a person was "born with a silver spoon in his mouth."
This rich person is the opposite of a person who lives "from hand to mouth." This person is very poor and only has enough money for the most important things in life -- like food.
Parents might sometimes withhold sweet food from a child as a form of punishment for saying bad things. For example, if a child says things she should not say to her parents, she might be described as "a mouthy child." The parents might even tell the child to "stop mouthing off."
But enough of all this talk.
I have been running my mouth long enough.
Words and Their Stories, in VOA Special English, was written by Jill Moss. I'm Faith Lapidus.
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.badmouth 说坏话
Both men continually bad-mouthed each other.
两个人都在背地里频繁地互相攻击。
2.mouthpiece n. 喉舌；代言人；送话口
The US media has become the mouthpiece of US foreign policy.
美国媒体已经变成了美国外交政策的喉舌。
3.withhold vt. 保留，不给；隐瞒；抑制
The boss withheld the payment until they had completed the work.
老板一直扣着工资直到他们把工作干完才发。
内容解析
1.down in the mouth 垂头丧气；沮丧的
She looked a bit down in the mouth.
她看上去有点垂头丧气。
He looked very down in the mouth.
他好象闷闷不乐的样子。
2.from hand to mouth 仅能糊口地
We always lived from hand to mouth in those days.
那时候，我们总是过着朝不保夕的生活。
They live respectably from hand to mouth.
他们过着可尊敬的，自食其力的生活。
参考译文
这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故。
人们使用嘴巴来做很多事，吃饭、讲话、喊叫和唱歌，还微笑和亲吻。在英语里有很多使用“嘴巴”这个词的表达。
但也有些表达不是很好。
比如，如果你说一个人的坏话，这个人就会抗议说Do not badmouth me(别污蔑我)。
有时人们会对朋友或家人说些随后就会后悔的话，因为这些话伤人，或者说了些不该说出的话。讲话的人会说I really put my foot in my mouth this time(这次我真的说错了)。如果这样的事发生了，讲话的人会感到down in the mouth(沮丧，垂头丧气)，他可能会对错话感到伤心。
还有一个情况是某人错误地声称另一个人说了某事，另一个人就会抗议说，我没有这么说，Do not put words in my mouth!(不要把这个话强加给我)。
信息通常是经过word of mouth(口口相传)传播的，这是人与人之间最常见的沟通方式，就像朋友之间的昙花一样。“你怎么听说那部电影的？有人会说，“听人说的”。
获得信息更正规的方式通过公司或政府喉舌，即官方发言人，国有媒体可以被称为“喉舌”。
有时某人正要讲话，他和朋友要说的话一样。这种情况下，这位朋友会说You took the words right out of my mouth(我也正想这么说)。
有时有人会和别人发生不愉快的经历，他会说这场经历left a bad taste in my mouth(给我留下糟糕的印象)。
或某人经历了可怕的事情，比如被恶狗追赶，他会说I had my heart in my mouth(我的心都提到嗓子眼了)。
有的人生在富裕人家，所以有很多钱，有这么一个表达，你可以说这人是born with a silver spoon in his mouth(含着金汤匙出生)。
与这个人相反的是那些from hand to mouth(仅能糊口)的人，这个人很穷，所拥有的钱只够基本的生活需要，比如食物。
父母有时候可能会不给孩子甜食，作为对说错话的惩罚。比如，如果孩子说些不该对父母讲的话，她会被称为a mouthy child(多嘴的孩子)，她的父母可能会让她stop mouthing off(不要顶嘴)。
这个节目说的够多了。
我已经running my mouth long enough(喋喋不休)了。
这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故，作者吉姆·莫斯，我是Faith Lapidus。
