听力文本

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

The world of boxing gave us famous competitors like Muhammad Ali.

It also gave us many expressions that we use in our everyday lives.

Years ago, a boxing match would begin when a boxer threw his hat into the boxing ring – the place where the fight was fought. That does not happen these days. But if you throw your hat into the ring it does mean that you are signing up or agreeing to do something. You will often hear this expression in the world of politics.

"Is she running for mayor?"

"She is. She threw her hat in the ring last week."

A boxing ring is surrounded on all four sides by ropes. A boxer trapped along the ropes gets hit a lot. So, to have someone on the ropes means to have them in a dangerous position.

During a fight, there are three people in the ring – two boxers and a referee. The referee makes sure the boxers obey the rules of the sport. He or she can cancel, or call off, a fight if things get too unsafe or risky for one of the boxers. And if a fighter is hit so hard that they fall down, the referee gives the person a count of 10 to get up.

If the fighter gets up, the boxing match continues. If the fighter does not, the match is over. So when you are down for the count you are not able to compete or not able to join in something. Here is an example:

"Is George coming out tonight for drinks?"

"No, he's got a fever of 102. So, for tonight, he's down for the count."

To go the distance is the opposite. It means a boxer was able to stay in the ring and not withdraw from the fight. Outside of the boxing ring, it means to see something through to its end.

If you do decide to leave your job, you throw in the towel. This expression comes from the fact that trainers can stop a match for their boxer by throwing a towel into the ring.

So it is good to have someone in your corner, a person looking out for you. That is where a boxer's team stands during the end of each round – in his or her corner. And yes, women's boxing is becoming more and more popular in the United States.

A professional boxing match is made up of 12 periods, called rounds. At the end of each round a bell sounds. To be saved by the bell means you were saved from a bad situation by something – not necessarily a bell.

But let us imagine that you are a student in class. The teacher starts passing out a test. You get nervous because you forgot to study. Suddenly the bell rings, ending the class period. In this case, you were, quite literally, saved by the bell.

And that's the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories.

I'm Anna Matteo.

文本来自51voa，译文属可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载D9okfBAC*tot894296j;。

词汇解释

1.referee n. 裁判员；调解人；介绍人 vi. 仲裁；担任裁判 vt. 为…当裁判；调停

He shrugged at the referee's sentence.
他对裁判的判罚耸了耸肩)l+s)s%7#j39。

2.towel n. 毛巾，手巾；[纸] 纸巾 vt. 用毛巾擦 vi. 用毛巾擦干身体

He dried his hair with a towel.
他用毛巾把头发擦干+bA7V4Lm^7*%_%QWU3。

3.trap vt. 诱捕；使…受限制；使…陷入困境 n. 陷阱；圈套；[建] 存水弯 vi. 设陷阱

He used some cheese to trap the rat.
他用了些乳酪诱捕耗子@4*kI@hDCB。

内容解析

1."No, he's got a fever of 102. So, for tonight, he's down for the count."

down for the count 被彻底打败

The challenger is down for the count and the King of Boxer wins.
挑战者被击倒在地，在规定时间内未能起身，拳王卫冕成功X-xrf8t&Bv=xB^gkrHOV。

He was down for a count of eight in the fifth round.
在第五回合他被击倒，裁判员数到八时他又站了起来aVU%.WX(iz。

2.To go the distance is the opposite. It means a boxer was able to stay in the ring and not withdraw from the fight.

go the distance 永不放弃；去向远方；继续跑完全程

More riders than ever are now determined to go the distance.
现在越来越多的骑手决心赛完全程GwPB!Rc[MJsPw1MQJ。

I doubt if he can go the distance.
我怀疑他能否坚持到底Ub;W3m(;9QP5u&4X8。

参考译文

这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故Bi|~Hyq12E)#。

拳击界给我们带来了穆罕默德·阿里这样的著名搏击手jnGOP1+O2N。

它还给我们带来很多表达，这些表达在如今的日常生活中仍在使用0lTGko1fyH&M。

多年前，当拳击手将帽子扔到擂台时，比赛就开始了x)]OY29.^y3N。现在已经不再这样了，但如果你throw your hat into the ring，这表示你在报名做某事或同意做某事!FYAH-Ix)sFi。你还会在政治界听到这个表达hZL.;.YNPsAa。

“她会竞选市长吗？”

“会的，她上周已经宣布要竞选了|1Z-AkNzns&23s。”

擂台四周用绳子围起来，拳击手被困在绳子里意味着他挨了很多打CNzf1xU@8Nv^NoMFh。所以，to have someone on the ropes意思是使之处于危险境地9NEMI-OVOb-Qg+MXO0sp。

拳击比赛时擂台上有三个人，两名拳手和一名裁判YRi0BjDBKwnf,2。裁判要确保拳击手们遵守比赛规则，如果情况对一名拳击手来说太危险，拳击手可以取消比赛ttH(]V8pxO_Bl@。如果拳击手挨打很重，倒在地上，那么裁判就会倒数10下，让他站起来jPH(yEa.@M。

如果拳手站了起来，那么比赛继续进行D^cF&5gQd2PB.[P=g#Q。如果拳手不站起来，比赛就结束了1]C;Ed&6r2*jDZPDo。所以如果你down for the count(被彻底击倒)，你就无法角逐下去，或者无法参加某件事&U5)419a)iXc~_4]s5。这里有个例子：

“乔治今晚会出来喝酒吗？”

“不会了，他高烧到华氏102度了，所以今晚没法来了^lg@[qF-S5*%PqJjDbJ。”

与此相反的是To go the distance(坚持到底)，意思是继续留在擂台上，不放弃战斗Vu-ppDk8Z,=VfS8[.yZ+。在拳击擂台之外，这个表达的意思是坚持到底Ri%I3BqsV3afTVnG。

如果你决定离职，那就是说你throw in the towel(认输)了，这个表达来自这样的事实，即教练往擂台上扔一条毛巾来停止拳手的决斗c8[r_BCW;h]^e5。

所以能有人在你身边是很好的，这个人会关心你x(ZyJ@xto,g4NqJu)V2。在每个回合结束时，拳手的团队都会站在他或她的身边Vy;j)Wu.DdDD8U93。是的，女性拳击手在美国越来越受欢迎7c^mM#SkZE_9R)iM8T。

专业拳击比赛有12个回合，每个回合结束时铃声都会响起v).QRj(Gnny7.1X。To be saved by the bell意思是你被救出困境，不一定是铃声Z~Kr176J2wW#)U。

让我们设想下你是坐在教室里的学生，老师开始分发测试题VkO~6*7yTo[iaKz。你感到紧张，因为你忘记学习了rR.gkHKXdt.LxOa=On%。突然铃声响起，下课了z)G).nu0Wnt@2R。这种情况下，照字面意思来说，就是铃声救了你xG~QD,QeL.jF.D6。

这就是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故，我是安娜·马特奥J#%JF_0nVhd+nyj2-b=)。

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