(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Now, the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories.
Each week, we tell about American expressions and where they come from.
Today we talk about railroads. Railroads were important to the development of the United States. The first U.S. railroads were built in eastern states. Trains later connected the East Coast with the West Coast.
Train and railway expressions worked their way into American English over a century ago. Many of those terms are still being used today.
Railroads changed the look of the United States. They cut through mountains, crossed through wide open prairies and joined together in cities. The railroads made transporting goods easier. They also gave many Americans the chance to move around the country.
Sometimes railroad tracks would not join up in a town but divide it in two. One side of the tracks might be good, while the other side was ‘not-so-good.' If you say someone is from the wrong side of the tracks, it means they are from the bad side of town.
For the train running down the track there is no right or wrong side. The track is simply the metal structure on which the train runs.
To go off track means to move away from one's intended purpose or goal.
For example, you could say your career went way off track if you wanted to be a lawyer but became an actor instead. But if you go to law school and complete your studies, your career is back on track. Let's say you finished law school very quickly because you took double the course load. You then could say you fast-tracked your way to becoming a lawyer. In the world of business, it is common to say a project has been fast-tracked or is on a fast track.
To stay on track means to pay attention to your goal or purpose. But getting sidetracked is just the opposite. A train that is sidetracked gets sent to a different station or down a different line.
Talking about train tracks, a rail is a single piece of steel that is part of the larger railway. Some rails are dangerous to touch. In some cities, a third rail provides power to a subway train, usually operating underground; electricity passes through the rail.
The third rail also is an issue which can fuel a heated debate. At a party, religion or politics could be third rail topics. Talking about them could kill your social life!
Many Americans say things get derailed when they go off track or away from a goal – or when they simply go wrong. For example, they might say something like this, "My travel plans got derailed by the bad weather."
It usually is bad news when something gets derailed. When something goes off the rails, it is always a bad thing. To go off the rails means a person's project or life is a wreck, or -- pardon the expression -- a train wreck.
When a train reaches its final stop, we say it has reached the end of the line. If you reach the end of the line you have come to the end of something. Often in old films, this is what the bad guy says just before he kills someone.
"It's the end of the line for your buddy boy."
And we have reached the end of the line for this Words and Their Stories. In other words, the show is over.
I'm Anna Matteo.
词汇解释
1.prairies n. （美）[畜牧] 大草原（prairie的复数）
The music invoked the wide open spaces of the prairies.
该音乐营造出了一幅大草原上宽广辽阔的景象。
2.fast-track vt.加速(进程)：
A Federal Court case had been fast tracked to Wednesday.
联邦法院的一起案件已被提前到星期三审理。
3.sidetrack vt. 将（火车）[建] 转到侧线；转变（话题） n. （铁路）侧线；次要地位 vi. [建] 转到侧线；转变话题
He'd managed to avoid being sidetracked by Schneider's problems.
他最终总算没有由于施奈德的问题而分心。
4.third rail (政治上的)险局 [美国英语] ['the' N]
Politicians speak of Social Security as the third rail. To touch it is to commit political suicide.
社保对政客们来说是个高危带电的话题，碰它就等于政治自杀。
5.derail vt. 使出轨 vi. 出轨 n. 脱轨；[铁路] 脱轨器
The present wave of political killings is the work of people trying to derail peace talks.
现在的政治谋杀浪潮是那些试图破坏和平谈判进程的人所为。
内容解析
1.But if you go to law school and complete your studies, your career is back on track.
back on track 重回正轨；重上轨道；改过自新
David put me back on track.
戴维让我重新回到了正轨。
It may take some time to get the British economy back on track.
要使英国经济重新回到正轨可能需要一段时间。
2.When something goes off the rails, it is always a bad thing.
go off the rails （非正式）行为不轨； 越轨； 出毛病； 神经错乱
He is always a dutiful person, so will not go off the rails.
他向来是个守本分的人，不会做出越轨之事。
Some people were injured when the train went off the rails.
火车出轨时一些人受了伤。
参考译文
这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇典故。
每周我们都会讲些美国短语及其来源。
今天我们来谈谈铁路，铁路对美国的发展来说很重要，第一条美国铁路建在东部的州，火车后来将东海岸和西海岸连接了起来。
一个多世纪前，火车和铁路短语进入了美国英语，很多表达至今还在使用。
铁路改变了美国的面貌，它们穿过高山、越过开阔的大草原，在城市相遇会和。铁路使得运输商品更加容易，还让很多美国人有机会在国内各处迁徙。
有时铁路会把城镇一分为二，铁路的一边发展得很好，另一边就不那么好了。如果你说一个人from the wrong side of the tracks，意思是说他来自城镇不好的那边。
对于运行在铁路上的火车来说，铁轨两边没有好坏之分。铁轨只是火车运行其上的金属结构。
To go off track意思说脱离某人原本的目标。
比如，如果你想成为律师，但却成了一名演员，你可以说自己的事业脱离了正轨。但如果你去了法学院，完成自己的学业，那么你的事业又重回正轨。假如你承担了双倍的学业任务，很快从法学院毕业，那么你就可以说你快速实现了做律师的目标。在商业世界里，说一个项目快速跟进或进入快车道很常见。
To stay on track意思是关注你的目标或目的，但是getting sidetracked正好相反，一条sidetracked的火车会驶向不同的车站或不同的铁路线。
谈到火车铁轨，轨道是单节的钢材，它是铁路的一部分。触摸有些轨道很危险，在一些城市，第三条铁轨通常给地下运行的铁路提供电力，电力通过这条铁路传输。
The third rail是指挥引发激烈争论的问题，在聚会上，宗教或政治话题都可能是雷区，谈论这些问题会毁掉你的社交生活。
很多美国人会在事情偏离目标或出错时说things get derailed，他们可能会这么说，“我的旅行计划因为糟糕的天气未能实现。”
事情偏离轨道通常是坏消息，某些事情脱离正轨始终是坏事。go off the rails意思说某人的计划或生活是个烂摊子，很抱歉用到这个词。
一旦火车抵达终点站，我们会说它到了终点，意思是说到了最后的结局。通常在老电影中，坏蛋在杀人之前会这么说。
“老兄，你终于完了！”
我们的词汇典故节目也要到终点，也就是说，节目要结束了。
我是安娜·马特奥。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
