听力文本

From VOA Learning English, this is Words and Their Stories.

I'm Anna Matteo and today I'm going to solve all your problems.

With a silver bullet.

If you don't believe me, that is a good thing.

We all know that there is no such thing as a silver bullet that can make everything better. But that does not stop us from using the word "silver bullet."

A silver bullet is a way to make everything better.

The belief that there is magical power in the metal silver goes back to ancient Greece. In the stories of other cultures, a silver bullet is the only way to defeat monsters like werewolves and witches.

Writer Stephen King is considered by many in the United States to be the master of scary stories. His book "Silver Bullet" is about a man who turns into a werewolf with every full moon and attacks people in a small town.

A werewolf is a make-believe half-man, half-wolf beast that can only be killed by a silver bullet. As with many of King's books, "Silver Bullet" was made into a film in 1985. Here is a bit from the trailer:

"Silver bullet ... the last glimmering hope."

Lone Ranger -- An Americana Icon

Silver bullets also have roots in an early American cultural icon, a famous character everyone knew.

The Lone Ranger began as a popular radio show in the 1930s. It was a hugely popular television show in the 1950s. In 2013, The Lone Ranger was remade into a movie starring Johnny Depp as Tonto, the Lone Ranger's Native American partner.

The Lone Ranger was a Texas Ranger, a type of lawman. When his entire team was attacked and killed, he was left alone -- hence the name, Lone Ranger.

In his new identity he wore a mask. On horseback, he looked for the bad guys in the American West and brought them to justice.

In some of the radio and television shows, the Lone Ranger used bullets made from the precious metal silver as a symbol of justice and law and order. The silver bullet was also to remind himself and others that life, like silver, has value and is not to be wasted or thrown away.

The Lone Ranger's calling card, or the thing he left behind to identify himself, was a silver bullet.

Other words for "silver bullet"

The term silver bullet has its roots in pop culture. But there are other words that are close in meaning.

Panacea sounds more formal and bookish. It has Latin and Greek roots. The Latin word "panacea," means an herb that would heal all illnesses. The Greek word "panakeia" means "cure-all."

Cure-all does just what it says -- it cures all. Cure-all is used often in spoken English. It is not as formal as panacea and doesn't have the cultural or romantic feel as "silver bullet." But cure-all certainly does the job.

Sometimes "silver bullet" is hyphenated and used as an adjective, such as in this example: Thinking that more money is going to fix failing schools is a silver-bullet fantasy. You just can't throw money at a problem and wish it away.

Of course, if something promises to be a panacea, a silver bullet for all your problems ... it, most likely, is not. That's why these terms are often used in the negative form.

There is no silver bullet to fix homelessness in the United States. There is no panacea to cure all the world's ills.

So, if someone wants to sell you a silver bullet to cure all your troubles ... don't buy it. I'm Anna Matteo.

重点解析

1.turn into 变成
Depending on the interplay of these four factors, the body can turn into a skeleton as rapidly as two weeks or take more than two years.
在以上四个因素的相互作用下，尸体最快两个星期就能变成骨头最慢可能要两年左右。

2.bring to justice 绳之以法
And, as is the case with most superhero flicks, there's also a cool car, costumes, and a bad guy to bring to justice.
如同许多超级英雄电影，本片也有超炫的汽车和服装以及需要被绳之以法的大坏蛋。

3.calling card 名片
And when it was done, when her agonal struggles had ceased, you left us a calling card.
当一切都结束时，当她痛苦的挣扎停止时，你给我们留下了一张名片。

4.do the job 有效
Also, if religious leader unreachable, find a historian expert in this field will do the job too.
此外，如果宗教领袖不可行，找一个在这个领域的历史方面的专家也能有效。

参考译文

这里是VOA学英语《词汇掌故》节目。

我是安娜·马特奥，今天我们将要用“银弹”来解决你所有问题。

如果你不相信我，那就对了。

我们都知道，没有“银弹”之类的东西可以让一切变得更加美好。但是这并不妨碍我们使用“银弹”这个词。

“银弹”是一种让一切事情变得更好的方法。

金属银具有神奇力量的这种信念可以追溯到古希腊。在其它文化的故事中，“银弹”是打败狼人和女巫这类怪物的唯一途径。

作家斯蒂芬·金被很多美国人认为是恐怖故事大师。他的著作《银弹》讲述了小镇一位在满月时分变身狼人袭击人们的男子。

狼人是一种虚构的半人半狼兽，它只能被银弹杀死。像斯蒂芬·金的很多著作一样，《银弹》在1985年被拍成电影。以下是来自预告片的部分内容：

“银弹......最后的一线希望。”

典型美国偶像：独行侠

银弹也植根于美国早期文化偶像，这是一位人人皆知的著名人物。

独行侠在上世纪30年代成为一档颇受欢迎的广播节目，它也是上世纪50年代非常受欢迎的电视节目。2013年，独行侠被翻拍成电影，由约翰尼·德普主演唐托，他是独行侠的美国本土合作伙伴。

独行侠是一名德州骑警，骑警是一类执法官员。当他的整个团队遇袭被害时，只有他幸存了下来，因此他得名独行侠。

在他的新身份中他戴着面具。他在马背上寻找美国西部的坏蛋并将其绳之以法。

在一些电台和电视节目中，独行侠使用贵金属银制成的子弹，作为公正、法律和秩序的象征。银弹也提醒他和其他人，生命像银一样具有价值，不应该白白耗费掉。

独行侠留下来标识自己身份的“名片”就是一颗银色子弹。

其它类似银弹的词语

银弹这一术语植根于流行文化中。但是还有其它一些词语在意思上很接近。

Panacea听起来更正式和书卷气，它来源于拉丁文和希腊文。拉丁文“panacea”的意思是能治愈一切疾病的草药。希腊文“panakeia”的意思是包治百病。

Cure-all就像它所写的那样包治百病。Cure-all通常用于口语中，它没panacea那么正式，也没有silver bullet那种文化和浪漫气息。但是cure-all确实有效。

有时候，silver bullet用连字符连接并用作形容词。例如下面的例子：光想靠更多钱解决倒闭的学校是一种银弹般的幻想，光有钱解决不了问题。

当然，如果有什么灵丹妙药有望解决你所有问题，最大的可能是它无法奏效。这就是为何这些术语通常用于否定形式。

没有什么灵丹妙药（silver bullet）可以解决美国的无家可归问题，也没有什么万能药（panacea）可以治愈世界上所有的疾病。

所以，如果有人要卖给你灵丹妙药来解决你所有问题，别上当。我是安娜·马特奥。