听力文本

Now, Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English.

In an earlier program, we talked a lot about the Devil. In many religions, the Devil is the most powerful spirit of evil. Religious leaders teach that hell is where the Devil lives. They also say hell is the place where bad people go after they die.

You can hear many Americans using the words "Devil" and "hell" in everyday expressions. But the list of expressions is just too long for one show. So, get ready for the sequel -- what we're calling "Part 2: Hell, the Devil's Hangout!"

Many people think of hell as a hot place full of fire. So, a snowball would not have much of a chance there. And that is where this expression comes from: a snowball's chance in hell.

Let's say you applied for a promotion at work. But so did your boss's daughter. You do not have a snowball's chance in hell. Your boss is not going to hire you over his daughter.

It will be a cold day in hell and when hell freezes over also mean the same thing: there is no chance that something will happen.

For example, if you have a fight with a friend and never want to talk to him again, you could say, "It will be a cold day in hell before I ever call him again. Our friendship is over!" Or "Sure, I'll call him ... when hell freezes over!"

But be careful. These expressions are very informal and very strong. You would only use them with your close friends and peers.

So if your boss asks if your work will be done before you go home, you would never say, "It'll be a cold day in hell when that happens..." unless you want to lose your job.

Sometime, we just use the expression "hell" like this: She's a hell of a dancer. He's a hell of a writer. That was a hell of good time. "Hell of a" runs together as if it's one word – hell-of-a. Again, this is very slang and very informal.

Hell is reported to be not only hot, but miserable.

So, if something is going to hell in a hand basket, it is becoming very bad very quickly.

If you have been to hell and back, you have been through a very difficult period and lived to tell about it.

Here is an example:
A: I'm glad to see that Julie is back to her old self.
B: Me, too. She's been through so much this past month. Her mom died, her son got really sick and then she was in that terrible car accident.
A: Wow, she has really been to hell and back.

"Excuse, but how do you get to hell?"

But if you do want to visit hell, there is a road you can take: the road of good intentions.

Let me explain. When we say "The road to hell is paved with good intentions," we mean that positive intentions may have negative outcomes. "Paved" here means to line a street.

So, the road to hell is lined with well-intended ideas that went terribly wrong.

You do not have to have good intentions to be hell on wheels. People who are hell on wheels are aggressive, tough, mean or just difficult to deal with. For example, "Watch out for the new woman in sales. She's good. But she is hell on wheels! Stay out of her way!"

Being hell on wheels is different than raising hell. People who are hell on wheels might actually be doing a good job. But if you are raising hell, you are simply behaving badly.

Let's listen to this dialogue.
B: "When she was a teenager, she really raised hell."
A: "Tell me about it. She skipped school, got into trouble every weekend ... what a hell raiser!"
B: "Her poor parents!"

If you raised too much hell in one place, you might find you need to leave that place like a bat out of hell -- in other words -- crazy-fast! I'm Anna Matteo.

重点解析

1.a snowball's chance in hell 毫无机会
The scheme has a snowball's chance in hell of being accepted.
这个计划根本就没有希望被采纳。

2.when hell freezes over 绝不可能的事
Mr. lee will donate some money to charity, when hell freezes over.
李先生为慈善机关捐钱是不可能的。

3.a hell of 极度的；非常
That would be a hell of an ironic way to get into Mexico.
用那种方法进入墨西哥真是极度讽刺。

4.raising hell 大吵大闹
I got quite a shock seeing her raising hell with them at the party last night.
昨晚看到她在晚会上对他们大吵大闹，我十分吃惊。

参考译文

现在是VOA学英语《词汇掌故》节目时间。

在此前的节目中，我们就魔鬼谈了很多。在宗教中，魔鬼是最强大的恶灵。宗教领袖教导说，魔鬼住在地狱里。他们还说，坏人死后会下地狱。

你能听到很多美国人在日常用语中用到Devil和hell这两个单词。但是这些表达方式太多了，一期节目说不完。所以请准备好收听续集，我们称之为“第二部分：地狱，魔鬼的老巢。”

很多人认为地狱是一个到处是火温度很高的地方。因此，雪球在那里不会有什么机会。这就是这句话的出处： a snowball's chance in hell。

比如说你申请晋职，但是你老板的女儿也申请了，你就毫无机会。你老板不会选择你而不选择他女儿。

It will be a cold day in hell 和 when hell freezes over 也意味着同样的意思，即绝不会发生某事。

例如，你和朋友吵架了，不想和他再说话。你可以说，“我再也不会再打电话给你，我们友尽于此。”或者是，“当然，我绝不会再给他打电话。”

但是小心，这些都是非正式说法，而且言辞非常强硬。你只能跟亲密的朋友或同事这样说。

所以如果你老板问你下班前能不能完成工作，你可不能说，“这绝不可能。”除非你不想干了。

有时候，我们会这样使用hell，例如她跳舞跳得太好了。他笔杆子太牛了。那时候太愉快了。"hell of a"连在一起就像是一个单词hell-of-a。同样提醒一下，这也是很口语和不正式的说法。

据说地狱不仅热，还很悲催。

所以，if something is going to hell in a hand basket，意思是很快变得很糟糕。

如果你去地狱走了一趟（ to hell and back），是说你经历磨难并活下来讲述这事。

以下就是一个例子：
A：我很高兴看到朱莉重回自我。
B：我也是。过去的一个月她经历了那么多。她妈妈去世了，她儿子病得很重，然后她又遭遇了那场可怕的车祸。
A：哇，她真是去地狱走了一趟啊。

“对不起，但是怎么去地狱呢？”

如果你想去地狱走一圈，你可以走这条路：善意之路。

让我来解释一下，当我们说"The road to hell is paved with good intentions," 我们的意思是说积极的意图可能会产生负面的结果。Paved在这里意思是铺满一条街。所以，通往地狱之路铺满了犯下严重错误的善意想法。

Hell on wheels意思是说一个人好斗、粗暴、刻薄或者是难以打交道。例如：“小心那个新来的女销售，她很棒，但她脾气太差了，离她远点。”

Being hell on wheels和raising hell完全不同。Being hell on wheels可能是指做得很棒，而raising hell是指表现恶劣。

让我们听听这段对话。
B：当她十来岁的时候，她闹翻了天。
A：说来听听。她逃课，每个周末都闯祸。真能闹。
B：她可怜的父母呀！

如果你在一个地方太闹腾，你可能会发现你必须快点逃离这个地方。我是安娜·马特奥。