听力文本

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

Today let's talk about ... everything.

American English has many ways to talk about everything under the sun.

Cradle to grave means an entire life cycle. A cradle is a bed for very young babies. And a grave is a burial place. So from cradle to grave means from birth to death.

It could be used to describe something that happens over the course of a person's life. For example, "I know a man who lived in the same country village his entire life -- from cradle to grave." That is a literal use of the expression.

This expression is often used in business, meaning the entire life cycle of a product or process.

Here is an example:

"Marcia is responsible for the life of this product from beginning to end."

"In other words, she's in charge from cradle to grave."

"Correct. Check with her before changing anything."

Another less common way to say cradle to grave is womb to tomb. But that one rhymes.

If you like food expressions, you can use soup to nuts, or from beginning to end. A dinner may start with soup and end with nuts.

For example, you could say, "He explained the process to us from soup to nuts ... from beginning to end."

Everything from A to Z uses the alphabet to give a range of everything. It describes content more than process. It means that nothing important was left out.

For example, "The rescue training covered everything from A to Z. The instructors taught everything you need to know for a successful rescue."

Everything but the kitchen sink is an expression that means a person included a lot of stuff – maybe too much stuff.

Let's say my friend is going camping for the weekend. And he packs too many things -- things he won't possibly need, like an iron, a toaster and a television. I could say, "He prepared for a weekend of camping and packed everything but the kitchen sink!"

We have many expressions that simply use the word "whole" to make fun phrases that mean "everything." For example, we have the whole ball of wax. When you say the whole ball of wax, you mean everything!

This expression may have come from a practice in the 1600s, where land was distributed in a sort of lottery. The amount of each portion of land was concealed in a ball of wax and then drawn from a hat. But no one knows for sure if this is the origin.

The origin of the whole nine yards is even more mysterious. It could come from the military, sports or even Scottish dress for men.

If you like to use expressions with known origins, use the whole enchilada. An enchilada is a Mexican dish. Vegetables or meat fill a tortilla, and is topped with a sauce. The whole enchilada means the entirety of something, especially something impressive or outstanding.

For example, "He has a job with money, respect, and personal satisfaction -- the whole enchilada!"

The word "shebang" is also used this way. In fact, people used the whole shebang without knowing what a shebang actually is. Word historians do not agree on where "shebang" comes from either. One of the first recorded use of the whole shebang, meaning everything, is in the late 1800s.

If you like expressions that are fun to say, use the whole kit and caboodle.

And that brings us to the end of this Words and Their Stories.

Let us know what you think of the show -- the whole show -- the whole kit and caboodle in the Comments Section. Or try using the expressions you have learned in this program. I'm Anna Matteo.

重点解析

1.everything under the sun 天下万物

We spent the next several days together, just hanging around, talking about everything under the sun.

随后几天我们也是一同度过的，我们厮守在一起，天上地下无所不谈。

2.left out 忽视，不考虑；被遗忘

If anything fails, then you might have left out some files in the cache manifest.

如果出现任何失败，那么您可能在缓存清单中遗漏了一些文件。

3.in charge 负责，主管；在…看管下

If you do not know the answer, check with your superior or someone in charge.

如果你不清楚某些事，可向你的主管或负责某事的人咨询。

参考译文

VOA学英语，这里是《词汇掌故》节目。

今天我们来学习关于“一切”。

美语有许多种方法来表示一切。

Cradle to grave表示一个生命的周期。摇篮是婴儿的小床，坟墓是埋葬人的地方。所以从摇篮到坟墓意味着由生到死。

这个短语能用来描述人生命历程中发生的事情。例如：“这个人也住在那个村庄，我了解他的一切——从生到死。”这里是用了“cradle to grave”的字面意思。

这个短语更多经常用在商业领域，用来表示一个产品的周期或整个流程。

举个例子：

“马西娅负责这个产品的一切。”

“换句话说，她全权负责这个产品。”

“对的。做任何改动都必须先经过她同意。”

另一种较为普通的表示由生到死的说法是“womb to tomb”，但是这个说起来比较押韵。

如果你喜欢食物相关的英语表达，你可以用短语“soup to nuts”或者用“from beginning to end”表示从头到尾。一餐饭一般以喝汤开始，以吃坚果结束。

比如，你可以说，“他给我们从头到尾讲了一遍过程。”

“Everything from A to Z”这个短语用字母“A to Z”给了一切的事物一个范围。这个短语更侧重内容的一切而不是过程的一切。它表示一切重要的东西都包含在内了。

例如，“这个援救训练涉及到了方方面面的内容。指导员会教会你有关成功救援的一切东西。”

“Everything but the kitchen sink”表示一个人带了许多东西——也许是带了过多的东西。

像我一个朋友周末要去露营。他打包了很多东西（很多他也许用不着的东西），像熨斗，面包机，电视。我可以说“他为了周末露营收拾了太多东西。”

我们有许多用简单的单词“whole”来表达“一切”意思的趣味短语。如：我们应有尽有。当你说“the whole ball of wax”，意思就是“一切”。

这个短语也许起源于16世纪的一个惯例。那个时候土地依据一种彩票的形式分配。每块土地的份额藏在一个蜡制的球里，然后大家从帽子里拿出球来。但是没人能确定这就是短语“the whole ball of wax”的来源。

短语“the whole nine yards”（“一切”）的来源就更神秘了。它可能来自军队，体育，甚至可能来自苏格兰男人的裙子。

如果你想用知道来源的短语表达，可以用“the whole enchilada”。安其拉达是用玉米卷饼包裹肉或青菜再覆以酱料的一种墨西哥美食。“The whole enchilada”意思是某物的全部，尤其是印象深刻或者极好的。

例如，“他的工作钱多，受人尊敬，有个人满足感----一切的一切都很好！”

单词"shebang"也是这种用法。实际上，人们虽然用“the whole shebang”这个短语却不知道“shebang”到底是啥。文字历史研究家们在关于"shebang"的来源上也没有达成一致。最早一条“the whole shebang”表示“一切”意思的记录是在18世纪晚期。

如果你喜欢有趣的英文表达，你可以用“the whole kit and caboodle”。

又到了我们“单词与它们的故事”的节目尾声了。

让我们知道你们对于我们节目的想法，“一切”节目，“一切”留言都在评论区哦！或者你可以尝试用一下这期节目学到的英文表达。我是安娜·马特奥。