(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Now, the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories.
This is the show that explains the origin and usage of common American English expressions.
Today, we are going to make a splash!
Yes, you make a splash when you jump into water. But to make a splash also means to attract a lot of attention, in a good way.
For example you could say, "She made in splash in Washington, D.C. as a political consultant." Or "If he moves to Hollywood he will make a huge splash in the film industry."
But let's get back to actually splashing in water. When it's hot, people often go to the beach or swimming pools to cool off in the water. The water is also a great place to learn American expressions.
Deep water can be scary if you do not know how to swim. Some people learn fast by jumping in. To sink or swim means the moment you test your ability, often before much practice. If you swim, you succeed. If you sink, you fail.
If you sink and no one rescues you, you will probably be dead in the water. When something is dead in the water, it has stopped making progress. It has failed and has no hope for the future. A business, an idea, even a marriage or friendship can be dead in the water.
For example, imagine you are involved in a business deal but your only financial supporter withdraws. Most likely, the deal is dead in the water.
Let's hear these expressions used in a short dialogue:
"Don't you think we should help Mary? Her deadline is tomorrow and she is far from finished with the project."
"Look, she's been with the company for years. Anyway, I helped her on the last project. It is sink or swim for her this time."
"Well, if she isn't ready for the presentation tomorrow morning her project will be dead in the water."
Swimming in the ocean can be a lot of fun. Surfers love to ride the waves. But did you know, you can ride a wave without even getting wet?
In English, to ride a wave means that you are helped by being connected to something well liked. For example, you could say, "The president is riding the wave of recent economic growth."
When you are surfing, catching a wave means to ride your surfboard across the wave in the ocean. But to catch a wave can also mean to connect with and profit from something popular.
For example, "The media company plans to catch the wave of new YouTube stars."
The word surf itself is used in other situations besides in the ocean. If you are surfing the Web, you are moving from webpage to webpage without much thought. Channel surfing is the same except with television channels.
So surfers love catching big waves. When the ocean is calm, I'm sure they wish they could make waves. However, you do not always have to be in the water to make waves.
This expression means to surprise, shock or trouble people or situations. It can be both good and bad. And you can add modifiers to the word "wave." For example, "When the new boss started, she didn't make to make too many waves. She's changing things slowly."
But we all know what really makes the waves in the ocean – the tide. The tide is the rising and falling of the sea. In spoken English, the tide can also turn. When the tides turn, events have changed direction, or reversed. We also say to turn the tide.
Ocean tides are strong. Swimming against the tide is not advisable. It can make you tired and you could drown. As an expression, it means to go against popular thought or opinion. Great leaders and scientists often swim against the tide.
To be in over your head and to be out of your depth are both water expressions. And they both mean to be in a situation that is too difficult for you to deal with. For example, "At the meeting, Rachel had no idea what they were talking about. She was way out of her depth."
And finally, to blow something out of the water means to destroy something completely.
To show how versatile these ocean expressions really are, let's use them in a very dry environment – a courtroom.
"The court will be break for 20 minutes."
"Wow, the defense attorney really made waves today in the courtroom when she presented that new evidence."
"Yeah, I did not see that coming. I think the tide is really turning in favor of the defendant."
"Well, the new evidence helps. But what really blew the case out of the water is the defense's new witness."
"You know, I feel bad for the prosecutor. He is new and just out of his depth."
"He is. He's lost his last nine cases! If he loses this one, he will lose his job. It's either sink or swim."
"If he gets fired, his career could be dead in the water."
And that brings us to the end of this collection of expressions from the sea. If you use a couple in your next English conversation, you are sure to make a splash!
Join us again next week for another Words and Their Stories.
I'm Anna Matteo.
重点解析
1.cool off 变凉；平静下来
Maybe he's trying to cool off out there in the rain.
可能他是想在外面的雨中凉快一下。
2.have no idea 不知道；不清楚
However, I have no idea where to go.
但是，我拿不定主意去哪儿。
3.make progress 取得进展；前进
Friends can help me because we can compete with each other, make progress together.
朋友可以帮助我，因为我们可以互相竞争，共同进步。
参考译文
现在是VOA学英语《词汇掌故》节目。
我们的节目旨在解释常用美语表达的起源与用法。
今天，我们要大放异彩。
是的，跳进水里的时候会溅起水花。但“make a splash”也表示因为某件好事而引起许多人的注意。
例如你可以说，“作为一名政治顾问，她在华盛顿大放异彩。”或者，“如果他搬到好莱坞，他将在电影界引起巨大轰动。”
让我们说回溅起的水花。天热的时候，人们一般会去海边或者游泳池的水里凉快一下。水里也是学习美语表达的好地方。
如果你不会游泳的话，深水是很恐怖的。有些人一跳进水里就学得很快。“To sink or swim”意思是指在大量训练前测试下自己能力的时刻。如果你游了，你就成功了。如果你往下沉，你就失败了。
如果你下沉而且没人来救你，你很大可能会淹死。如果某件事情“死在水里”，意味着这件事毫无进展。这件事失败了，也看不见前景。一桩生意，一个想法，甚至一段婚姻或者一段友谊都有可能彻底失败。
举个例子，假设你参与了一项商业交易，你唯一的金主撤资了。很大可能，这项交易要黄了。
让我们来听段和这些短语相关的短对话：
“你不觉得我们应该帮助玛丽吗？明天就是她的期限了，但她的项目离完工还早着呢。”
“你看，她来公司已经很多年了，不管怎样，她上个项目我已经帮她了，这次成败与否就看她自己了。”
“好吧，如果明早的演讲报告她没准备好，那她的项目就彻底完蛋了。”
在大海里游泳也许会很好玩。冲浪爱好者喜欢在波浪上驰骋。但你知道你能不湿身冲浪吗？
在英语里，“乘风破浪”的意思是借助受人们喜欢的事物从中受益，比如你可以说“总统借助了近期经济增长的浪潮。”
“当你冲浪的时候，赶上浪潮”意思是站在冲浪板上穿梭在浪潮间。但“赶上浪潮”也可以表示与与正新潮的事物有关联并因此获利。
例如，“这家传媒公司计划赶上YouTube新星的浪潮。”
“冲浪”这个词除了在“大海里”能使上，其他场景也能用上。如果你在网上冲浪，你正不假思索地在不停切换网页。频道浏览也是一样的，除了电视频道。
所以冲浪爱好者喜欢赶大浪，当大海平静的时候，我相信他们希望自己能制造海浪。然而“你不必总待在水里制造波浪”。
这个短语的意思是惊喜，震惊或者陷入困境的人或者困难局面。它既可以表达好的意思，也可以表达坏的。你可以在单词“浪潮”前面添加修饰语。例如，“当新老板上任后，她没有制造太多轩然大波，而是在慢慢革新。”
我们都知道海浪的真正制造者是潮汐。潮汐是指海水的涨落。口语里，潮汐也能转弯。当“海水转弯"的时候，事情的走向转变了或者反向了。我们也说“潮汐翻转”。
潮汐很强劲，逆流而行是不可取的，逆流会让你疲惫不堪，你会溺水的。作为短语，它的意思是反对受欢迎的思想或者意见。伟大的领袖或者科学家通常都不会随波逐流。
“在你的头上”和“超过了你的深度”都是和水相关的表达。它们的意思都是处于一种很难处理的境况。例如，“开会的时候，雷切尔听不懂他们在说什么。她有点不知所措。”
最后，“从水中吹出某物”意思是彻底毁灭某物。
为了给大家展示这些于海洋相关表达的多种用法，让我们在一个非常干的环境使用它们——法庭。
“休庭20分钟。”
“哇，今天那个辩护律师呈上新的证据的时候真得引起了轰动。”
“是的，我没看见那个。我想现在局势对被告有利。”
“好吧，新的证据起作用了，但真正扭转局面的是被告的新的目击证人。”
“你知道吗，我感觉那个检察官很差劲。他是新人，这个案子对于他来说太难了。”
“他的确是。他失掉了前九个案子了。如果他再失去这个案子，那他就要失业了。成败在此一举了。”
“如果他真得被炒鱿鱼了，那他的职业生涯算是彻底断送了。”
今天的来自海洋的系列表达就到此结束了。如果你在你的下次交谈中能用上几个表达，你绝对会大放异彩的。
下周再会!
我是安娜·马特奥。
