(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Now, the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories.
On this program we explore common expressions in American English. Today we talk about expressions related to a powerful emotion: love.
More specifically, we talk about expressions related to love gone ... not quite right: Relationships that do not work out, relationships that are more trouble than they are worth, and relationships ones that make you wish you were alone.
After all, while some happy couples are celebrating Valentine's Day this month, plenty of other people have more complicated relationships.
This show is for them.
Our first expression may sound impossible. It is the love-hate relationship.
"Love" and "hate" are opposites, but they are both strong emotions. In the case of a love-hate relationship, a couple just keeps going back and forth between the two feelings. One day they fight like cats and dogs. Another day they sing together like lovebirds.
You can also have a love-hate relationship with something besides another person. If you love some parts about your work, but hate other parts of it, you can say you have a love-hate relationship with your job.
Another expression that relates to opposing feelings is, "There is a fine line between love and hate." A person can very easily go from loving to hating.
Star-crossed lovers are very different than those in a love-hate relationship. These types of lovers want to be together, but everything seems to keep them apart – even the stars. This expression comes from the belief of some cultures that the stars control our futures.
The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary says "star-crossed" was first used in 1597. Probably the most famous star-crossed lovers are William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
Star-crossed lovers never seem to get together. So they are rarely on the rebound. A rebound relationship is the first relationship someone has after he or she has ended a serious, long-term relationship.
The term "rebound" used in this way dates back at least to the 1830s. Writer Mary Russell Mitford wrote, "nothing so easy as catching a heart on the rebound."
People on the rebound are easily hurt and vulnerable. So they often make bad decisions in choosing a new love interest. Instead of getting involved with someone else right away, someone on the rebound probably needs some time alone, as well as distance from their ex – long distance.
This time and distance alone to heal is not to be confused with a long-distance relationship.
People in a long-distance relationship live very far apart from each other and don't see each other on a regular basis.
A long-distance relationship can be perfect for someone who likes their own space. But it can be lonely for a person who wants to spend a lot of time day-to-day with their partner.
A long-distance relationship can also be very expensive if the two people need to buy airplane tickets to see each other.
Of course, every relationship has its ups and downs, good times and bad times. But a tumultuous relationship has very high ups and very low downs. Even though a tumultuous relationship can be troubled or even violent, it appeals to some people who like passion and drama.
But after a while, all that passion and drama can destroy the soft, gentle feelings the couple had toward each other. They eat away at the couple's love like poison, and the relationship turns toxic.
Now, let's talk about the couple who that can't seem to decide whether to commit. They are in an on-again, off-again relationship. Sometimes they are together, sometimes they are not. You can also call these relationships on-off or on-and-off relationships.
A love triangle does not describe a person who loves geometry, but it does involve the number three. A love triangle describes three people who have feelings for each other but those feelings do not always match.
So let's say Barry, Gary and Sherry all went to college together and are very close friends. However, what Sherry doesn't know is that Barry is deeply in love her. Meanwhile, she is in love with Gary. But Gary doesn't know about either of his friends' true feelings. He likes them both. What he really loves is baseball.
One day, Sherry takes a chance. She tells Gary how she really feels about him. Gary is surprised ... but then he realizes that he loves Sherry, too. To show her how special she is to him, he takes her to a baseball game. A television camera at the stadium catches them holding hands, and then kissing.
When Barry sees his friends in a lip-lock on TV, he becomes very depressed. Now he is no longer in a love triangle. Now he is experiencing unrequited love. This is a one-sided love. One person falls in love with another, but the feelings are not returned.
That night, he runs through the rain to Sherry's house. He knocks on her door and, dripping wet, begs her to choose him over Gary. This is a bad decision. Sherry tells Barry that she does love him, but she's not in love with him. The two are very different.
Sherry has just said the worst thing for someone in love to hear. Barry is crushed. He decides to move to New York City. He joins a rock band and sings about his broken heart.
And that brings us to the end of this Words and Their Stories.
Do you have expressions that describe unsuccessful relationships in your language? And can you name some famous love-hate relationships in literature? Let us know in the Comments Section.
I'm Anna Matteo.
重点解析
1.more specifically 更具体地说
More specifically, I got it from watching the women who shaped my life.
更具体地说，我是从影响了我的生活的那些女性身上学到的。
2.back and forth 来回;往返
He paced back and forth.
他来回踱步。
3.cats and dogs 吵闹, 不和谐
We used to fight like cats and dogs.
我们过去常打得不可开交。
4.on a regular basis 定期地; 经常; 经常地
More than half the children of divorce did not see the non-custodial parent on a regular basis.
超出半数的离婚家庭的孩子没有定期与无监护权的家长见面。
参考译文
这里是VOA《词汇掌故》时间。
我们的节目旨在探索美式英语里的常用表达。今天我们要聊聊和一种强大的情感相关的表达：爱。
更具体地说，我们要谈谈和逝去的爱相关的表达······不是太准确：没有圆满结局的感情，不值得历经重重阻碍的感情以及一度让你希望自己是单身的感情。
毕竟，当一些快乐的情侣在过这个月的情人节的时候，许多其他的人却有着复杂的感情。
这期节目就是献给这些人的。
我们的第一个表达听起来有点不可思议。这是份爱恨纠缠的情感（love-hate relationship）。
爱和恨是对立的，但它们同属强烈的情感。在爱恨加交的关系里，两人不停地在“爱”与“恨”间循环往复。今天两人打得不可开交，第二天就又琴瑟和鸣。
你也可以对人之外的事物又爱又恨。如果你喜欢部分工作，但又讨厌其他部分的工作，你可以说你对你的工作爱恨交加。
另一个词义相反的情感表达是，“爱恨就在一念之间（There is a fine line between love and hate）。”人很容易由爱生恨。
“被命运拆散的恋人（Star-crossed lovers）”不同于那些爱恨纠缠的情感。这些类型的恋人想要在一起，但是似乎一切的事情将他们越推越远——甚至星星。这个表达源于一些文化里星星会控制命运的信仰。
《韦氏在线词典》表明命运多舛（star-crossed）第一次使用是在1597年。也许最著名的“被命运拆散的恋人”就是莎士比亚的罗密欧与朱丽叶。
“被命运拆散的恋人”似乎永远不会在一起。“弹跳式的恋情（a rebound relationship）”是指在一个人结束一段认真且长期的感情之后开始的第一段感情。
术语“反弹”的这种用法至少可以追溯到19世纪30年代。作家玛丽·米特福德写道，“没有什么比在反弹时抓住一颗心更容易了”。
处在疗伤期的人（People on the rebound）情感上很脆弱，容易受伤。所以他们在选择新恋人时，经常会做出错误的决定，处在疗伤期的人不应该立刻开始新的恋情，他们可能需要一段单身时间，也需要远离前任——离得远远的。
这些自愈的时间和距离是不能和异地恋（ a long-distance relationship）相混淆的。
异地恋彼此之间相隔遥远，也不定期见面。
异地恋对于那些想要个人空间的人来说简直完美。但对于那些想要每天和恋人待在一起的人来说，异地恋会让人觉得有点孤单。
如果两个人见面需要买飞机票的话，那异地恋也会有点昂贵。
当然，每段感情都有起起落落，有高峰也有低谷。但一段混乱的感情（a tumultuous relationship）却是大起大落的。尽管混乱的感情会令人困扰，甚至是暴力的，但它对于那些喜欢激情和戏剧化的人来说很具吸引力。
但一段时间之后，所有的那些激情和戏剧化却能够摧毁彼此给予的柔软、温柔的感觉，如毒药一般吞噬掉彼此的爱意，两人的感情也会恶化。
现在，让我们来聊聊那些似乎不能决定是否给予承诺的恋人。他们处在一段分分合合的感情（an on-again, off-again relationship）里。有时他们在一起，有时不在一起。你也可以称呼这些关系为分合关系。
三角恋（A love triangle）不是形容喜欢几何学的人，但它确实涉及到了数字三。三角恋形容三个人彼此之间有感觉，但这些感情是错位的。
所以，假设巴里、加里和雪莉三人一起上的大学，并且三人是非常亲密的朋友。但雪莉不知道的是，巴里深爱着她。与此同时，雪莉却爱着加里。但加里却对这俩人的真实情感毫不知情。他很喜欢他们俩，但他的真爱是棒球。
一天，雪莉抓住了一个机会。她对加里表白了。加里很惊讶······但他意识到自己也爱着雪莉。为了告诉雪莉她对于自己是有多特别，他带雪莉去看棒球赛了。一个镜头拍到了他们牵着手，然后亲吻了。
当巴里看见他的朋友在电视上亲吻，他很沮丧。现在他不再在三角恋里了。现在，他体验的是单相思（unrequited love）。这是一个人的恋爱。一个人爱上另一个人。但这份情感没有回应。
那晚，他冒雨跑到雪莉家。他敲开了门，浑身湿透，乞求雪莉选择自己，而不是加里。这是个错误的决定。雪莉告诉巴里她确实爱他，但不是爱情的爱。这是两种不同的感情。
雪莉刚刚说的是爱情里的人最不想听到的话。巴里心碎了。他决定搬到纽约。他加入了一个摇滚乐队，并唱着悲伤的歌。
又到了我们《词汇掌故》的节目尾声啦。
你的语言里有形容失败的恋情的表达吗？你能说出文学里有的爱恨纠缠的感情吗？在评论区告诉我们吧。
我是安娜·马特奥。
