(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Now, from VOA Learning English, it's time for Words and Their Stories.
This program explores common expressions in American English.
Today we explore a word that does not sound very pleasant -- gut.
In the medical world, guts are the internal organs of an animal. It's a person's stomach or the part of the body that contains the stomach.
So, that's medically speaking.
But in our everyday conversations, "guts" mean many different things.
In the United States, if you bust a gut you are laughing really, really hard -- so hard that your stomach starts to hurt.
If you haven't busted a gut in years, maybe you should. It feels good to have a really good laugh.
Now, just as our guts are inside of us, the inside parts of a machine are sometimes called guts, too. So, if you gut your computer, you take out all the pieces inside that make it work.
That's right, "gut" is also a verb.
You can gut something, like a fish. This means you remove its internal organs before cooking it. You can also gut a building by removing everything from the inside. My friend who renovated her house, for example, gutted the entire structure first.
The most important parts of a business deal or a piece of legislation are also called the guts. And if you gut these things, you remove all the important parts. For example, you could say that after the council member gutted the legislation, it wasn't going to be nearly as effective.
Now, let's talk about you.
Within you are all your important thoughts, fears, dreams, feelings and secrets. If you spill your guts, you share these things with other people.
It's an informal saying but you can use it when talking about any situation. If your best friend has a date and shares all the details with you, she has spilled her guts. Perhaps at work, a co-worker spills his guts when he tells you that his bossy personality actually comes from a deep childhood fear of failing.
When spilling your guts, be careful. Remember, once you say something, you cannot take it back!
Now, if you strongly dislike someone -- I mean really, really hate them -- you can say you hate their guts. You hate everything inside them. This is a very harsh statement and sounds a little childish.
You know, if you think about it, all those internal organs are important. They may not be pretty, but they keep us alive.
So, guts can also mean some really great things.
For example, the word "guts" is an informal way of saying "bravery" or "courage." It takes guts to make a very difficult decision.
Let's say you want to move to a country where you don't know anyone and don't know the language. You want to make a big change and take a chance!
Your friends who have lived in the same town all their lives say, "Wow, that takes a lot of guts." For right now, they don't have the guts to make such a big change.
This is where we get our expression "no guts, no glory." This means that if you do not have courage to take a risk, you will not be able to achieve a goal or success.
It might be scary. But you know in your gut that it's something you must do. Used this way, "gut" means a strong feeling about something.
We can also use "gut" as an adjective. For example, your gut feelings are not based in logic or reason. Let's say I'm your best friend. When I hear about your plans to move away, my gut reaction is to ask, even beg, you to stay.
But my gut also tells me that this is something you must do.
So, I tell you to listen to your gut. Go chase your dream!
After a year's time, I finally get the guts to do the same thing. We meet in Paris and then move to Russia to live for a year!
As we say, no guts, no glory!
And that's the end of this Word and Their Stories.
Is this body part, the gut, used the same way in your language? Let us know in the Comments Section.
I'm Anna Matteo.
重点解析
1.take a chance 冒险；碰运气
You take a chance on the weather if you holiday in the UK.
在英国度假，只有赌天气了。
2.hate one's guts 对某人恨之入骨
I don't dislike him. I hate his guts.
我何止是不喜欢他，而是恨透了他。
3.spill one's guts 说出实情
Bcause I wanted to be a quiet listener when you wanted to spill your guts.
因为我想在你想倾诉的时候做一个安静的聆听者。
参考译文
这里是VOA学英语，到了《词汇掌故》时间了。
我们的节目探讨美语里的常用表达。
今天我们探讨一个听起来不是很令人愉悦的词——gut。
在医学界，“guts”是指动物的内脏。指人的胃或者包含胃的那部分。
所以，那是个医学术语。
但是在我们的日常交际中，“guts”有很多不同的意思。
在美国，如果你bust a gut（大笑），那么你笑得真得很厉害——笑到胃痛。
如果你多年不曾大笑，也许你该大笑一下。好好笑一次真得让人感觉很好。
现在，正如“ guts”处于我们身体内部，机器的内部有时候也被称为“guts”。那么，如果你掏空（gut）了你的电脑，意思是取出了电脑内部能使其运行的所有部件。
对哒，“gut”也可以作动词使。
你可以像掏鱼一样掏空某事物。这意思是你在煮鱼之前掏空鱼的内脏。你也可以从内部开始移除一切东西来掏空一栋建筑。例如，我一个朋友要翻新房子，先把整个内部都凿空了。
一个商业交易或者一个法令的最重要的部分也被称为要点（guts）。如果你去除掉要点部分，你就把所有的部分都去掉了。例如，在议会成员把法令要点去除掉后，你可以说，这部法令不会那么有效了。
现在，让我们谈谈你。
你全部重要的想法，恐惧，梦想，情感和秘密都在你心里。如果你对别人倾诉衷肠（spill your guts），你就是把所有这些分享给别人。
这是一个非正式的谚语，但是你可以在任何情境下使用它。如果你的好朋友把约会细节全都告诉了你，她就是对你倾诉衷肠。也许在工作中，你的同事找你倾诉，对你说他的霸道性格实际上源自年幼时对失败深深的恐惧。
当你吐露心声的时候要谨慎。记住，一旦你说出来，话就收不回来了！
如果你憎恶某人，我意思是特别恨一个人，你可以说恨之入骨（hate their guts）。你恨他们的内在所有。这是一个非常刺耳的说法，听起来有一丢丢的幼稚。
你知道，如果你想想，这些内部器官都很重要。它们也许不好看，但是能让我们活着。
所以，“guts”也可以指一些特别好的东西。
例如，单词“guts”是“勇敢”或者“勇气”的一种非正式说法。做一个很艰难的决定需要勇气。
假设你想到一个人生地不熟，语言都不通的地方生活。你想试试看来个大改变！
一直生活在你那个镇子上的朋友说，“哇，那需要很大勇气。”起码现在，他们还没有勇气做这么大的一个改变。
这就是“no guts, no glory（不入虎穴，焉得虎子）”。这意思是如果你没有勇气冒险，你就不能达到目标或者获得成功。
这听起来也许有点吓人。但是你觉得你应该这么做。这种用法里，“gut（直觉）”指的是对某事物的强烈感觉。
“gut”也可以用作形容词。例如，直觉（gut feelings）是不基于逻辑或者理性上的。假如我是你最好的朋友。当我听说了你搬家的计划，我的本能反应（gut reaction）是去请求，甚至是去乞求你留下来。
但我的直觉也告诉我，这件事你是一定要去做的。
所以，我告诉你听从你的内心。去追求你的梦吧！
一年之后，我终于有勇气去做同样的事情了。我们在巴黎相遇，然后一起搬去俄国生活了一段时间。
如我们所说，不入虎穴，焉得虎子！
这就是今天《词汇掌故》的全部内容了。
作为身体的一部分，“gut”在你的语言里的使用方式是一样的吗？在评论区告诉我们吧。
我是安娜·马特奥。
