(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Now, the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories.
On this show, we explore the origins and usage of common expressions in American English. Sometimes we tie the show to an event or special time of the year. This show could be tied to any time of the year that features a holiday.
Holidays are a wonderful time of the year! They are a time when people slow down and take a break from their daily lives.
While holidays are celebrated in different ways, many have something in common -- gift-giving!
And who doesn't like to get a present. Covered in pretty paper, maybe tied with a bow or ribbon, a wrapped gift is a surprise. It could be anything!
"Oh, you really shouldn't have!" is a common response when someone hands you a gift. We say this even when we are thinking to ourselves, "Yay! I got a present!"
Sometimes the gift is perfect.
"It's just what I have always wanted!" you might say.
Sometimes it's not.
We have all been there. You happily tear open a gift, wondering what is inside. But then you see it and you are ... disappointed. But you must not show it. And you absolutely must not criticize the gift and make comments about why you don't like it.
In other words, don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
This idiom is really old.
Way back in 1546, a man named John Heywood supposedly used this phrase in some Middle English text. ("No man ought to looke a geuen hors in the mouth.")
However, some word experts say the idiom is much older than that. However old it is, people must have used it when gifting a horse was a common thing.
To understand this idiom, we must understand a bit about horse's teeth. They grow over time. So, checking the length of the teeth is a way of knowing the horse's age. Although I have never given or received a horse, I'm guessing a young horse makes a better gift than an old one.
However, checking the horse's mouth would be a sign of mistrust towards the gift giver. This would be bad manners. And it might make the giver feel embarrassed or even angry!
The polite thing to do is simply to say "thank you" and accept the gift horse graciously.
These days, horses are not common gifts. But we commonly use this idiom.
Today "don't (or never) look a gift horse in the mouth" means don't find fault with something that has been received as a gift or favor. Don't be ungrateful when you receive a present, even if it's not exactly what you wanted. If you complain about a gift someone has given you or a favor someone has done for you, you could be accused of looking a gift horse in the mouth.
Besides gifts, you can use this idiom for other things, such as a favor.
Let's say you ask a friend to help cook a dish for a party you are throwing for a group of senior citizens in your neighborhood.
She comes to the dinner, smiling from ear to ear, and hands you the dish she has cooked. It is very burnt and it smells ... odd. But you don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth. You thank her for her dish and the time she took to make it. Then you put it on the table ... in the back ... where people hopefully won't see it.
So, next time you get a gift that is less than perfect, remember that it is not nice to look a gift horse in the mouth. After all, it's the thought that counts. This means that it's the thought of gift-giving and not the gift itself that is important.
And don't worry. If you get something as a gift that you really don't like, you can always pass it along to someone else who may actually like it.
In other words, you can always re-gift it!
And that's the end of this Word and Their Stories!
I'm Anna Matteo.
重点解析
1.be tied to 束缚于,捆绑于
If you have small children, you will be tied to your home.
如果你有小孩子，你就会被约束在家了。
2.smiling from ear to ear 笑得合不拢嘴
With my hat on his head, he ran to show his mother, then back to me smiling from ear to ear.
他戴上我的帽子，跑去给他母亲看，然后回到我面前，乐得合不拢嘴。
3.bad manners 坏习惯;没礼貌;没有礼貌;则则被视为无礼;不礼貌
I think it's the height of bad manners to be dressed badly.
我认为衣着不当是最没有礼貌的行为。
参考译文
这里是VOA学英语《词汇掌故》节目。
本节目旨在探索美式英语里常见表达的来源与用法。有时我们会把节目与一个大事件或者一年之中的特殊时刻联系起来。我们的节目可以与一年期间的任何节日联系起来。
节日是一年之中最美好的时光！节日的时候，人们会放缓生活节奏，从每天的生活中挣脱出来休息休息。
尽管庆祝节日的方式多种多样，但很多节日还是有共同的方面的——赠送礼物（gift-giving）！
谁不喜欢得到礼物呢。美丽的包装，也许还系了蝴蝶结或者丝带，包装的礼物会有惊喜感，里面什么礼物都有可能！
“哦，你真得不用这么客气！（you really shouldn't have!）”这句话是别人递给你礼物的时候的一个常见回应。我们甚至会在心想“耶！我收到了一个礼物”的时候说出这句话。
有时候的礼物会让人觉得很适合。
你也许会说:“这正是我一直想要的！”
有时候的礼物则不那样。
我们都在那里。你高兴地打开礼物的包装，猜想里面是什么东西。但当你看见礼物的时候，你失望了。但你不能表现出来，你绝对不能说那个礼物不好并说出你不喜欢的原因。
换句话说，勿对所受礼物挑剔抱怨（don't look a gift horse in the mouth）。
这句习语真得很有年头。
那是1546年，据说一个叫约翰·海伍德的人在某篇中古英语的文章里用到了这个句子（No man ought to looke a geuen hors in the mouth 馈赠之马，勿看牙口）。
但一些文字学专家说这个习语的出现时间远比那个时间古老。不论它的历史有多悠久，人们一定是在赠马是一种常见行为的时候用到了这个习语。
我们必须稍微了解一下马齿，以便更好理解这个习语。马牙会随着时间慢慢生长。所以，察看马牙的长度就成了一种了解马龄的方法。尽管我从来没有赠送或者收到过一匹马，但我猜一匹小马比一匹老马会更适合做礼物。
但察看马嘴是一种对送礼人不信任的表现。这是不礼貌的行为。且这会让送礼人觉得尴尬甚至会生气！
礼貌的行为就是说句谢谢并和颜悦色地收下礼物。
如今，马匹不是常见的礼物了，但我们还是经常使用这个习语。
现在的“don't (or never) look a gift horse in the mouth”意思是对收到的礼物或者获得的帮助不要挑三拣四。当你收到礼物的时候，即使不是你真正想要的礼物，请心怀感恩。如果你抱怨某人给的礼物或是别人对你的恩惠，你会被指责为“挑三拣四”。
除了礼物，你可以把这个习语用于其他事物，比如恩惠。
假设你请求你的朋友帮忙为派对做道菜，这个派对是你为附近一群老年人举办的。
她来到了晚宴上，笑得合不拢嘴，递给你她煮的菜，菜烧糊了并且闻着味道很怪。但你不想挑三拣四。你感谢她做的这道菜以及她为此所花费的时间。然后你把它放在桌子靠后边，希望人们看不见的地方。
那么，下次你收到不那么满意的礼物，记得挑三拣四不是一种友善的行为。毕竟，重要的是心意。这意味着重要的是赠送礼物的想法，而不是礼物。
不用担忧。如果你收到你真心不喜欢的礼物，你总是可以把它留给也许真正喜欢它的人。
换句话说，你总是可以再把它再赠出去！
这就是本期《词汇掌故》的全部内容了！
我是安娜·马特奥。
