(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Now it's time for Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English. On this program we explore expressions used in American English.
People who visit our website or listen to our broadcasts want to learn English. They come freely. No one is forcing them.
That's right. In other words, no one is twisting their arms.
Exactly. Having your arm twisted hurts. It gets pulled in the wrong direction. Wrestlers know this. That is why in the sport of wrestling, twisting an opponent's arm is a good way to gain control.
One definition of "twist" is to bend or turn something into a shape or position that is not normal. If you do that to your arm, or any part of the body, it can hurt a lot. So, if you are wrestling with someone and twist their arm, your opponent may likely give up. You would be the winner.
The expression to twist someone's arm means to force someone to do what you want. You put pressure on them.
Several websites say this term first became popular back in the middle of the 1900s. It meant using physical force to get something done.
These days, it can mean using something other than physical strength. You do not have to be stronger than someone else to effectively twist their arm. If a small child wants to go to the store, she can twist your arm into taking her. She just will not take "no" for an answer. She asks and asks until you give up!
People who are good at selling products or raising money are usually skilled at twisting other people's arms.
Let's say you want to raise money for a cause that you care about -- saving the rain forest, for example. Because the issue is important to you, you do not mind twisting arms to get others to donate money. You email your friends. You start up an online campaign to raise as much money as you can. But you don't stop there. You throw a party where you look people in the eye and ask for money. They might say, "You don't need to twist my arm. Saving the rain forest is important! Here's my donation of $200!"
With a few small changes, twisting someone's arm can become a noun. If someone is good at arm-twisting, they are good at persuading others to do what they want. We can say they are skilled in the art of persuasion.
We have other expressions for making someone do want you want.
You can also strong-arm them. This term is similar to arm-twisting. It suggests that you are stronger, or are in a stronger position. So, you can get others to do what you want.
However, we often use arm-twisting in a lighthearted way. But not so much with "strong-arm." More often than not, we don't use strong-arm in a nice way. Bullies are good at strong-arming people. Besides, "bully", two other common verbs that mean "strong-arm" are intimidate and coerce.
When used as an adjective, strong-arm goes before a noun. For example, a man used strong-arm methods to get what he wanted.
Now, if arm-twisting or strong-arming does not work for you, you can always try putting the squeeze on someone else. When you squeeze something, you add pressure to it. For example, when you squeeze oranges, you press down on the fruit for its juice. So, when you put the squeeze on others, you pressure them to do what you want.
Some people are not good at arm-twisting, strong-arming or putting the squeeze on others. If you are like one of them, you may want to try a more subtle method of persuasion.
Your personal belief is, "you get more bees with honey than vinegar." This means when you are nice or sweet like honey to people, they are more likely to help you. If your words are sharply acidic like vinegar, they may just turn away.
You would rather sweet-talk or coax someone into doing what you want. These are both nice, subtle ways to twist someone's arm.
Here at VOA Learning English, we don't need to use any of these methods. English learners seek us out.
This is better than trying to force English on someone. If you have to twist someone's arm to learn something, chances are they won't.
And that's Words and Their Stories for this week. I'm Anna Matteo.
And I'm Bryan Lynn.
重点解析
1.seek out 挑出；找到；搜寻出
According to the Daily Mail, Emma is trying to seek out the source of the image so she can put a stop to it.
据每日邮报，艾玛正试图找出图像的来源，使她能制止它。
2.give up 停止；抛弃；认输
What he said meant that he would give up the plan.
他的话意味着他将放弃这个计划。
3.raise money 筹钱；募捐；集资
Or Lehman has been trying to sell off some of its assets, including its asset management unit to raise money.
为了筹集资金，雷曼公司已经开始出售旗下资产，包括它的资产管理部门。
参考译文
现在是《词汇掌故》节目时间，一档来自美国之声的学英语节目。本节目探讨美式英语里的常见表达。
访问我们网站或者收听我们广播的人都是想学习英语的人。他们自如地来到我们的节目。没有受人逼迫。
是的。换句话说，没人强迫他们（twist someone's arm）。
确实。扭着胳膊会很疼。那样胳膊会被拉向错误的方向。摔跤手了解这个。那就是在摔跤运动中扭曲对手的胳膊是强化控制的一个好方法的原因。
“twist”的含义之一是使某物弯曲或变成不正常的形状或位于非常规的位置。如果你的胳膊或者身体的任何一个部位被扭曲，那会很疼。因此，如果你和别人摔跤并扭了别人的胳膊，那你的对手有可能会放弃对抗。那你就将是冠军。
表达“twist someone's arm”的意思是强迫某人做你想做的事。你给他们施加压力。
有几个网站说这个表达是在20世纪开始流行起来。它的意思是借用体力来完成某事。
如今，它可以表示使用某物而不是使用力气。你不必为了轻易扭动某人的胳膊就必须比某人更强壮。如果一个小孩想要去商店，她会强迫你带她去。她不会接受“不行”的回答。她请求一次又一次直到你放弃为止！
擅于销售产品或是擅于筹集资金的人通常在强迫别人方面很在行。
假设你想为你很看重的一项事业筹措资金：例如拯救热带雨林。由于这个事情对你来说很重要，因此你不介意强迫别人捐钱。你给你的朋友们发邮件。你开启了一个网络策划活动以尽你所能地募集资金。但你并没有就此打住。你开了个派对，在派对上你注视着别人的眼睛并请求别人捐钱。他们也许说：“你没必要逼我捐款。拯救热带雨林很重要！这是我的200美元捐款！”
改动一点点这个表达，“twisting someone's arm”就能作名词。如果某人擅于arm-twisting（影响/强迫）他人，意思是他们擅长劝说别人做他们想让别人做的事情。我们可以说这些人在说服艺术方面很擅长。
我们还有其他表达表示“使某人做你想让其做的事情”的意思。
你也可以“strong-arm（强制）”他们（做某事）。这个表达和“arm-twisting”意思相近。这个表达表明你很强壮或者你处于更强势的地位。因此，你能强迫别人做你想让他们去做的事情。
然而，我们通常会用轻松愉快的方式使用“arm-twisting”。但是“strong-arm”的使用没有那么愉快。大多数时候，我们使用这个表达的方式不是很友好。“霸凌者（bullies）”在强制别人方面很擅长。此外，“霸凌者（bully）”，另外两个常用的表示“强迫”的动词是intimidate（恐吓）和coerce（胁迫）。
当“strong-arm”作名词时，它跟在名词后面。例如，一个使用了强硬手段得到自己所要的男人。
如果“arm-twisting”或是“strong-arming”不适合你使用，你总是可以试试“put the squeeze on someone else（对别人施加压力）”。当你挤压某物时，你对其施压。例如，当你榨橙子时，你压榨水果榨汁。因此，当你对别人施压的时候，你压迫他们做你想做的事情。
一些人不擅于强迫别人、强制别人或者给别人施压。如果你喜欢这些方式之一，你也许想尝试更加巧妙的说服方式。
你的个人信条是：“ 蜜比醋更能抓住飞虫/好话比尖刻言词更管用。”这句话的意思是当你对人亲切友好的时候，像蜂蜜那样让人感觉甜甜的，人们会更愿意帮助你。如果你的言辞尖刻，说话酸溜溜的，他们也许会拒绝帮助你。
你宁愿甜言蜜语或哄劝（coax）某人做你想做的事。相对于“强迫别人（twist someone's arm）”，这俩都是友善、巧妙的方式。
这里是VOA学英语，我们不需要使用任何这些方法。（因为是）英语学习者找到我们的。
这比试图强迫别人学英语要好。如果你得逼着别人学习某事，他们不可能学好。
这就是本周的《词汇掌故》。我是安娜•马特奥。
我是布莱恩•林恩。
