(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 words and expressions in American English.
Some are very common. For example, I'm sure that most of you have heard the expression "raining cats and dogs." We use it when it is raining very, very hard. In other words, when it is pouring!
Now, we have another useful expression about hard rain: "When it rains, it pours!" This means that when something bad happens, other bad things usually happen at the same time. We often use this saying after someone describes a lot of bad things, one after the other, like in this example.
Boy, my sister is really having a hard time these days.
Why? What's wrong?
First, someone stole her car. Then she broke her arm in a biking accident and a falling tree cut a hole in her house – all in one week!
That is one unlucky week. You know what they say: When it rains, it pours.
When using this expression, know that it can be helpful in any situation. You can say it to your best friend or to your employer. Also, we often say it in a sing-song way, like this – "When it rains ... it pours."
Now, the Merriam-Webster dictionary says that English speakers use this idiom for a series of bad things. However, other websites say you can also use it to describe many good things. While I have heard it used to describe many good things, more often than not, the "rain" in this expression represents bad things.
So, even though we mostly use "When it rains, it pours" for bad situations, you can also use it in good ones. However, we only use the next one in bad times.
If a person is under a cloud, they are thought to have done something bad or dishonorable. A person might even be a under a certain type of cloud, such as a cloud of suspicion. If you are living under a cloud of suspicion, other people believe that you have done something wrong.
But, we use this expressions for companies and organizations as well – not just people. For example, currently many scandals surround some women's gymnastic organizations and some universities in the United States. They are under a cloud of suspicion.
Now, if you add a few extra words to the phrase, the meaning changes greatly. If I am living under a dark cloud, it means I am depressed and sad all the time. We can make this phrase even more descriptive by saying "living under the dark cloud of depression" or "living under the dark cloud of poverty." So, you see -- there are different types of dark clouds you can live under.
But even people for people living under a dark cloud, there is hope. There is always hope. And that brings us to our last expression: Every cloud has a silver lining.
This expression means there is always something hopeful in even the most difficult or unhappy situation. A silver lining on a cloud shows that the sun is behind it. Even a really terrible, bad event may produce something happy or hopeful.
For example, let's say a friend of yours is in a car crash. She is not badly hurt but her car is too damaged to fix. When the tow truck driver comes to take her car off the road, she starts talking to him. They find out that they share a love of old cars. So, they plan to meet the following weekend at a car show. Soon they become great friends. When she tells this story to her friends and family, they often say the same thing: Every cloud has a silver lining!
And that's the end of this Words and Their Stories! I'm Anna Matteo.
重点解析
1.When it rains, it pours 祸不单行；当大雨开始落下；一发不可收拾
My dog ate my homework, and my computer crashed. Even worse, I got sick that night! When it rains, it pours!
我的狗吃掉了我的家庭作业，还有我的电脑崩溃了。更糟的是，在那天晚上我生病了。真是祸不单行啊！
2.all the time 一直；总是；无时无刻
We re getting better at it all the time, but we also need to be very aware of its limitations.
我们一直在进步，但是我们也应该注意到它的局限性。
3.a car crash 车祸；汽车撞车事故；汽车撞车的事故
In nineteen eighty-one, at the age of thirty-eight, he died in a car crash on his way to a performance.
1981年他在前往演出的路上，因车祸而去逝，年仅38岁。
参考译文
现在是VOA学英语《词汇掌故》节目时间。
在节目中，我们会探索美式英语里的常用单词和表达。
其中一些单词和表达很常见。例如，我相信你们中的很多人应该听过"raining cats and dogs（倾盆大雨）"这个表达。我们在下很大很大的雨的时候会用到这个表达。换句话说，当下倾盆大雨的时候！
现在，我们有另一个关于下大雨的有用表达：“When it rains, it pours!（祸不单行）”这意思是当坏事发生的时候，通常其他坏事也会同时发生。我们往往在一个人描述一堆坏事的时候，一件接一件的坏事的时候使用这个表达，就像下面这个例子这样：
天啊，我姐姐这些天真是日子艰难。
为什么？怎么了？
开始，有人偷了她的车。之后，她在一次骑行意外中摔断了胳膊，还有一棵树倒下来的时候把她的房子砸了个洞，所有这些都发生在一周之内！
那真是不幸的一周。你知道人们怎么形容这种情形的：祸不单行。
使用这个表达的时候，我们要知道它在任何情境下都是可用的。你可以对你的好朋友、或者你的雇主用到这个表达。同时，我们经常用唱的方式说出这个表达，就像这样：“When it rains ... it pours（祸不……单行）。”
韦氏词典说，说英语的人们用这个谚语来表述一系列的坏事。但其他网站说你也可以用它来形容许多好事。虽然我听说过这个它可以用来形容很多好事，但通常这个表达里的“rain”是表示坏事。
因此，尽管我们用“When it rains, it pours”主要来表示坏事，但你也可以用它来表示好事。然而，接下来的一个表达，我们只在坏事的时候用到。
如果一个人“under a cloud（被嫌弃/被贬低）”，那这个人就做了什么坏事或者不光彩的事情。一个人甚至可能是处于特定一种云下的人，如一团疑云。如果你一直活在被人怀疑的“云朵”之下，其他人就会认为你做了什么错事。
但是，对于公司和组织，我们也会用到这个表达，不仅限于人。例如，最近，围绕着一些女子体操组织和一些美国大学有许多丑闻。他们身处疑云之下。
如果你给这个短语加上个单词，那它的意思就大大改变了。如果“我活在乌云之下（living under a dark cloud）”，那这句话的意思是我总是很沮丧，很悲观。我们可以更这样说：“生活在忧郁的阴影里”或者“活在贫困的阴影下”。所以，你看，人们可以活在各种不同的阴影之下。
但即使是活在乌云之下的人，还是有希望的。生活总是有希望的。这带出了我们最后一个表达：黑暗中总有一线光明（Every cloud has a silver lining）。
这个表达的意思是即使是在最困难或者最不开心的局面时，也总还是有一线希望的。云边上的银光表明云后有太阳。即使是一个真得很糟糕的坏事也许也能产生什么开心或者希望的事。
例如，假设你的一个朋友遭遇了车祸。她伤得不重，但是她的车被撞到没法修了。当一个拖车司机来把她的车拖离路面时，她和司机攀谈起来。他们发现都喜欢旧车。因此，他们计划接下来的这个周末在一个车展见面。很快，他们成了很好的朋友。当她把和这个故事讲给她的朋友以及家人听时，他们经常说出同一句话：黑暗中总有一线光明！
这就是本期的《词汇掌故》节目！我是安娜·马特奥。
