(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Now, the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories.
Each week, we tell about terms and expressions we use in American English. We often explore their meanings and explain how to use them in different situations.
Today we talk about something common to everyone around the world.
Laughing is one of life's most simple pleasures. It is free. You can do it anywhere. And it makes you feel good!
There is another thing you should know about laughter: Laughter is contagious.
Like the flu, laughter can spread easily among people. Often when we hear someone laughing in a crowded room or a packed train, for example, we start laughing too – even if we have no idea why.
But unlike the flu, even a good handwashing will not protect you against breaking into a fit of laughter. Your eyes water, your heart rate goes up and your face gets that beautiful laughter glow.
In fact, many doctors say that mental health can affect physical health. You might even say, "Laughter is the best medicine."
However, "laughter is the best medicine" does not mean that you should not take medicine when you are sick. It simply means that having a positive outlook might help ease your troubles.
People who use this expression are probably pretty happy people. Then there are those other types – you know, people who are always grumpy. We could call someone who does not like to laugh a curmudgeon. A curmudgeon is bad-tempered, ill-natured and just generally not fun to be around.
Well, unless you yourself are a curmudgeon. If that is the case, you two could hang out and not laugh and not have fun together! You know what we say -- misery loves company. This means that some people who are miserable and unhappy like to make others miserable and unhappy, too.
On the other hand, making others laugh with you is an act of joy and kindness. However, the opposite is true when people laugh at you. That experience is lonely and no fun at all.
But at least those two phrases really show the importance of choosing the right preposition.
For example, if Anna is in a funny play and people laugh with her -- that is a good thing. However, if she messes up her lines and falls on stage, people may laugh at her. And that is not so good.
People might even call her a laughingstock. No one, not even a professional comedian, wants to be a laughingstock.
That is a really great example, Bryan. Thanks. I think.
But you're right. Nobody wants to be a laughingstock.
If you wanna go crazy and act like a clown
Be the laughing stock all over town
That's your red wagon ...
For example, let's say a teacher falls on hard times and loses his apartment. So, for a couple of days he sleeps in his car outside of the school. As it happens, at night he sleeps in bright pink, full-body pajamas with a hood and bunny ears. And he holds a teddy bear.
Well, some cruel students record him sleeping in his car and share the video with their classmates. The teacher becomes the laughingstock of the whole school.
That was a mean thing to do.
Well, yes. Yes, it was. But our story does not end there.
The students post the video online, and it goes viral! More than 10 million people watch it on YouTube! So, the teacher gets dozens of offers to make commercials for pajamas and teddy bears. He makes a lot of money. Then he writes a best-selling book on how to fall asleep anywhere, anytime.
Good for him!
But wait, Bryan. It gets even better! He stars in a movie based on his life: "The Teacher Who Slept in His Car."
So, in the end, you could say the teacher definitely had the last laugh. When you have the last laugh, you end up winning when at first you were losing.
Another way to have the last laugh, is to simply laugh off a tough situation. It shows you just do not care. For example, if the teacher is a friend of yours, you could always tell him to just laugh it off.
It may be difficult. But if you have the choice to laugh or cry, chose laughter. For one thing, you may inspire others to laugh, too.
That's right. As we also like to say: Laugh and the world laughs with you; cry and you cry alone. This means that people prefer to be around those who are happy and cheerful.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox, a poet of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, penned this famous expression. In her poem "Solitude," she writes ."Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone."
However, these days, we do not usually say "weep." So, the expression now uses the word "cry." Whatever you call it -- weeping or crying, it is always better to laugh!
And that's Words and Their Stories.
I'm Bryan Lynn. And I'm Anna Matteo.
重点解析
1.a fit of laughter 一阵笑声
When he made a face, the others burst into a fit of laughter.
他做个鬼脸，大家一阵大笑。
2.as it happens 碰巧来到；恰好碰巧；当时发生的
I'm trying to learn their names (there are over fifty of them, as it happens, in the one office), and it isn't easy to do.
我努力记住他们的名字（碰巧这一个办公室五十多人），全部记住他们的名字是不容易的。
3.best-selling book 畅销书
On the coffee table sat a copy of an earlier best-selling book I wrote.
在咖啡桌旁放着她带来的我写的第一本畅销书。
4.laugh off 用笑摆脱；笑而不理，表示不当一回事；一笑了之
What a fool you are to do such a thing! That really makes people laugh off their front teeth.
你怎么做出那样愚蠢的事情？真是让人笑掉大牙。
参考译文
现在是VOA学英语《词汇掌故》节目时间。
我们每周都会讲述美式英语里用到的术语和表达。我们经常探讨它们的含义，并解释它们在不同情境下的使用方法。
今天我们要谈论的是对世界上的每一个人都很熟悉的事物。
笑是人生中最简单的乐趣之一。你可以在任何地方畅怀大笑，不受拘束。而且，笑会让你感觉很好！
还有一件关于笑的事情你应该知道的是：笑是会感染人的。
就像流感一样，笑可以轻易感染人。例如，在拥挤的空间或者在一列满载的火车上时，当听到别人的笑声时，我们往往也会跟着笑，即使我们不知道别人因何而笑。
但是和流感不一样的是，即使好好洗手也不能防止你突然大笑。你的眼睛会流泪，你的心跳会加快，你的脸上会露出迷人的笑容。
实际上，许多医生说心理健康会影响身体健康。你甚至会说，笑是最佳良药。
然而，“笑是最佳良药”并不意味着生病的时候你不应该吃药。它仅仅是表达积极的态度能帮你减轻烦恼。
使用这个表达的人可能是快乐的丽人。然而，你知道，会有那些其他的类型，性情暴躁的人。我们可以称呼不爱笑的人为坏脾气的人（curmudgeon）。坏脾气的人脾气不好，性情不佳，而且一般来说，和他们相处起来没啥乐趣。
好吧，除非你也是一个坏脾气的人。如果是那样的话，你们可以一起闲逛，没有笑声，一起没乐趣地玩！我知道你懂的：misery loves company，意思是悲惨和不幸的人喜欢让别人也变得痛苦且不快乐。
然而，让别人和你一起笑是一种开心且善良的行为。但是，当人们嘲笑你的时候，情况恰恰相反。那种经历是孤独的，而且没有一点意思。
但至少这两个短语确实表明了选择正确介词的重要性。
例如，如果安娜在一个有趣的戏剧里表演，那人们和她一起笑那是件好事。然而，如果她台词说乱了套，并且在台上摔倒了，那人们会笑话她。那就不是什么好事了。
人们甚至也许会说她是一个笑话。没有人想成为笑柄，即使是专业的喜剧演员也不想当笑柄。
我觉得这真是一个很棒的例子，林恩。谢谢。
但你说得对。没有人想成为笑柄。
如果你想发狂，扮成小丑
成为整个镇子的笑柄
那是你的红色马车……
例如，假设一个老师遇到了经济困难，付不起公寓的租金。所以，接连几天，他都睡在学校外面的车里。恰好，晚上，他穿着一件带着兔耳朵帽子的亮粉色全身睡衣。他还抱着一个泰迪熊。
嗯，一些冷酷无情的学生录下了他睡在车里的样子，并且和他们的同班同学分享了这个视频。那位老师成为了全校的笑柄。
这是件卑鄙的事。
嗯，是的，确实是。但是我们的故事还没结束。
这些学生将视频传到了网上，于是视频便在网上传开了！有超过一千万人在YouTube上观看了这个视频！因此，这位老师得到了十几份为睡衣和泰迪熊做广告的邀约。他挣了很多钱。然后，他写了一本畅销书，讲述如何在任何地方、任何时间入睡。
他可真行！
但是等等，布莱恩。好事还在后头呢！他出演了一部以他的生活为原型的电影：《睡在车里的老师》。
那么，最后，你可以说这个老师绝对笑到了最后（the last laugh）。当你笑到最后的时候，你最终会赢，而你刚开始就输了。
另一种笑到最后的方式是对于艰难的局势一笑置之。表明你压根不在意。例如，如果这个老师是你的朋友，你总是可以告诉他一笑置之。
这也许很困难。但是如果你可以选择是笑还是哭，那么就选择笑吧。只一点，你也许会鼓励其他人也笑起来。
是的。正如我们常爱说的：你笑，全世界和你一起笑；你哭，却独自一人哭。这意味着人们更喜欢那些令人开心和欢乐的人在一起。
埃拉·惠勒·威尔科克斯是19世纪末和20世纪初的一位诗人，写下了这句名言。她在《孤独》一诗中写道：“你笑，这世界和你一起笑；你哭，却只能一个人哭。”
然而，现如今，我们不经常说“weep（哭泣）”这个词。因此，这个表达现在用的单词“cry（哭）”。无论你说“哭泣”或是“哭”，笑一笑总是更好的！
这就是本期的《词汇掌故》节目。
我是布莱恩·林恩。我是安娜·马特奥。
