(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Now, the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories.
On today's program, we talk about popular sayings, called proverbs. Many you will hear today come from a very famous person in American history -- Benjamin Franklin.
Now, here is Barbara Klein reading a story written by Shelley Gollust.
Today we talk about proverbs. A proverb is a short, well known saying that expresses a common truth or belief. Proverbs are found in most cultures and are often very old.
In American history, Benjamin Franklin was famous for his proverbs. Franklin lived in the 1700s. He was a leader of the American Revolution against English rule. He was also a scientist, inventor and writer.
For many years, Franklin published a book called "Poor Richard's Almanac." He included many proverbs that he had heard or created. Some of them are still used today. Like this one: "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."
Franklin is also remembered for other proverbs like, "A penny saved is a penny earned." This means that money should not be wasted.
Here are other examples of proverbs that Americans use. The first ones are about love. Some people say, "All is fair in love and war." They mean that anything you do in a relationship or in battle is acceptable.
Another proverb about love is, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." This means you love someone even more when he or she is far away. But other people say, "Out of sight, out of mind." You may not even think about that person when he or she is not with you. Which of these proverbs do you think is most true?
Another proverb says "Love is blind." In other words, when you are in love with someone, you may refuse to see anything bad about that person.
Here is another popular saying about love: "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach." Some people believe that a woman can win a man's love if she prepares his favorite foods.
Some people are only interested in having a relationship with someone who is very good-looking. You might tell them that "Beauty is only skin deep." Your girlfriend may be lovely to look at, but she may also have some bad qualities. Or the opposite may be true. Your boyfriend is a wonderful person, but not good-looking.
So what a person looks like is not really important.
Another proverb is true in love and war or other situations: "Actions speak louder than words." It means that what you do is more important than what you say.
Sadly, we have no more time for this program. So we must say, "All good things must come to an end."
And that brings us to the end of this Words and Their Stories.
Until next time, I'm Anna Matteo.
重点解析
1.be famous for 因……而著名；因……而闻名
He would be famous for the game.
有些住宅仍没有像卫生间这样的基本设施。
2.in other words 换言之；也就是说
They asked him to leave ─ in other words he was fired.
他们请他走人，也就是说，他被解雇了。
3.look at 看着；注视
Don't look at me like that.
别这样看着我。
参考译文
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语《词汇掌故》。
在今天的节目中，我们将讨论谚语。你们会听到许多来自美国历史上一位非常著名的人物——本杰明·富兰克林的名言。
现在由芭芭拉·克莱恩阅读雪莱·戈勒斯特撰写的故事。
今天我们来谈谈谚语。谚语是一种众所周知的简短说法，表达人们共同的真理或信仰。谚语存在于大多数文化中，而且往往很古老。
在美国历史上，本杰明·克富兰克林以他的谚语而闻名。富兰克林生活在18世纪，他是反对英国统治的美国革命领袖，还是一位科学家、发明家和作家。
富兰克林花了很多年出版了一本名为《穷理查年鉴》的书，书中收录了许多他听说或创作的谚语。其中一些沿用至今，比如：“早睡早起身体好。”
富兰克林也因为其他的谚语而让人们所铭记，比如，“财富是节约换来的”，它的意思是不应该浪费钱财。
下面是美国人使用的其他谚语，第一部分是关于爱。有人说，“情场战场,不择手段。”，意思是在恋爱或战争中所做的一切都可以接受。
另一个关于爱的谚语是“小别胜新婚”，意思是某人离你很远时，你会更爱他或她。但也有人说，“眼不见，心不烦”。某人不在你身边时，你可能连想都不想这个人。你认为这些谚语中哪一句最正确？
另一个谚语说“情人眼里出西施之意”。换句话说，当你爱上一个人，你可能会拒绝看到那个人不好的一面。
另一句关于爱情的流行说法是：“抓住一个人的心首先要抓住他的胃。”有些人认为，如果一个女人准备了爱人最喜欢的食物，她就能赢得这个男人的爱。
以告诉他们“不可以貌取人”。你的女朋友看起来很可爱，但她也可能有一些不好的品质。或者恰恰相反，你男朋友是个好人，但长得不帅。
所以一个人的长相并不重要。
另一句谚语在爱情、战争或其他情况下是正确的：“事实胜于雄辩”，意思是你所做的要比说的更重要。
很遗憾，今天的节目就到这里了。所以我们必须说，“天下无不散之宴席。”
本期的《词汇掌故》节目就到这里了。
我们下次节目见，我是安娜·马特奥。
