(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
You Don't Have to Sing to 'Preach to the Choir'
And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
On this program we explore words and expressions in the English language.
Today, we talk about a type of shared belief. Often in our lives, we come together with others because of a shared belief or purpose. That group can sometimes be called a choir.
A choir can describe a group of instruments of the same type, for example a brass choir.
A choir can be used to describe an organized group of persons or things. For example, many rich, famous people travel with a choir of assistants.
A choir is also a group of organized singers in a church. This is the most common definition. For today's expression, we will focus on the church choir. The expression is "preaching to the choir."
Church leaders preach. That's why they're called preachers. But the word "preach" is not only used in a church.
You can preach about something you believe to be good or necessary. However, people who preach to others, speak to them in an annoying way about the right way to behave. They may sound as if they think they know better. And books that try to teach a moral lesson could be criticized for being too preachy.
But now, let's get back to our expression "preaching to the choir."
One online dictionary gives this definition: If I am preaching to the choir, I am presenting an argument or opinion to people who already agree with it. So, I am not looking to convince them. Perhaps, I am just looking to feel good about my idea.
When you preach to the choir, you are sharing your opinion with people who already agree with you. They are already on your side. You don't need to convince them. So, sometimes it means you are wasting your breath, like in this example.
You know, we need a park in our neighborhood.
I couldn't agree more.
The empty property at the end of the street would be perfect. And it's near the woods. So, it'll be very quiet.
You don't have to sell me on your idea. I brought up that same idea years ago.
It would be great not just for the kids, but for everyone! It could be a gathering place and a place for community activities.
I already know all this! Now, you're just preaching to the choir. What you need to do is to talk to all the other neighbors on this street and get them on board. A few were against the idea years ago.
Here is another example. If I said to you that learning another language can be good for you in so many ways, and you should try it – you could say, "Anna, you are preaching to the choir! We're already doing that."
And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories.
Until next time ...
I'm Anna Matteo.
重点解析
1.brought up 提出
Experts don't think highly of the ideas brought up by her.
专家们对他提出的想法评价不高。
2.sell on 劝使某人相信（观点）
Would you allow me to try to sell you on an alternate plan?
我可以向你推销另一种方案吗？
3.get back to 返回
He's itching to get back to work.
他巴不得马上回去工作。
参考译文
何必“多此一举”？
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语《词汇掌故》。
在本期节目中，我们将探索英语词汇和短语。
今天，我们来谈谈一种共同的信念。在日常生活中，我们常常因共同的信仰或目标而与他人走到一起。这个团体有时被称为“唱诗班”。
唱诗班通常用来描述一组相同类型的乐器，例如铜管唱诗班。
唱诗班还可以用来描述一群有组织的人或物。例如，许多富有的名人和助手一起出行。
唱诗班也可以是教堂里一群有组织的歌手。这是最常见的定义。如今，我们主要用它来形容教堂唱诗班。这句话的意思是“向唱诗班布道”。
教会领袖布道。这就是为什么他们被称为传教士。但是“布道”这个词的使用场合不仅限于教堂。
你可以宣扬你认为好的或必要的事情。然而，那些向别人说教的人，用一种烦人的方式告诉对方正确的行为方式。他们可能听起来好像觉得自己知道得更多。那些试图教授道德规范的书籍可能会被批评为“说教性太强”。
但是现在，我们继续聊聊这个短语“向唱诗班讲道”。
某在线词典给出了这样的定义：如果向唱诗班布道，就是在向已经同意这一观点的人提出某项观点。所以，我不是打算说服他们。也许，我只是想对自身的想法表达满意之感。
当你向唱诗班布道时，你是在和那些已经同意你（观点）的人分享观点。他们已经跟你是同一战线了。你不需要说服他们。所以，有时候这意味着你在浪费口舌，就像下面的例子。
我们附近需要一个公园。
我非常认可你的观点。
这条街尽头的空地是最好的选择。而且离树林很近。所以，环境会非常幽静。
你不用说服我接纳你的想法。几年前我就提出过同样的建议了。
这不仅对孩子们有益，对每个人都有好处！它可以作为聚会的场所以及社区活动的区域。
这些我都知道！现在，你只是在“白费口舌”。你应该和这条街上所有的邻居谈谈争取他们的同意。几年前，一些人反对这个建议。
再举一个例子。如果我说，学习另一种语言对你有很多好处，你应该尝试一下，你可以说：“安娜，你这话简直是浪费口水！因为我们已经在学习了。”
以上就是本期《词汇掌故》节目的全部内容。
下期节目见...
安娜·马特奥为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
