听力文本

Time to Get ‘Back on That Horse’

And now, Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English.

On this program, we explore words and expressions in the English language. Sometimes we explain where they come from and how to use them.

Today we talk about horses. They are strong, fast, and beautiful animals. Many years ago, in many places around the world, people used horses to get around. These days, horseback riding is done for sport. It is a good way to get exercise outdoors. However, it is not the easiest sport to enjoy.

First of all, horseback riding can cost a lot. You need a horse, the right equipment, a place for it to live, called a stable, and a lot of land to ride it on. Those things can cost a lot of money. So, many people just rent time on a horse. But that can cost a lot too.

Then there is the learning curve. This is the time it takes to learn how to do something. Horseback riding has a pretty steep learning curve. Most people need to do it a lot to feel safe on a horse. So, people who did not take lessons when they were young, may have a harder time learning when they get older.

That is because there is also some danger with horseback riding. You could get seriously hurt if a horse throws you from its back. If that happens, people say it is important to get back on the horse as soon as you can. (Of course, after you get checked for injuries.)

If you do not get back in the saddle, you may be afraid to ever ride a horse again. But if you climb right back on the horse, you might forget about falling off.

That is where we get two expressions: "back in the saddle," and "If you fall off a horse, (you) get right back on."

Now, a saddle is the leather seat that you put on horse's back. It secures a rider to the horse. When we say we are getting "back in the saddle," we are doing something that we have not done in a while or something we think we no longer do well.

For example, let's say I get fired from my job. It not only upsets me, but it also hurts my self-confidence. So, my friends could say to me, "Anna, It's time you get back in the saddle! Go find another job!"

"If you fall off a horse, you get right back on" is the same advice. It means: To return to an activity that you have failed at or had trouble with. But not just any activity. If you did something that you didn't enjoy and failed, there is really no need to do it again.

For this expression, the activity is usually something that you like or that is important to you for some reason.

For example, a friend of mine is a piano player. Once he wrote a piece of music and played it for a room full of people. But they did not really like it. So, he got upset and wanted to quit playing.

I told him, "You have to get right back on that horse. Go back home right now and write another song." And he did! He is still trying, but he is not afraid of playing in front of people.

So, if you need to tell someone to get over their fears and try something again, you can use one of these expressions.

If you make mistakes speaking English to a room full of people, just forget about it. My advice is: "Get back in the saddle!" as soon as possible.

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.get over 克服

She can't get over her shyness.

她无法克服羞怯心理UF|OR5^*dxgoDp。

2.get around 到处走动；逃避

He now needs a walker to get around.

他现在走动需要助行架V6*ZJKb*~t%KRqk8。

3.back in the saddle 重新做某事

The line from corporate communications is that Turner is back in the saddle.

公司传达的消息是，特纳重新掌权Z4Qx9Cll)B。

参考译文

遇到困难就要“愈挫愈勇”

欢迎收听VOA慢速英语《词汇掌故》t!e6*2%wM=ksp6_|。

在本期节目中，我们将探索英语词汇和短语d5x_94pgGLCw33。有时，我们会解释它们的出处以及使用方法%g^RhP5%Lpc[u6*~i_。

今天我们来聊聊马b1hBgY3Ta6V。马是一种强壮、敏捷和外形美丽的动物)_VHarL-_]8#lcR2vJf。许多年前，在世界上的许多地方，人们利用马匹代步Kx;!b.Am5cc-5*B。如今，骑马已经成为一种运动e4a8-h]ftJhY。这是在户外锻炼的好方式xkT%iA|h[im。然而，骑马并不是一项简单的娱乐活动ug8iSnxVxF。

首先，骑马的费用高昂Ow&,|4W6B;Ymgeix5。你需要一匹马，必要的装备，一处马厩，还有大片的骑马场地U8&]f5JCCl);]D。光这些东西就要花很多钱XBq!evic0EsoX~。所以，很多人只是在马背上租时间eBB1sQ6_9Hd,F。但那也会花费很多C)@+gK9L@l。

其实是学习曲线nN12utf^%gdBm6K#j。这是学习如何做某事所需要的时间oo1e8-uR4|AoSX_。骑马的学习曲线可以说相当陡峭Zm3=9*blpyr)hLyG)。大多数人在骑马时需要经常学习才能找到安全感V|t7Nw35VV@NuH。所以，那些年轻时没有好好学习的人，长大后学起来可能会更加吃力xC,lOkK3LAjd(~3nC.Q。

这是因为骑马也有一些危险N4LRYmzsR|i5zgp。如果你从马背上摔下来，可能会受重伤A[63qpfe6i。如果发生这种情况，人们会说重要的是“尽快回到马背上”Hi97^bRD[+_iK)B。(当然，是在检查伤势无碍之后oR-r9%wabVqp!J!p。)

如果不重上马鞍，你可能会害怕再骑马)vM246_|,aH(Mccj8E。但如果你重新开始骑马，你可能会忘记摔下马背这档事_]C4N@tvsaU01。

这就是我们要讲的两个短语:“重上马鞍”和“如果摔下了马背，那就再回到马背上V20!-7~5OO。”

马鞍是放在马背上的皮坐垫!![(li!cU^~Deb^p^。马鞍能把骑马者固定在马背上q_Qs3ym0erX#,EK(t^7b。当我们说“重上马鞍”时，指的是正在做一些事情，而这些事情有一段时间没做过了，或者是重拾做的不太出色的事情!|Ylb)8BV3!NT0Q8vZmW。

例如，假设我被解雇了6U;PJrBQCzyzdTL。这不仅让我心烦意乱，也伤害了我的自信心!3Y#%rC+,K。所以，我的朋友可能会建议我，“安娜，是时候回到马鞍上了！”“换一份别的工作吧！”

“如果摔下了马背，那就再回到马背上X&3h_XeInG.+.。”也是类似的建议ryL2.O@3sM&U5~。它的意思是：重新返回一项你没参加过或遇到过麻烦的活动中P6wC9Ou&@+0p_4oqv。但不是适用于所有的活动_wWHfY)!LK&rjCwQ-。如果你做了一件不喜欢并且失败的事情，真的没有必要再尝试一次kpr4iBtaERB)utm。

至于这个短语，这个活动通常是指你喜欢的或者因为某种原因对你而言很重要的事情[C&~jxr7YLI。

例如，我的一个朋友是钢琴师iCRC@.G1A)b。有一次，他写了一首曲子，演奏给满屋子的观众听HM%_=8.&J&M#k-),FxaX。但他们并不真的喜欢!gS!XThM%cax;3s53fN。所以，他很难过，不想再继续写了@w0Wm9hTj=K2bj@(_.B。

我鼓励他“你要再接再厉，现在就回家，再写一首歌出来bMa9ODdRS!GAeQdAY。”他确实这么做了！他还在继续努力，但他已经不害怕在众人面前表演了a;qU,C+~r&~@J]。

所以，如果你需要告诉某人克服恐惧，再试一次，你可以使用这些短语之一T1.ceR^=dl0#yK。

如果你在众人面前说英语时犯了错，忘了它就好#UGavEMol+b2WU+。我的建议是：尽快“在哪里摔倒就在哪里爬起来！”

以上就是本期《词汇掌故》节目的全部内容u+7H8Xs4]O。

下期节目见V4Xj*x~;@kK。

安娜·马特奥为您播报FEjHg+Anotu。

译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！