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And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语《词汇掌故》节目。
February 14th is Valentine's Day in the United States and other countries.
2月14日是美国等国家的情人节。
It is the day to express love and warm feelings for those important people in our lives.
在这一天，我们向生命中那些重要的人表达爱意和温暖的情感。
So, today we will talk about an expression that is all about deep feelings--to pull at one's heartstrings.
所以今天我们要讲一个有关深情的短语——to pull at one's heartstrings。
When something pulls at your heartstrings, it makes you feel strongly.
当某件东西拨动你的心弦时，它会让你感觉很强烈。
It creates a deep well of emotion right in the center of your heart.
它会在你的内心深处创造一口情感的深井。
Things that tug at our heartstrings also stir our feelings and emotions.
拨动我们心弦的东西也会搅动我们的感情和情绪。
They bring them to the surface.
这些东西会把它们带到表面上。
What kinds of things have this effect on us?
什么样的东西会对我们产生这样的影响呢？
Well, that depends on who you are.
嗯，那要看你是谁了。
If you love a well-told story, a well-written book can pull at your heartstrings.
如果你喜欢精彩的故事，一本写得好的书可能会拨动你的心弦。
A friend of mine loves art.
我的一个朋友喜欢艺术。
Once I saw her crying in front of a painting.
有一次我看到她在一幅画前哭。
The colors she said really tugged at her heartstrings.
她说那幅画的颜色真的拨动了她的心弦。
People who love movies can have their heartstrings pulled by a good film.
喜欢电影的人可能会被一部好电影拨动心弦。
I love music.
我喜欢音乐。
So, for me, the right song or even the right notes will pull at my heartstrings.
所以，对我来说，对的歌曲甚至对的音符都会拨动我的心弦。
But we don't use this expression for all feelings.
但是我们不会用这个短语来表达所有的情感。
For example, anger is not an emotion that is connected to this expression.
例如，愤怒不是一种与这个短语有关的情绪。
The feelings that are at play with this expression can be happy or sad.
与这个短语有关的情感可以是快乐的，也可以是悲伤的。
Usually those emotions are ones of love, longing or both.
通常这些情绪是爱、渴望或两者兼而有之。
Sympathy, pity, or compassion are common emotions we think of when we hear the expression "pull at your heartstrings."
当我们听到“pull at your heartstrings”这个短语时，我们想到的常见情绪是同情、怜悯。
Public aid campaigns and commercials often try to tug at our heartstrings.
公共援助运动和广告经常试图拨动我们的心弦。
Think of seeing a puppy left out in the cold, or an old married couple who can't pay for needed medication.
想象一下，看到一只小狗被冷落，或者看到一对老夫妇无法支付所需药物的费用。
Both of those examples try to tug at your heartstrings and your wallet as well.
这两个例子都试图拨动你的心弦和钱包。
Now, let's talk about some notes on usage.
现在，让我们来谈谈有关该短语用法的一些注释。
The verbs we often use for this expression are pull, pluck, and tug.
在这个短语中，我们常用的动词有pull，pluck和tug。
Sometimes you might hear the expression said as "to play on someone's heartstrings."
有时你可能会听到“to play on someone's heartstrings”。
But that is a little less common.
但这并不常见。
Also, you don't always have to use the preposition "at."
此外，你不必总是用介词“at”。
You can simply say something "tugs the heartstrings."
你可以只说某件东西“tugs the heartstrings”。
And sometimes the word "heartstrings" is used on its own.
有时“heartstrings”这个词可以单独使用。
For example, a critic might say a movie "aims for the heartstrings but misses … hitting the funny bone instead."
例如，一位评论家可能会说一部电影“目标是拨动心弦，但却没有触动人心。”
Some word experts say that in medieval times it was thought that "heartstrings" were tissues that supported the heart.
一些词汇专家说，在中世纪，人们认为“心弦”是支撑心脏的组织。
So, if you pulled them, you controlled the heart and the emotions.
所以，如果你拉了它们，你就控制了心脏和情绪。
Now, here is the expression used between two friends.
现在，请听下面两个朋友是如何使用这个短语的。
Did you see the new children's movie that just came out--The Long Lost Lonely Little Ladybug?
你看刚上映的新的儿童电影——《失散已久的孤独的小瓢虫》了吗？
That's a children's movie? It sounds so … sad.
那是一部儿童电影吗？听起来很……悲伤。
It is. I watched it last night and I cried for hours afterward.
是的。我昨晚看了，之后哭了好几个小时。
That sounds awful.
听起来很糟糕。
Oh no, it was just what I needed--a good cry. I'm still thinking about it today. That movie really pulled at my heartstrings.
哦，不，这正是我需要的——好好哭一场。我今天还在想这部电影。这部电影真的拨动了我的心弦。
I don't mind a good movie that pulls at my heartstrings. But it sounds like this movie pulled them right out of your chest. Maybe next time … watch a comedy!
我不介意一部扣人心弦的好电影。但听起来就像这部电影把它们从你的胸膛里拉出来似的。也许下一次……看喜剧吧！
And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. Until next time … I'm Anna Matteo.
以上就是本期《词汇掌故》节目的全部内容。下次见……我是安娜·马特奥！
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
