VOA原文
And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
The English language has many expressions that describe a fast-moving event. Some expressions relate to body movements.
We say something happens in the blink of an eye or in a heartbeat. Other expressions are related to the world of nature.
Today we will talk about a speed-related expression involving an animal.
Now, because we are talking about speed and animals, you might think it is a big cat, such as a lion or cheetah -- or maybe even as mall, but speedy animal such as a hare.
But it is none of them.
You guessed it!
The expression today involves sheep – baby lambs to be exact!
But why? Lambs are cute. But they are not really known for their lightning speed. Well, our expression is about a specific part of the animal – its tail.
I suspect lambs can shake their tails very fast. Because when something happens quickly, we say it happens in "two shakes of a lamb's tail." Here is an example:
"I'm going to the store. I'll be back in two shakes of a lamb's tail!"
This expression is a cuter and more descriptive way of saying "quickly."
Maybe instead of sending a text message with the letters BRB (be right back), we could use the image of a lamb shaking its tail. That would fun!
Being cute like a lamb may be fun. But it has its drawbacks. Cute things are often not taken seriously.
And this cute factor is the main reason Americans rarely use "two shakes of a lamb's tail" in a serious situation.
For example, if I see a person get hit by a car, I would not say, "Hold on! Help will be here in two shakes of a lamb's tail!"
That would not make the injured person lying in the middle of the street feel reassured.
In an emergency like that, I would say something like, "Help is on the way!"
Generally speaking, an emergency is not a good time to use cute animal expressions.
Some language experts say "two shakes of a lamb's tail" was first used in written English in the 1800s.
They think that it was used in spoken English much earlier than that.
You should know that we often shorten this expression to simply "two shakes" – as in, "I'll be there in two shakes!"
You should not use that one for emergencies either.
And that is Words and Their Stories for this week. But we will be back in two shakes of a lamb's tail. Well, actually...we'll be back next week!
Until next time...I'm Anna Matteo!
参考译文
英语中有很多描述快速发展事件的短语。有些表达与身体动作有关。我们说某事发生在眨眼之间或心跳之间。其他表达与自然界有关。今天我们将讨论一个与速度相关的表达，它与动物有关。现在，因为我们谈论的是速度和动物，你可能会认为它是一只大猫，比如狮子或猎豹，或者甚至是一只小而敏捷的动物，比如野兔。但它们都不是。你猜对了!今天的表达方式和绵羊有关——准确地说，是小羊羔!但是为什么呢?羊羔很可爱。但它们并不是以闪电般的速度著称。我们的表达是关于动物的一个特定部分——尾巴。我怀疑小羊摇尾巴的速度很快。因为当某事发生得很快时，我们说它发生在“羊尾巴的两次摇动”中。下面是一个例子:“我要去商店。我马上就回来!”
这个表达是“快速”的一种更可爱、更具描述性的说法。也许我们可以用一只摇着尾巴的小羊来代替发送带有BRB(马上回来)的短信。这将很有趣!像羊羔一样可爱可能很有趣。但它也有缺点。可爱的东西往往不被当真。这个可爱的因素是美国人很少在严肃场合使用“twoshakes of a lamb's tail”的主要原因。例如，如果我看到一个人被车撞了，我不会说，“等等!”救兵马上就到!”这并不能使躺在马路中间的伤者感到安心。在这种紧急情况下，我会说一些类似的话，“援助正在路上!”一般来说，紧急情况下不是使用可爱动物表达的好时机。一些语言专家表示，“twoshakes of a lamb's tail”首次用于书面英语是在19世纪。他们认为它在英语口语中使用的时间比这要早得多。你应该知道，我们经常把这个短语简化为“twoshakes”——例如，“I'llbe there in two shakes!”你也不应该在紧急情况下使用它。以上就是本期词汇掌故节目的全部内容。但是我们很快就会回来的。好吧,事实上……我们下周回来!
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