VOA慢速英语:父亲节快乐！

这里是美国之音节目词汇故事。

On the third Sunday in June, Americans take time to recognize and thank a special person in the family – fathers! Father's Day celebrates the importance of fathers, young and old, and the men thought of as father figures.

六月份的第三个周日是父亲节。父亲节当天对父亲来讲，无论是年轻的爸爸还是年长的父亲来讲都是非常重要的一天。

"Like father, like son" is probably the most common father expression. It means a boy is very much like his father, and sons often do what their fathers did before them. This can be a good thing or a bad thing.

“like father，like son”这一短语可能是形容父亲最常见的短语了。这个短语的意思是儿子非常像他的父亲，儿子经常会模仿着父亲平常的言行举止。所以这种现象亦好亦坏。

Harry Chapin's song, "Cat's in the Cradle," was popular in the 1970s. He sings about a father who did not spend time with his son. His son grew up to be a man who did not have time for his aging father. Like father, like son.

Harry Chapin的歌"Cat's in the Cradle,"在1970年代非常流行。他的这首歌讲述的是一位父亲没有太多时间陪伴自己的儿子，然后儿子长大之后没有时间陪伴自己的父亲的故事。有其父必有其子。

"...And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me, he'd grown up just like me. My boy was just like me."

The words "the child is father of the man" come from the William Wordsworth poem "My Heart Leaps Up." It means people's personalities form when they are children. They will most likely have the same qualities as an adult that they had as a child.

"the child is father of the man"这一短语来自华兹华兹的诗"My Heart Leaps Up."意思是说一个人所拥有的个性都是儿时塑造的。小时候什么样长大了就会什么样，可以理解为“三岁看大”。

Used in everyday speech, one could say, "In his case, the child was father of the man; he loved nature as a child and now works as a botanist."

在平常说话的时候可以这么说，从他身上可以看出三岁看大这个理论，在他小的时候非常喜欢观察自然，长大了之后他就成了一名植物学家。

Let's say you want to tell a child a story about something that happened long before they were born. You could say it happened when they "were just a twinkle in their father's eyes." This expression has a humorous and dreamy feel. Here, the word "twinkle" suggests the interest your father had in your mother.

当你想要给孩子讲一个故事，这个故事很久远，远到他们出生之前。你就可以说这个故事发生在”they were just a twinkle in their father's eyes."这种表达非常幽默也非常梦幻。"twinkle"这个词在这里表达的是你的爸爸对你妈妈的倾慕。

When a much older man is interested in a much younger woman and supports her with his money, he is called her "sugar daddy." The money part is very important – that's the sugar.

当一位年老的人看上了一位年轻女子，并且给她钱花，这种男人就叫做"sugar daddy."钱这部分非常重要，钱就是sugar。

Sometimes fathers are not a good influence or active in the lives of their children. In that case, a person may look for a father figure, a man who is not actually the person's father but who acts like one.

有些时候爸爸们在生活中并没有给孩子们树立良好榜样。这种情况你可能就会找一个“father figure”，一个不是亲老爸但是却有老爸风范的人。

The relationship between a man and his son can be complex.

儿子和父亲之间的关系可能会非常复杂。

There is a time when the son wants to grow into his own man – something described often in literature. Author Tom Wolfe wrote about a father and son relationship in his 1987 book, "The Bonfire of the Vanities."

有一段时期文学作品中经常会描写一些儿子想要尽快成人的故事。作家Tom Wolfe就曾经在1987年"The Bonfire of the Vanities."作品中写过一个父亲和儿子的故事。

"Sherman made the terrible discovery that men make about their fathers sooner or later... that the man before him was not an aging father but a boy, a boy much like himself, a boy who grew up and had a child of his own and, as best he could, out of a sense of duty and, perhaps love, adopted a role called Being a Father."

Rarely are father and son relationships as complex as they are in the film series "Star Wars." Luke Skywalker, the hero, fights against the evil Darth Vader. Then, Vader gives Luke the shock of his life.

很少有父子关系能像《星球大战》中那样复杂了。英雄Luke Skywalker与魔鬼Darth Vader争斗。随后Darth Vader向Luke说出了惊人的秘密。

The words "I am your father" are now part of American pop culture. And it's more fun if you say it like Darth Vader.

"I am your father"这句话现在已经成为美国流行文化中的一部分。如果你像Darth Vader那样说出这句话的时候会更加搞笑。

The relationship between a father and daughter is often simpler. The expression "daddy's little girl" is understood to mean that, in a father's eyes, his daughter can do no wrong.

而父亲跟女儿之间的关系看起来会简单一些。"daddy's little girl"这种表达是说在父亲的眼里，他的女儿永远是最好的。

There is usually not a dry eye at any wedding during the traditional father-and-daughter dance, especially if they are dancing to a song like Michael Buble's "Daddy's Little Girl."

通常在婚礼上父亲和女儿跳舞的时候很少有不哭的时候。尤其是像当舞曲选择Michael Buble的"Daddy's Little Girl."的时候。

I'm Anna Matteo.

To all the fathers out there – Happy Father's Day!

"You're the spirit of Christmas – the star on the tree. You're the Easter Bunny for mommy and me. You're sugar. You're spice. You're everything nice. And you're daddy's little girl."

Anna Matteo wrote this "Words and Their Stories." Jim Tedder voiced the part from "The Bonfire of the Vanities." George Grow was the editor.