VOA慢速英语: 万圣节特辑：到处是魔鬼......（双语）

万圣节特辑：到处是魔鬼……

Now, the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories.

这里是美国之音英语学习的词语掌故。

Many expressions in American English come from the world of religion. Some common idioms are based on high, religious ideals. But today we look at the bad or evil side of religion.

英语中有很多表达来自宗教。一些常见的习语表达是在一些有威望的、宗教人物形象基础上发展而来的，但是今天我们来看看宗教中一些坏的或者邪恶的形象。

The Devil is the most powerful spirit of evil in Christianity, Islam and other religions. The devil is clearly at work in these idioms and expressions.

魔鬼是基督教、伊斯兰教和其它宗教里最强大的魔鬼。魔鬼在一些习语和表达中经常使用。

Speaking of the devil, to speak of the devil means to talk about someone at the same time the person appears. Here's an example,

说到这个短语，“to speak of the devil”的意思是说曹操，曹操到的意思。举个例子：

“John and I are going to the movies tonight and … hey, speak of the devil! Here comes John now.

“约翰和我今天晚上打算去看电影…嘿，说曹操曹操到，这不约翰就来了。”

"Hey John! We were just talking about you … and speak of the devil you appear.”

“嘿，约翰！我们刚刚还在说你呢……然后你就到了。”

Keep in mind, this expression does not mean that you think the individual is bad or evil.

要记住：这个表达不是说你认为那个人坏或者邪恶。

It's just an issue of timing. But there are many devil expressions that do refer to bad behavior.

那只是个关于时间的问题。但是有很多带有“devil”的表达确实是指不良行为。

And sometimes when we behave badly, we blame the devil. We say the devil made me do it.

有时候，我们表现较差的时候，我们会怪恶魔，就说：是魔鬼让我做的。

Or we say something or someone brings out the devil in us. This means we blame someone else for our bad behavior. Let’s use it in a sentence.

或者我们会说某人或某事把魔鬼带来驱使我们做的。这意味着让别人为我们的不良行为负责。看看在句子中的用法。

“Boy, you are like a different person when your old friend from college comes around.”

“小伙子，你大学朋友出现的时候，你好像变了一个人。”

“I know. I just can’t behave when he’s around. He really brings out the devil in me.”

“我知道，他在身边的时候，我态度就好不了，他确实引来了魔鬼。”

When we use this idiom, we really don’t mean evil behavior –more like being mischievous or causing light-hearted trouble. This is different than having a devil-may-care attitude.

我们使用这个习语时，并不是真的说魔鬼的恶行——更像是有点顽皮捣蛋或者找点小麻烦。这与玩世不恭的态度还不一样。

Having a devil-may-care way of thinking means you are willing to push the limits more than most people. And you really don’t care what others think.

不顾一切的做法是你会挑战别人的忍受限度，确实不在乎别人怎么想。

There is also the daredevil. A daredevil is a wild person who likes acting dangerously. A daredevil is, well, daring the devil – which can get you into trouble.

还有daredevil的表达，它的意思是说人行为做事鲁莽胆大。这样的话会给你带来很多麻烦。

So, it’s good to keep busy and out of trouble. And this is where the expression idle hands are the devil’s workshop comes from. The word idle means inactive or not working. And some people believe that keeping busy keeps you out of trouble.

因此，保持忙碌，就能摆脱麻烦。这也就是“游手好闲是魔鬼的加工厂”这一表达的由来。Idle的意思就是游手好闲、无所事事。有些人认为保持忙碌就能远离麻烦。

But there are some people who team up with the devil. They play devil’s advocate. To play devil’s advocate is a very useful expression. It has a lot of meaning in just two words.

有些人与魔鬼合作交易。他们会做魔鬼的代言人（故意唱反调）。To play devil’s advocate是个很有用的表达，有很多不同的意思。

When you play devil’s advocate you say things you do not really believe just to start an argument or discussion. And, actually, this is often used in a good way.

当你说些不太相信的话时，就会辩论或者讨论，事实上，这是一种褒义的表达。

Exactly. I could say, “Let me play devil’s advocate for a minute so we can seethe other side of this issue.”

我会说：“我提议另一个观点，这样我们能从另一方面来看问题。”

And teachers often play devil's advocate to create interesting discussions in the classroom.

老师经常唱黑脸，来使课堂上的讨论生动有趣。

But to make a deal with the devil is usually a bad idea. It means you want something so badly that you are willing to sacrifice something important for it – like your soul.

但是与魔鬼交易是个坏点子。这意味着你特别想得到什么事时，愿意牺牲掉重要的一些东西，比如：灵魂来交换。

Often what you sacrifice is not really your soul but rather your morals or self-esteem. But you don’t have to sell your soul or make a deal with the devil to improve your English. Simply listen to VOA Learning English.

通常情况下，你牺牲的并不真的是你的灵魂，而是你的道德或者说是自尊。但是不需要卖掉灵魂与魔鬼做交易来提升英语。只要听美国之音的英语学习广播就行。

I’m Jonathan Evans.

我是乔纳森·伊凡

And I’m Anna Matteo. And this was one devil of a Words and Their Stories.

我是安娜·马特奥。这里是词语掌故。

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Words in this Story

advocate n. a person who publicly supports or recommends a particularcause or policy

idle adj. not working, active, or being used

sacrifice n. the act of giving up something that you want to keep especially inorder to get or do something else or to help someone

mischievous showing a playful desire to cause trouble

dangerous – adj.