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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。
The words we say are weightless sounds in the air. But they are powerful.
我们说的话听起来感觉没有什么重量。但它们很有影响力。
What we say can greatly affect people, situations--just about everything.
我们所说的话会极大地影响人、环境——几乎会影响一切。
That is why, sometimes, it is a good idea to walk away from a heated argument.
这就是为什么有时候远离激烈的争论是一个好主意。
If we feel angry, we might say something we regret.
如果我们感到愤怒，我们可能会说一些让我们后悔的话。
Perhaps anger is not the problem.
也许愤怒不是问题所在。
Maybe your thoughts on a situation or issue are not fully formed.
也许你对某个情况或问题的想法还没有完全形成。
But you speak anyway.
但你还是说出了你的想法。
Or maybe you simply have a secret--one that you are dying to share!
或者也许你只是有一个秘密——一个你非常想要分享的秘密！
Whatever the reason, sometimes we speak when maybe we shouldn't.
不管是什么原因，有时我们会在可能不该说话的时候说话。
And once those words are out there, there is no taking them back.
一旦话说出去了，就再也无法收回了。
The damage is done. Or, we could say: the genie is out of the bottle.
已经对他人造成了伤害。或者，我们可以说：the genie is out of the bottle。
Let’s take apart this saying.
让我们来分析一下这句谚语。
A genie is a trouble-causing spirit with magical powers from Middle Eastern folktales.
genie指的是来自中东民间故事的一种具有魔力的制造麻烦的精灵。
Some experts say this expression may be connected to the centuries-old stories of Aladdin.
一些专家表示，这句谚语可能与几个世纪前的阿拉丁的故事有关。
He is a young man who releases a genie trapped in a small container.
阿拉丁是一个年轻人，他释放了一个被困在一个小容器里的精灵。
That's the bottle. Once out, the genie is powerful and tricky.
这个容器就是瓶子。一旦被放出来，精灵就会变得强大而狡猾。
The result? A lot of trouble.
结果呢？很多麻烦随之而来。
So, if you "let the genie out of the bottle," undesirable results, or consequences, will follow.
因此，如果你“把精灵从瓶子里放出来”，不良后果就会随之而来。
"To let the cat out of the bag" has a similar meaning.
“To let the cat out of the bag”也有类似的意思。
The cat is in the bag for a reason.
猫在袋子里是有原因的。
When you let it out, there will be consequences.
如果你把它放出来，就会产生不良后果。
And both the genie and the cat, as well as the words we say, cannot be recaptured.
精灵和猫，以及我们所说的话，都无法被重新抓回。
But how do we use these expressions? Here is one example:
但是我们如何使用这些短语呢？下面是一个例子：
The politician says she misspoke about her plans to run for president.
这位政治家说她在竞选总统的计划上说错了话。
But the press had already reported on it.
但媒体已经对此进行了报道。
The genie was out of the bottle and could not be put back in.
话已出口，无法挽回。
Here is another example. Two co-workers use both expressions.
下面还有一个例子。两个同事都用到了这两个短语。
Tony really let the cat out of the bag at work today.
托尼今天工作时真的泄露了秘密。
He told everyone that Mary found another job and was leaving the company next month.
他告诉大家玛丽找到了另一份工作，下个月就要离开公司了。
What?? But she hasn't told management yet!
什么？？但是她还没有告诉管理层！
I know. So, they fired her.
我知道。所以，他们解雇了她。
That's awful. That means she'll lose a whole month's pay.
那太可怕了。这意味着她将会失去整整一个月的工资。
He apologized but there is no putting that genie back in the bottle.
他道歉了，但这已经带来难以遏制的恶果了。
I bet Mary would like to put Tony in a bottle.
我打赌玛丽想把托尼装进瓶子里。
Ha!
哈！
A genie is far more dangerous than a cat and harder to catch.
精灵比猫危险得多，也更难抓。
So, the two sayings are not always interchangeable.
因此，这两句谚语并不总是可以互换的。
Here is an example:
下面是一个例子：
Some experts say social media is damaging users, especially children.
一些专家表示，社交媒体正在对用户造成损害，尤其是儿童。
But the technology and its appeal is here to stay.
但这项技术及其吸引力将会保持下去。
No one can put that genie back in the bottle.
没有人能够遏止这个一发不可收拾的趋势。
In that example, you would not use "let the cat out of the bag."
在这个例子中，你不会用“let the cat out of the bag”。
Instead, use it when someone has said something that was supposed to remain a secret.
相反，当某人说了一些本应保密的话时，你可以用这个短语。
You can't take words back and you can't re-hide a secret.
你不能收回你说的话，你也不能再隐藏秘密了。
Something has been done and can't be undone.
有些事情已经做了，就无法挽回了。
And that's the end of this Words and Their Stories. Thanks for listening! Until next time…I'm Anna Matteo.
以上就是本期《词汇掌故》节目的全部内容。感谢收听！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！
