评论
打印
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。
On today's show we talk about an idiom involving fish and a pond.
在今天的节目中，我们要谈论一个与鱼和池塘有关的习语。
A pond is a small body of water.
池塘是一小片水域。
It is usually smaller than a lake.
它通常比湖小。
And our idiom today is "to be a big fish in a small pond."
我们今天的习语是“to be a big fish in a small pond”。
"A big fish in a small pond" describes a person who is very well known or important in a small group but is not known or important outside that small group.
“A big fish in a small pond”指的是在小圈子里非常有名或很重要的人，但在那个小圈子之外却不为人所知或不重要。
For example, a high-performing high school student in a small town could be a big fish in a small pond.
例如，一个小镇上成绩优异的高中生可能是“小池塘里的大鱼”。
He may feel overly-confident or overly-important, or he may simply not know how small his "pond" is -- until he moves on to a big university.
他可能会过于自信或觉得自己过于重要，或者他可能只是不知道自己的“池塘”有多小——直到他进入一所大型大学。
He must compete with hundreds of students who were also the best at their high schools.
他必须与数百名高中成绩最好的学生竞争。
His pond just got a much larger and is now filled with many more fish.
他的池塘变得更大了，现在池塘里的鱼也更多了。
Here is another example.
下面还有一个例子。
A young singer was famous in her small town.
一个年轻的歌手在她的小镇上很出名。
She wanted to move to a big city to grow her singing career.
她想搬到大城市去发展她的歌唱事业。
Her close friends and family supported her but also warned her.
她的密友和家人都支持她，但也警告她。
Here in our small town, they said, you are a big fish in a small pond.
在我们这个小镇上，他们说，你是小池塘里的大鱼。
Once you move to New York City, that is going to change. Best be ready!
一旦你搬到纽约市，这种情况就会改变。最好做好准备！
For some people, this can be a painful realization--sometimes called a wake-up call.
对于一些人来说，这可能会是一种痛苦的认识——有时被称为警钟。
Sometimes when we use the expression "a big fish in a small pond," we add words to better describe the fish and the pond.
有时，当我们使用“小池塘里的大鱼”这个短语时，我们会加上一些词来更好地描述鱼和池塘。
For example, the singer's friends could say that she will be a very small but talented fish in a very big competitive pond.
例如，这位歌手的朋友可能会说，在一个竞争激烈的大池塘里，她将会是一条非常渺小但有天赋的鱼。
Now, some people like being a big fish in a small pond.
现在，有些人喜欢在小池塘里做一条大鱼。
They never grow their circle of friends or work environment.
他们从不拓展自己的朋友圈或工作环境。
Sometimes they do not take opportunities that increase their environment, or pond.
有时他们不抓住扩大他们的环境或池塘的机会。
By staying in a small pond, it is safer.
待在小池塘里更安全。
There are fewer dangers and also fewer competitors.
危险更少，竞争对手也更少。
The Meriam-Webster online dictionary says that the expression "big fish" has been slang for an important or influential person since the early 1800s.
梅里亚姆-韦伯斯特在线词典上说，自19世纪初以来，“big fish”一词一直是用来指代重要或有影响力的人的俚语。
The addition of "in a small pond" -- to mean an unimportant organization -- is more recent.
“in a small pond”——意思是一个不重要的组织——是最近才加进来的。
The dictionary goes on to explain another way to use the idiom "a big fish in a small pond."
这本词典接着解释了习语“a big fish in a small pond”的另一种用法。
It can also describe a situation in which one person has more power, influence, knowledge, or experience than others within a small group.
它还可以描述这样一种情况，即一个人在一个小圈子里比其他人更有权力、影响力、知识或经验。
So, sometimes we use this expression to describe people in an insulting way.
所以，有时我们会用这个短语来侮辱别人。
We are saying that they want to stay in a small pond just to feel more important.
我们的意思是，他们想待在一个小池塘里，只是为了感觉自己更重要。
Their position of authority is not questioned by the other fish in the pond.
他们的权威地位不会受到小池塘中其他鱼的质疑。
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！
