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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。
On this program, we explore words and expressions in the English language.
在本节目中，我们探讨英语中的单词和短语。
Today we talk about the pursuit of perfection.
今天我们来谈谈对完美的追求。
Or at least the things we do to try and make things seem perfect.
或者至少是我们为了让事物看起来完美而做的事情。
If you paint something with a brush, it often leaves brush marks.
如果你用刷子粉刷某个东西，通常会留下刷痕。
When you paint with a roller, you might still have lines left behind by the roller.
当你用滚筒粉刷时，滚筒还是会留下线条。
Some consider this a flaw (something bad you that you don't want) in the paint job.
有些人认为这是刷漆工作中的一个瑕疵（某个你不想要的不好的东西）。
So, people came up with a process to cover things up with a perfect layer of paint called "airbrush."
因此，人们想出了一种方法，用一层完美的油漆掩盖一切，即“喷枪”。
The Airbrush Museum says in 1876, F.E. Stanley created a device that could spray watercolor and ink.
喷枪博物馆表示，1876年，斯坦利发明了一种可以喷水彩颜料和墨水的设备。
Three years later Abner Peeler came up with a paint distributor that was later sold as an "airbrush."
三年后，艾布纳·皮勒想出了一种喷油漆的设备，即之后出售的“喷枪”。
However, this may have not been the first attempt at airbrushing.
然而，这可能并不是美化的第一次尝试。
Some archeologists claim that early cavepeople, Neanderthals, used the process to airbrush some of their paintings by blowing paints through hollow bones.
一些考古学家声称，早期的穴居人，尼安德特人，通过向中空的骨头吹颜料来修饰他们的一些画。
Back in the modern day, we also use airbrush as a verb to describe painting or changing something to cover imperfections with or as if with an airbrush.
回到现代，我们也把airbrush用作动词来表示用喷枪或类似喷枪的东西来绘画或修改某物以掩盖瑕疵。
For example, let's say some vandals painted offensive words on the side of your house.
例如，假设一些破坏分子在你房子的一侧涂写了攻击性的文字。
If you do not want to see the words ever again, you airbrush over the words to cover them completely.
如果你不想再看到这些文字，你可以用喷枪把这些文字完全遮盖住。
Here is another example: If you apply beauty products, or makeup, on your face, you can airbrush just about any mark on your skin.
下面还有一个例子：如果你在脸上涂抹美容产品（即化妆品），你就是在遮盖你皮肤上的斑痕。
In some publications, workers often use software called Photoshop to change an image.
在一些出版物中，工作人员经常使用Photoshop软件来修改图片。
They could use it to airbrush all the flaws in an image or even remove pieces of the image completely.
他们可以用它来遮盖住图片中的所有瑕疵，甚至完全删除图片的一部分。
The term photoshop has since taken on the same meaning as airbrush.
此后，photoshop就与airbrush有了相同的含义。
There is another way we use the term airbrush.
airbrush还有另一种用法。
If someone is accused of airbrushing history, they are being accused of changing something bad in the past as if it did not happen.
如果有人被指责粉饰历史，即他们被指责改变了过去发生的一些不好的事情，就好像这些事情没有发生过一样。
Now, let's hear these two friends use the term "airbrush."
现在，让我们来听听这两个朋友是如何使用“airbrush”这个词的。
Hey let's meet for coffee tomorrow!
嘿，我们明天一起喝咖啡吧！
Sure! How about Hal's that new coffee shop down the street? I hear the coffee is really good.
当然！去街那头新开的哈尔咖啡店怎么样？我听说那里的咖啡很好喝。
Umm, let's go somewhere else. I don't like the owner.
嗯，我们去别的地方吧。我不喜欢那家咖啡店的店主。
Why? What's wrong with Hal?
为什么？哈尔怎么了？
Don't you remember? He ran for office two years ago. And during the campaign, some really bad stuff came out about him.
你不记得了吗？他两年前竞选过公职。在竞选期间，关于他的一些不好的事情浮出水面。
Really? I don't remember that.
真的吗？我不记得了。
That's because he airbrushed it all from history. Removed. Gone. It's like it all never happened.
那是因为他把这一切都从历史上抹去了。删除了。消失了。就像这一切从未发生过一样。
Well, people cover up bad things from their past all the time. Besides … he makes really good coffee.
人们总是会掩盖过去的不好的事情。除了……他做的咖啡很好喝。
I will find another coffee shop!
我会再找一家咖啡店！
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！
