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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。
Up and down. High and low. These short words describe more than just directions.
上上下下。高高低低。这些短语描述的不仅仅是方向。
They also connect to our feelings and experiences.
它们也与我们的感受和经历有关。
In this episode of Words and Their Stories, we'll start down low and end up high.
在本期的《词汇掌故》节目中，我们从down和low开始，以high结束。
Many cultures around the world connect the words "low" or "down" with something negative.
世界各地的许多文化都将“low”或“down”与负面事物联系在一起。
This is because our minds can easily connect low places, like the floor or the ground, with dirt.
这是因为我们的大脑很容易将地面等低矮的地方与泥土联系起来。
So, when someone asks, "How low can you go?" they are expressing their opinion that another person's behavior is bad in a moral or ethical sense.
所以，当有人问，“你能堕落到什么程度？”他们是在表达自己的观点，即他们认为另一个人的行为在道德或伦理意义上是不好的。
If you are down and out, that means you are poor, without enough money for the things you need.
down and out的意思是你很穷，没有足够的钱买你需要的东西。
And if you are down in the dumps, that means you feel unhappy or depressed.
down in the dumps的意思是你感到不开心或沮丧。
Next, let's look at two "down" expressions that relate to either getting or keeping information.
接下来，我们来看看两个与获取或保存信息有关的含有“down”的短语。
They sound similar but have different meanings.
它们听起来相似，但含义不同。
The following exchange uses one of these expressions:
下面的对话使用了其中一个短语：
So, did Maria tell you anything?
玛丽亚告诉你什么了吗？
She did! But keep this on the down-low—she's going to quit her job next month.
她告诉我了！但要保密——她下个月就要辞职了。
Oh my gosh! Wow—that is big news.
我的天啊！哇，这可是个大新闻。
I know, but she doesn't want anyone else to know.
我知道，但她不想让别人知道。
No worries. I'll keep it on the DL.
别担心。我会保密的。
To keep something on the down-low means to keep information secret.
To keep something on the down-low的意思是保密。
Speakers often say the shortened form, "on the DL," when using the expression.
说话者在使用这个短语时，通常会说它的缩写形式“on the DL”。
On the other hand, if you want the low-down on a situation, that means you want to get the information. For example:
另一方面，low-down的意思是获取信息。例如：
Did Jane give you the low-down on the budget?
简把预算的真实情况告诉你了吗？
Yeah. She said they can't afford to do a summer project this year.
是的。她说他们今年负担不起暑期项目的费用。
So, getting the low-down means you are getting information.
因此，getting the low-down的意思是获取信息。
Keeping it on the down-low means you are keeping information away from people.
Keeping it on the down-low的意思是你不让别人知道信息。
Now, let's move up to a few expressions with "high."
现在，我们来看几个含有“high”的短语。
Imagine you are driving in an area with a lot of traffic.
想象一下，你正在一个交通繁忙的地区开车。
You see a car waiting to turn onto your street, so you stop and let that car make the turn.
你看到一辆车正等着转弯到你所在的街道上，所以你停下来，让那辆车转弯。
But this makes the car behind you slow down.
但这会让你后面的车减速。
The driver of this car now honks the horn for a long time, leans out the car window, and shouts at you.
这辆车的司机现在按了很长时间的喇叭，探出车窗，对你大喊大叫。
At this point, you have a choice.
在这个时候，你有一个选择。
You can also shout in return, or you can take the high road and not answer.
你也可以大声回应，或者你可以采取积极的方式，不回应。
To take the high road means to behave in a way that is morally correct, even when other people around you are not behaving well.
To take the high road的意思是以在道德上正确的方式行事，即使你周围的人表现不好。
Our next expression relates to time.
我们的下一个短语与时间有关。
Sometimes there are things that people should do, but they wait longer than necessary to do them.
有时候，有些事情是人们应该做的，但他们却等了很久才去做。
By waiting, they sometimes create problems or make things worse.
通过等待，他们有时会制造问题，或者使事情变得更糟。
In these situations, we can use the phrase "it's high time" to say that people have delayed doing something for too long.
在这种情况下，我们可以用短语“it's high time”来表示人们推迟做某事的时间太长了。
For example, someone can say, "It's high time you cleaned up that apartment. It is so dirty!"
例如，有人可能会说：“你该打扫一下公寓了，太脏了！”
Next, we look at the word highfalutin.
接下来，我们来看看highfalutin这个词。
If you say someone is highfalutin, that means you think the person is overly fancy or pompous.
highfalutin的意思是某人过于浮夸。
Highfalutin is usually a negative way of referring to ways of speaking and behaving.
Highfalutin通常是一个贬义词，指说话和行为方式。
According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of American English, the first known use of this word was in 1839 in the United States.
根据《韦氏词典》，这个词第一次被使用是在1839年的美国。
Finally, you can end on a high note by connecting to another Words and Their Stories program.
最后，你可以通过转到另一期《词汇掌故》节目来愉快地结束。
There, you can learn more expressions about highs and lows.
在那里，你可以学到更多关于high和low的表达。
Then, give yourself a high-five for reading and listening to this week's Words and Their Stories.
然后，举手击掌来庆祝自己收听完本周的《词汇掌故》节目。
I'm Andrew Smith.
安德鲁·史密斯为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
