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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。
A fort is a place of protection.
堡垒是一个（人们得到）保护的地方。
It is a fortified structure with strong walls and doors, complex locks, barriers, and other security features.
它是一个坚固的结构，具有坚固的墙和门，复杂的锁，栅栏和其他安全设施。
It is used as a defense.
它被用作一种防御手段。
It is a place often protected by soldiers and occupied by officials.
它是一个通常由士兵保护、官员占领的地方。
Someone always is in charge or responsible for a fort.
总得有人掌管或负责堡垒。
And that is where our expression comes in.
这就是我们的短语的由来。
If someone asked you to hold down the fort, you are responsible for a place while those who supervise it are away.
如果有人让你“hold down the fort”，那你就要在监督这个地方的人不在时对这个地方负责。
In other words, you are in charge! You are the chief!
换句话说，你是负责人！你是首领！
For example, once a friend and I were at my house preparing for a party.
例如，有一次，我和一个朋友在我家准备一个派对。
But then I got an emergency call from my brother who needed a ride.
但后来我接到了我弟弟打来的紧急电话，他需要搭便车。
So, my friend held down the fort at home and welcomed party guests while I helped my brother.
因此，我的朋友暂时替我照看家，欢迎派对上的客人，而我则去帮我弟弟。
Sometimes we just say hold the fort.
有时我们只说“hold the fort”。
This also means staying behind to take care of things.
这也指留下来料理事情。
Again, whoever is holding the fort is in charge.
再说一次，“hold the fort”的意思是负责。
They are responsible for what happens.
他们要为发生的一切事情负责。
And they may be responsible for the safety of others.
他们可能要对其他人的安全负责。
For example:
例如：
Marion is the most responsible of the group.
玛丽恩是这群人中最负责任的人。
So we left her at the house to hold the fort.
所以我们把她留在家里照看家。
There is another way we use the word "fort" in an expression.
“fort”在短语中还有另一种用法。
In the American state of Kentucky, there is a famous fort – Fort Knox.
在美国肯塔基州，有一个著名的堡垒——诺克斯堡。
Fort Knox is a protected place in the United States.
诺克斯堡是美国一个受到保护的地方。
Why is it protected? Fort Knox is a place where lots of gold is kept.
为什么它会受到保护？诺克斯堡是一个存放大量黄金的地方。
Needless to say, it is heavily guarded.
不用说，那里戒备森严。
So, when we want to describe a place that is hard to get into, we can compare it to Fort Knox.
所以，当我们想描述一个很难进入的地方时，我们可以把它比作诺克斯堡。
A place that is like Fort Knox is inaccessible usually because it is locked or heavily guarded.
像诺克斯堡这样的地方通常很难进入，因为它被封锁或戒备森严。
We can also say a place is as safe or as secure as Fort Knox.
我们也可以说一个地方像诺克斯堡一样安全。
Now, let's hear these two expressions used by two friends.
现在，我们来听一听两个朋友是如何使用这两个短语的。
Hi, Sam! What brings you to my place?
嗨，萨姆！什么风把你吹到我家来了？
Well, Maxine is holding down the fort at home. So, I thought I'd stop by to see if you want to hang out.
玛克辛在照看家。所以，我想过来看看你想不想出去玩。
Sure! How about a walk around the neighborhood? I feel like I've been sitting all day.
当然！在附近散散步怎么样？我感觉我已经坐了一整天了。
Sound good. Let's walk past that construction project down the street.
听起来不错。我们沿着这条街走过那个建筑项目吧。
They've been working on that house for months. I'm curious about the renovations.
他们几个月来一直在修缮那栋房子。我对它的装修状况很好奇。
Maybe we can sneak into the place and look in the windows.
也许我们可以偷偷溜进去从窗户那里看看。
That's a really bad idea. The property is locked up tighter than Fort Knox and probably has many security cameras. If you sneak in … you're on your own.
那真是个糟糕的主意。那栋房子封锁得比诺克斯堡还要严密，而且可能还有很多安保摄像头。如果你偷溜进去……就只能靠你自己了。
And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. Until next time …
以上就是本期《词汇掌故》节目的全部内容。
I'm Anna Matteo.
我是安娜·马特奥。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
