评论
打印
Now it's time for 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。
We give examples and notes on usage.
我们举例子并对用法进行解释说明。
Before we talk about today's idiom, let's talk about words that you will need to know – gilt and gild.
在我们谈论今天的习语之前，让我们先来谈谈你需要知道的单词——gilt（镀金；镀金的）和gild（给……镀金）。
"Gilt" as a noun is the gold, or something that looks like gold, laid on a surface.
“Gilt”作为名词，指的是铺在表面上的黄金或看起来像黄金的东西。
It can also be an adjective.
它也可以用作形容词。
"Gild" is a verb. It means to cover with a fine layer of gilt.
“Gild”是动词。它的意思是镀金。
Sometimes we add gilt to a plain material like wood to make it look better.
有时我们在木头等普通材料上镀金，以使它看起来更好。
In fact, entire buildings can be gilded to make them more pleasing to the eye.
事实上，整栋建筑都可以镀金，以使它们更赏心悦目。
Word experts say American writer Mark Twain created the term "Gilded Age."
词汇专家称，美国作家马克·吐温创造了“镀金时代”一词。
In the 1873 novel, The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today, he and co-writer Charles Dudley Warner made fun of newly rich people.
在1873年的小说《镀金时代》中，他和合著者查尔斯·达德利·华纳取笑新富阶层。
They discussed how these people would cover wood and other objects with a thin layer of gold to make them look more costly.
他们讨论了这些人如何在木头和其他物品上覆盖一层薄薄的黄金，以使它们看起来更昂贵。
So, when you gild something you could be trying to cover up something ugly.
因此，当你给某物镀金时，你可能是在试图掩盖一些丑陋的东西。
But sometimes we may try to improve something that cannot be improved.
但有时，我们可能会试图改进一些无法改进的东西。
It is already wonderful just the way it is.
它本来就很好了。
And our attempts to make it better can make it worse.
而我们试图让它变得更好的努力反而可能会让它变得更糟。
Take for example, a lily. Lilies are beautiful flowers.
以百合花为例。百合花是美丽的花。
Like many beautiful things in nature, they do not need any additions to make them more beautiful.
就像自然界中许多美丽的事物一样，它们不需要任何使它们变得更加美丽的添加物。
And that brings us to the idiom gild the lily.
这就引出了“gild the lily（画蛇添足）”这个习语。
If I "gild the lily," I add some unnecessary decoration to something already beautiful.
gild the lily的意思是在本已美丽的东西上增添了一些不必要的装饰。
The thing I add is superfluous. It is not needed.
我加的东西是多余的。它是不必要的。
Imagine if someone added a really bright shiny gold frame to the Mona Lisa painting.
想象一下，如果有人在画作《蒙娜丽莎》上加了一个闪亮的金框。
The frame is so bright that it is hard to see the smile on the famous woman.
画框如此闪亮，以至于很难看到这位著名女子的微笑。
That would be gilding the lily.
那就是“画蛇添足”。
However, we use this expression to talk about anything, not just artwork or objects.
然而，我们可以用这个短语来谈论任何东西，而不仅仅是艺术品（即物品）。
We gild the lily anytime we try to improve something that is already excellent.
每当我们试图改进已经很出色的东西时，我们都是在画蛇添足。
For example, my friend has good bone structure and lovely skin.
例如，我的朋友骨骼结构和皮肤很好。
She's just gilding the lily when she wears makeup.
她化妆就是在画蛇添足。
Here is another example. Once I went to a beautiful garden.
下面是另一个例子。有一次，我去了一个美丽的花园。
It had flowers of every height and color.
那里有各种高度和颜色的花。
It had a fish pond and was completely lined with beautiful trees and bushes.
那里有一个鱼塘，周围长满了美丽的树木和灌木丛。
The garden was beautiful and peaceful. It was perfect.
花园美丽而宁静。太完美了。
And then the owners built a tall structure in the middle of it.
然而，花园的主人却在它的中间建造了一座高大的建筑。
The structure was made almost of entirely of stained glass, like church windows.
这座建筑几乎完全由彩色玻璃制成，就像教堂的窗户一样。
And while it was beautiful, it was truly gilding the lily.
虽然它很漂亮，但它真的是画蛇添足。
When the sun shone through it, you could not see one flower.
当阳光透过它时，你看不到一朵花。
Here are some expressions that are similar: To go overboard, to overdo it, or to get carried away. Listen to this example.
下面有一些类似的表达：go overboard（走极端，过分），overdo it（用力过猛），或者get carried away（得意忘形）。听听这个例子。
I got carried away with the decorations on the birthday cake.
我被生日蛋糕上的装饰品迷住了。
Yeah, you really went overboard with the sprinkles.
是的，你洒的糖屑太多了。
The cake was so pretty and now I can't even see it!
蛋糕太漂亮了，我受不了了！
Experts on the website Meriam Webster explain where the expression came from.
《韦氏词典》网站上的专家解释了这个短语的来源。
The website says that "gild the lily" comes from Shakespeare.
该网站称，“gild the lily”一词出自莎士比亚。
But the expression has changed over the years.
但随着时间的推移，这个短语发生了变化。
In his play The Life and Death of King John the line is actually "to paint the lily."
在他的戏剧《约翰王的生与死》中，台词实际上是“画蛇添足”。
Here is the shortened form from that play -- Act 4, Scene 2: "To gild refined gold, to paint the lily / To throw a perfume on the violet.... / Is wasteful and ridiculous excess."
该习语出自该戏剧第四幕第二场：“给纯金镀上金箔，给纯洁的百合花涂抹色彩，实在是浪费而可笑的事情。”
These days we just say "gild the lily."
如今，我们只说“gild the lily”。
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！
