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A: 所以说嘛，if I ever won the lottery, I could stop window shopping and go on a real shopping spree!
B: You know what, I remember seeing something about this. There was an interview with this guy who won the lottery and he said he wished he had never won it! 有钱了以后，好多人来跟他借钱，弄得亲情友情都变了味!
A: 这倒也是! 不过就算没有朋友和亲人，你还是可以买个豪宅，置办个游艇什么的嘛!
B: Well, if you have all the nice things in the world but nobody to share them with, I would say those things are just cold comforts. 赶快来听听下面的Words and Idioms 你就明白了!
Words and Idioms
女: 各位听众，现在播送<美国习惯用语>第 961讲。我是杨琳。
M: 我是 Steve Baragona.
女: 今天报纸头版刊登了本地棒球队比赛的一张照片。比赛进行到第三局时，球赛解说专门提到在场的受伤军人，观众纷纷起立为他们喝彩。可我觉得，对一个在战争中失去双腿的士兵，别人的喝彩固然令人欣慰，但他可能更希望自己有一天能再站起来。这让我想到了一句习惯用语，那就是:
M: Cold comfort. Cold is spelled c-o-l-d, and comfort; c-o-m-f-o-r-t. Cold-comfort.
女: 大家都知道，Cold 是冷的意思，comfort是安慰，连起来，cold comfort, 意思是“不起作用的安慰”。就像上面的例子里，一位失去双腿的士兵当然很高兴大家记得他为国家做出的牺牲，但是He may also felt it was COLD COMFORT since he could no longer walk. 毕竟他再也不能走路了，别人的喝彩可能只是“不起作用的安慰”。在下面例子里，一名员工谈到了大家是怎样认同他的工作成绩的，我们来听一听：
M: "Two weeks ago, I got the news that my factory would be relocating overseas. As I sat at home wondering what I was going to do for work, I glanced up. There on the wall was the award I had received for "Employee of the Year." It seems COLD COMFORT for what I have to deal with now."
这段话意思是说：“两个星期前，我得知我工作的工厂要整个搬到海外去作业。我坐在家里，想着以后要怎么办的时候，抬头正好看到墙上挂的‘年度优秀员工奖’的奖状。这张奖状对于目前身处困境的我来说，丝毫起不到安慰的效果。”
女: 真是的！饭碗都要丢了，看到曾经得的奖状恐怕只是徒增烦恼。我想起上次我朋友的女儿在数学竞赛里得了第二名，虽然评委不停说她也很出色，可是她看起来还是十分沮丧。To her, it was COLD COMFORT. 对她来说，这一点也无法让她高兴起来。好了，我们再来听听刚才那段话：
M: "Two weeks ago, I got the news that my factory would be relocating overseas. As I sat at home wondering what I was going to do for work, I glanced up. There on the wall was the award I had received for "Employee of the Year." It seems COLD COMFORT for what I have to deal with now."
女: 上面我们讲了cold comfort 不起作用的安慰。下面的例子里，历史学家要告诉我们一场惨剧的一些不为人知的细节。我们一起来听一下：
M: "In 1963, members of an African-American church in Alabama were attending Sunday church services. Suddenly, a bomb exploded, killing four young girls. The tragedy shocked the nation. And it helped create new laws to end discrimination. For the parents who lost their children, though, that was COLD COMFORT."
这段话是说：“1963年，阿拉巴马一个非洲裔美国人教堂里，人们正在进行周日祷告。忽然，一个炸弹爆炸，四名女孩被炸死。这场悲剧震惊了全国，并最终推动美国确立了禁止歧视的法律。但是对于那些失去了孩子的家长来说，这并不能解决什么问题。”
女: 真是太可怜了。我无法想像失去孩子，将要如何去面对。说到非洲裔美国人，我想大家最熟悉的就是Martin Luther King 马丁.路德.金了。华盛顿刚刚建成马丁.路德.金的雕像，奥巴马总统也到场祝贺。奥巴马当选本身，就证明了美国在民权上的长足进步。好的，我们再来听听刚才那段话：
M: "In 1963, members of an African-American church in Alabama were attending Sunday church services. Suddenly, a bomb exploded, killing four young girls. The tragedy shocked the nation. And it helped create new laws to end discrimination. For the parents who lost their children, though, that was COLD COMFORT."
女: 各位听众，今天我们学习的习惯用语是COLD COMFORT，意思是“不起作用的安慰”。好的，这次[美国习惯用语]就到此结束，我是杨琳，我是 Steve Baragona。谢谢各位的收听。
A: 我也来造个句，美国每年4月15号是交税截止期. I have to pay a huge amount in taxes, so my boyfriend took me out for dinner last night! But still, compared to what I had to pay, that free dinner was a cold comfort.
B: 哈哈， I feel you, 杨琳! But think of it this way, you are paying taxes because you have a job. 想想那些没工作的人吧! 是不是觉得自己幸福多啦?
A: 嗯，这么一说我就舒服多了! 说起找工作，今天的美语三级跳里面，懒惰的Toby 竟然得到了面试的机会! 咱们赶快来听一听!
