VOA慢速英語聽力訓練素材：genie out of the bottle

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VOA慢速英語，作為國際英語學習者的重要資源，通過清晰緩慢的發(fā)音與簡潔的詞匯，為初學者及中等水平學習者搭建了通往流利英語的橋梁。它不僅幫助提升聽力理解能力，還豐富了詞匯量，增強了語感，是學習地道英語表達不可或缺的工具，對全球英語學習者的語言提升至關重要。讓我們一起進入今天的VOA慢速英語聽力訓練：genie out of the bottle。

英文原文

The words we say are weightless sounds in the air, but they are powerful. What we say can greatly affect people, situations, just about everything. That is why sometimes it is a good idea to walk away from a heated argument. If we feel angry, we might say something we regret. Perhaps anger is not the problem; maybe your thoughts on a situation or issue are not fully formed, but you speak anyway. Or maybe you simply have a secret, one that you are dying to share. Whatever the reason, sometimes we speak when maybe we shouldn't. And once those words are out there, there is no taking them back. The damage is done, or we could say the genie is out of the bottle.

我們說的話在空中只是無重量的聲音，但它們卻很有力量。我們說的話可以極大地影響他人、局勢，甚至幾乎一切。這就是為什么有時在激烈的爭論中走開是一個好主意。如果我們感到憤怒，可能會說出讓自己后悔的話。也許憤怒不是問題所在；也許你對某種情況或問題的想法還沒有完全形成，但你還是說了出來?；蛘咭苍S你只是有一個秘密，一個你迫切想分享的秘密。不管出于何種原因，有時我們可能不該說卻說了出來。而一旦這些話說了出來，就無法收回。傷害已經造成，或者我們可以說，瓶中的精靈已經釋放。

Let's take apart this saying. A genie is a trouble-causing spirit with magical powers from Middle Eastern folk tales. Some experts say this expression may be connected to the centuries-old stories of Aladdin. He is a young man who releases a genie trapped in a small container—that's the bottle. Once out, the genie is powerful and tricky, the result a lot of trouble. So if you let the genie out of the bottle, undesirable results or consequences will follow.

讓我們來解析一下這個說法。精靈是中東民間傳說中一種會惹麻煩的魔法生物。一些專家說，這個表達可能與幾個世紀以來流傳的阿拉丁故事有關。阿拉丁是一個年輕人，他釋放了一個被困在小容器里的精靈——這就是那個瓶子。一旦精靈出來，它就會變得強大而狡猾，結果是帶來很多麻煩。所以，如果你讓瓶中的精靈出來，就會招致不良的結果或后果。

To let the cat out of the bag has a similar meaning. The cat is in the bag for a reason; when you let it out, there will be consequences. And both the genie and the cat, as well as the words we say, cannot be recaptured. But how do we use these expressions? Here is one example: The politician says she misspoke about her plans to run for president, but the press had already reported on it. The genie was out of the bottle and could not be put back in.

“讓貓從袋子里跑出來”有類似的含義。貓在袋子里是有原因的；當你把它放出來時，就會有后果。而且，無論是精靈還是貓，以及我們說的話，都無法再收回。但我們如何使用這些表達呢？這里有一個例子：一位政治家說她關于競選總統(tǒng)的計劃是口誤，但媒體已經報道了。瓶中的精靈已經釋放，無法再收回。

Here is another example: Two co-workers use both expressions. “Tony really let the cat out of the bag at work today. He told everyone that Mary found another job and was leaving the company next month.” “What? But she hasn't told management yet.” “I know. So they fired her.” “That's awful. That means she'll lose a whole month's pay.” He apologized, but there's no putting that genie back in the bottle. “I bet Mary would like to put Tony in a bottle, huh?”

這里還有另一個例子：兩位同事都使用了這兩個表達。“托尼今天在工作中真的讓貓從袋子里跑出來了。他告訴每個人瑪麗找到了另一份工作，下個月就要離開公司了?！薄笆裁?？但她還沒有告訴管理層呢。”“我知道。所以他們把她解雇了?！薄疤膳铝?。這意味著她將失去整整一個月的薪水?！彼狼噶?，但無法再將那個精靈收回瓶子里?！拔掖蛸€瑪麗想把托尼裝進瓶子里，嗯？”

A genie is far more dangerous than a cat and harder to catch. So the two sayings are not always interchangeable. Here is an example: Some experts say social media is damaging users, especially children, but the technology and its appeal is here to stay. No one can put that genie back in the bottle. In that example, you would not use "let the cat out of the bag." Instead, use it when someone has said something that was supposed to remain a secret. You can't take words back and you can't rehide a secret. Something has been done and can't be undone.

精靈比貓更危險，也更難抓住。所以這兩個說法并不總是可以互換使用的。這里有一個例子：一些專家說，社交媒體正在損害用戶，尤其是兒童，但這項技術和它的吸引力會一直存在。沒有人能把那個精靈收回瓶子里。在那個例子中，你不會使用“讓貓從袋子里跑出來”。而是當有人說了本應是秘密的話時使用它。你說出去的話無法收回，秘密也無法再隱藏。事情已經發(fā)生，無法挽回。

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