VOA慢速英語:Hit the Spot, Hit Bottom, Hit the Books

Now, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES - a VOA Special English program about American expressions. I’m Rich Kleinfeldt with some expressions containing the word hit.

現(xiàn)在是美國之音慢速英語詞匯掌故，這是一個關(guān)于美語詞匯的節(jié)目。我是Rich Kleinfeldt，今天講述包含hit這個單詞的一些詞匯。

Hit is a small word but it has a lot of power. Baseball players hit the ball. Missiles hit an airplane. A car hits a tree.

Hit這個單詞很短小卻擁有很大“能量”。棒球選手擊球，導(dǎo)彈擊中一架飛機，汽車撞上一棵樹。

Hit also joins with other words to create many colorful expressions. One is hit the road. It means to travel or to leave a place, as suggested in this song, "Hit the Road."

Hit還和很多其他單詞組合起來，形成各式各樣的詞匯。Hit the road就是其中之一，它的意思是出發(fā)、離開。正如這首歌“Hit the Road”中建議的。

Music

(音樂)

Another common expression is hit the spot. At first it meant hitting a spot at the center of a target with an arrow. Someone who did so was satisfied with his shooting. Now, hitting the spot usually means that a food or drink is especially satisfying.

另一個常見詞匯是hit the spot。它起初的意思是射中靶心，射中者對自己的射擊技術(shù)非常滿意?，F(xiàn)在，hitting the spot通常是指食物或飲品尤其令人滿意。

Many years ago, Pepsi Cola sold its drink with a song that began, "Pepsi Cola hits the spot, twelve full ounces, that’s a lot..."

很多年前，百事可樂的廣告歌這么開始唱到，“百事可樂令人滿意，12盎司，好多哦。。。”

Another expression involving hit is hit bottom. Something that has hit bottom can go no lower. If the price of shares of a stock hits bottom that might be the time to buy it. Its value can only go up.

另一個包含hit的詞匯是hit bottom，意思是到了最低點。如果股票價格見底，就是時候買進(jìn)了。這時候股票價格只會往上漲了。

A student who tells you his grades have hit bottom is saying he has not done well in school.

一個學(xué)生說他成績墊底，意思是說他在學(xué)校表現(xiàn)不好。

When a student’s grades hit bottom it is time to hit the books. Hit the books is another way to saying it is time to study. A student might have to tell her friends she can not go with them to the movies because she has to hit the books.

當(dāng)學(xué)生成績墊底時，就是時候看書了。Hit the books是是時候?qū)W習(xí)的另一種說法。一個學(xué)生可能告訴她的朋友，她不能和她們?nèi)タ措娪耙驗樗獙W(xué)習(xí)。

Not hitting the books could lead to an unpleasant situation for a student. The father or mother may hit the ceiling when they see the low grades. Someone who hits the ceiling, the top of the room, is violently angry. A wife may hit the ceiling because her husband forgot their wedding anniversary.

不學(xué)習(xí)可能會導(dǎo)致學(xué)生成績狀況不佳。父母親看到這么差的成績可能會hit the ceiling。ceiling是天花板，hit the ceiling是指勃然大怒。妻子可能會因為丈夫忘了他們的結(jié)婚紀(jì)念日而勃然大怒。

To build something of wood, you usually need a hammer. That is what you use to hit nails into the pieces of wood to hold them together. When you hit the nail on the head, exactly on its top, it goes into the wood perfectly. And when someone says your words or actions hit the nail on the head, he means what you said or did was exactly right.

做木質(zhì)的東西通常需要一把錘子。錘子用來把釘子釘進(jìn)木頭里使其連接到一塊。當(dāng)你把錘子恰好敲在釘子頭上時就釘?shù)米詈?。而?dāng)有人說你的話或行動hitthe nail on the head，意思是說你的所言所行非常正確。

If you are tired after hitting all those nails on the head, then it is time to hit the hay. That expression comes from the days when people slept on beds filled with dried grass or hay. Some people slept on hay in barns where they kept their farm animals.

如果你在釘完釘子后感覺累了，就是時候hit the hay，這個詞匯來自于當(dāng)年人們睡在鋪滿干草的床上的那個年代。還有人睡在飼養(yǎng)牲畜的馬房(或牛棚之類的)的干草上。

Hitting the hay simply means going to bed. That is a good idea. I think I will hit the hay now.

Hitting the hay就是指去睡覺。這是個好主意，我覺得我現(xiàn)在要睡覺了。