VOA慢速英語(yǔ):你聽(tīng)過(guò)黃金法則嗎？

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

現(xiàn)在是美國(guó)之音慢速英語(yǔ)詞匯掌故節(jié)目。

Throughout history, gold has been a sign of purity, beauty and power. Calling something golden means it has great quality and value.

縱觀歷史，黃金一直是純潔，美麗和力量的象征。稱某種東西為金質(zhì)的意味著它具有很高的質(zhì)量和價(jià)值。

For example, the golden rule is possibly the world’s most widespread moral rule.

例如，金科玉律(golden rule)可能是世界上最普遍的道德規(guī)則。

It says people should treat others the way they themselves would like to be treated. Every major religion has its own version of this idea.

有條金科玉律說(shuō)人們應(yīng)該待人如己。所有主流宗教都有關(guān)于這種思想的自身版本。

The golden ratio is found in art, architecture and nature. It describes a rectangle with a length about one and one-half times its width. Objects using this ratio in their design seem to please the eye more than others.

黃金比例(golden ratio，即我們常說(shuō)的黃金分割)存在于藝術(shù)、建筑和自然方面。它描述的是一個(gè)長(zhǎng)寬比大概為1:1.5的長(zhǎng)方形物體。使用這個(gè)比例設(shè)計(jì)的物體看起來(lái)似乎比其他比例更能引起人的美感。

Philosophers have their own golden idea. The golden mean says moderation in all things is the best way to live one’s life. It is an idea linked to the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. Similar thoughts exist in Buddhism and Confucianism.

哲學(xué)家都有自己的金點(diǎn)子(golden idea)。中庸思想(golden mean)稱，在所有事物中，中庸之道是生存的最佳方式。這是和古希臘哲學(xué)家亞里士多德有關(guān)的一個(gè)想法。類似的想法也存在于佛教和儒教思想中。

Ancient Greek myths told of a time long ago when people lived in peace and happiness. Poets called it the Golden Age. A golden age now describes a historical period of great artistic, scientific or economic progress. It can even recall a time of success and popularity for an industry. For example, the nineteen thirties and forties were called the Golden Age of Radio.

古希臘神話講述了一段很久以前，人們和平、幸福生活的美好時(shí)代。詩(shī)人把它稱為黃金時(shí)代(Golden Age)。黃金年代現(xiàn)在用來(lái)描述一段藝術(shù)、科技或經(jīng)濟(jì)取得巨大成就的歷史時(shí)期。它甚至使我們回想起一個(gè)行業(yè)取得成功和流行的時(shí)期。例如，二十世紀(jì)三四十年代，被稱為廣播行業(yè)的黃金時(shí)代。

You may have heard the proverb silence is golden. This means silence is of great value. It is sometimes better to say nothing than to speak.

您可能聽(tīng)過(guò)一句諺語(yǔ)：沉默是金。這表示沉默很有價(jià)值，有時(shí)候沉默比多嘴強(qiáng)。

You might say your child was good as gold when he behaved well at school. British writer Charles Dickens used this expression in eighteen forty-three. He was describing the child Tiny Tim in the book "A Christmas Carol."

當(dāng)你的孩子在學(xué)校表現(xiàn)很好，你可能會(huì)說(shuō)他很乖(good as gold)。英國(guó)作家查爾斯·狄更斯1843年在《圣誕頌歌》一書(shū)中使用這個(gè)詞語(yǔ)形容書(shū)中的一個(gè)名為蒂尼·齊姆的孩子。

In nineteen thirty-seven, American playwright Clifford Odets wrote a play called "The Golden Boy." This expression describes a young man who has many good qualities and a bright future.

1937年，美國(guó)劇作家克利福德·奧德茨寫(xiě)下戲劇《金童》(The Golden Boy)。金童一詞用來(lái)形容具有良好素質(zhì)和光明未來(lái)的青年。

You might tell someone you are golden when that person does something very well.

當(dāng)某人強(qiáng)于做某事時(shí)，你可能會(huì)告訴他你很牛(you are golden，有些地方則譯為你很珍貴之類的)。

Gold digger is another description. But this does not say something nice about a person. A gold digger is someone who seeks to marry a rich person because he or she is only interested in that person’s money.

釣金龜婿一族(Gold digger，或譯為拜金族)是另一種說(shuō)法，但這可不是形容人們的什么好品質(zhì)。釣金龜婿一族謀求嫁個(gè)有錢人，他或者她的唯一興趣只是那個(gè)人的錢。

Maybe you like old songs from the nineteen fifties or sixties that are still well known and popular today. These are called golden oldies.

也許你喜歡一些二十世紀(jì)五、六十年代至今仍流行的老歌，這些歌曲被稱為懷舊金曲(golden oldies)。

In the nineteen eighties and nineties, an American television comedy series told about four older women living in Miami, Florida. The Golden Girls often dealt with social issues in a funny way.

二十世紀(jì)八、九十年代的一部美國(guó)喜劇講述了四個(gè)住在佛羅里達(dá)州邁阿密的老年婦女。這些黃金女郎(Golden Girls)常常用一種有趣的方式處理社會(huì)問(wèn)題。

Today, most older people look forward to reaching their golden years. This is when hard-working people can retire to a life of ease and fulfillment.

今天，大多數(shù)老年人希望安度晚年(reaching their golden years)，這是指辛勤工作的人們能退休享受安逸滿足的生活。