VOA慢速英語: 野貓：國會議員、金錢、油井和罷工者（雙語）

Wildcats: Congressmen, Money, Oil Wells and Strikers
野貓：國會議員、金錢、油井和罷工者
Now, the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.
這里是美國之音慢速英語詞匯掌故故事。
Today, we tell about the word "wildcat."
今天，我們講講關于“野貓”這個詞語。
Humans have always depended on animals. From the beginning of human history, wild animals provided food, clothing and sometimes medicine.
人類一直依賴于動物，從人類歷史的開始，野生動物就為人類提供了食物、衣服和某些時候需要的藥品。
We may not depend as much on wild animals now. But we hear about them every day. Americans use the names of animals in many ways.
現在的我們可能對野生動物的依賴性不那么大了，但是我們每天都可以聽到關于動物的對話。美國人在很多方面都使用了動物的名字。
Many companies use animals to make us want to buy their goods. Automobile companies, for example, love to show fast horses when they are trying to sell their cars. They also name their cars for other fast powerful animals.
許多公司用動物的名字命名商品，來吸引我們去買他們的商品。例如汽車公司，在試圖銷售他們的汽車的時候，喜歡展示那快速奔跑的駿馬來吸引大家目光。而且他們還用其他迅猛強壯的動物的名字來命名他們的汽車。
Automobile manufacturers and gasoline companies especially like to use big cats to sell their products. They like lions, tigers and wildcats.
汽車制造商和汽油公司則特別喜歡使用大型貓科動物來銷售他們的產品。他們喜歡用獅子、老虎和野貓來吸引顧客。
When Americans say "wildcat," they usually mean a lynx, an ocelot or a bobcat. All these cats attack quickly and fiercely. So wildcats represent something fast and fierce.
當美國人說到“野貓”，他們通常是說猞猁、豹貓或者山貓。這些貓類攻擊時迅速而猛烈。所以野貓代表著迅速和猛烈的事物。
What better way is there to sell a car than to say it is "as fast as a wildcat"? Or, what better way is there to sell gasoline than to say that using it "is like putting a tiger in your tank"?
在賣車時，還有什么方法比說“這輛車比野貓跑的還快”更好的？或者說，在銷售汽油時，還有什么方法比說“就像把一只猛虎放在油箱里”更好的？
An early American use of the word "wildcat" was quite different. It was used to describe members of Congress who declared war on Britain in 1812. A magazine of that year said "the wildcat congressmen went home." It said they were unable to face the responsibility of having involved their country in an unnecessary war.
這與早期美國對“wildcat”這個詞的使用是大相徑庭的，這個詞曾在1812年被用來描述向英國宣戰(zhàn)的國會議員。當時的一本雜志稱，不可靠的國會議員們回家了。據該雜志稱，這些議員無法承擔面對將自己的國家卷入一場不必要的戰(zhàn)爭的責任。
"Wildcat" also has been used as a name for money. It was used this way in the 1800s. At that time, some states permitted banks to make their own money. One bank in the state of Michigan offered paper money with a picture of a wildcat on it.
在19世紀，“Wildcat”這個詞也曾備用來命名貨幣的名稱。在那時，有一些州允許銀行發(fā)行自己的貨幣，密歇根州的一家銀行所發(fā)行的貨幣上就印有野貓的圖案。
Some banks, however, did not have enough gold to support all the paper money they offered. So the money had little or no value. It was called a "wildcat bill" or a "wildcat bank note." The banks who offered this money were called "wildcat banks."
但是，一些銀行沒有足夠的黃金來支持他們所發(fā)行的紙幣，所以這些紙幣的價值都很低，或者說沒有價值。這種紙幣被稱為“野貓紙幣”或“野貓銀行紙幣”。發(fā)行這種紙幣的銀行被稱為“野貓銀行”。
A newspaper of the time said those were the days of "wildcat money." It said a man might be rich in the morning and poor by night.
當時的一家報紙稱，那是一個金錢非?？坎蛔。╳ildcat money）的時代，那就是說一個早上腰纏萬貫的人，到了晚上就有可能變得一貧如洗了。
"Wildcat" was used in another way in the 1800s. It was used for an oil well or gold mine that had almost no oil or gold in it. Dishonest developers would buy such property. Then they would sell it and leave town with the money. The buyers were left with worthless holes in the ground. Today, wildcat oil wells are in areas that are not known to have oil.
在19世紀，“Wildcat”還被以另一種方式來使用。它被用來指里面沒有石油的油井或里面沒有金子的金礦。奸詐的開發(fā)商會買下這樣的資產，然后再將其賣掉，并攜款離開此地，留給買家的是一些地下毫無價值的坑洞?，F在，這種“盲目開掘的油井”都存在于未探明是否有是有的地區(qū)。
Yet another kind of wildcat is the "wildcat strike." That is a strike called without official approval by a union. During World War II, an American publication accused wildcat strikers of slowing government production.
然而“Wildcat”的另一種用法是“wildcat strike”（野貓式罷工：未經公會同意的非法自發(fā)罷工）。在第二次世界大戰(zhàn)期間，一家美國出版公司就指責野貓式的自發(fā)罷工減緩了政府的生產活動。