評論
打印
And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
歡迎收聽VOA慢速英語《詞匯掌故》節目。
On this program, we explore words and expressions in the English language.
在本節目中，我們探討英語中的單詞和短語。
We give definitions, notes on usage, and use them in conversations.
我們給出釋義，對用法進行解釋說明，并在對話中使用它們。
Today we talk about a piece of clothing – gloves.
今天我們談論一件衣物——手套。
We wear gloves to protect our hands.
我們戴手套是為了保護雙手。
When the weather is cold, we wear gloves to keep our hands warm.
天氣冷的時候，我們戴手套保暖。
When we do difficult outdoor work, we might wear work gloves.
當我們做艱苦的戶外工作時，我們可能會戴上工作手套。
And when we clean indoors, we might wear rubber gloves to protect our hands from chemicals.
當我們在室內清潔時，我們可能會戴橡膠手套來保護我們的手免受化學物質的傷害。
But when do we wear "kid gloves"?
但我們什么時候戴“羔皮手套”呢？
Kid gloves are made from the skin of a young goat, also called a kid.
羔皮手套是用小山羊的皮制成的。
Kid leather is very soft.
小山羊皮非常柔軟。
So, kid gloves are perfect for holding objects such as silverware and art without leaving fingerprints.
因此，戴羔皮手套非常適合拿銀器和藝術品等物品，而不會留下指紋。
Years ago, many servants would wear kid gloves.
多年前，許多仆人都會戴羔皮手套。
But today, we use the expression kid gloves to describe a way of dealing with certain people or situations.
但在今天，我們用短語kid gloves來形容應付某些人或情況的方式。
People who are sensitive require kid gloves.
敏感的人需要小心應付。
And situations that are complex and delicate often need the kid-glove treatment.
復雜而微妙的情況往往需要謹慎處理。
However, when we use kid gloves to talk about people, it is a little different than when we talk about situations.
然而，我們用kid gloves來談論人與我們談論情況的情形略有不同。
To treat something with kid gloves is to handle a situation carefully and with tact.
To treat something with kid gloves指的是謹慎而機智地處理情況。
When we do something tactfully, we do it in a thoughtful way.
當我們機智地做某事時，我們會以一種深思熟慮的方式來做。
Tactful people deal with people and situations very well.
機智的人能很好地應付人和情況。
They are diplomatic.
他們很圓滑。
Handling a situation with kid gloves is the opposite of being a bull in a china shop.
小心翼翼地應付局面與笨手笨腳的是相反的。
If you are a bull in a china shop, you handle a situation very carelessly. (We talked about this idiom on another Words and Their Stories.)
a bull in a china shop指的是非常粗心地應付局面。（我們在另一期《詞匯掌故》節目中討論過這個習語）
Kid-glove treatment shows special skill and sensitivity.
極有禮貌地對待顯示出特殊的技巧和敏感度。
People who need kid-glove treatment might be very sensitive, meaning their feelings are easily hurt.
需要極有禮貌地對待的人可能非常敏感，意思是他們的感情很容易受到傷害。
Or they might be fussy and demanding.
或者，他們可能很挑剔和苛刻。
For example, really famous actors or pop stars might need the kid-glove treatment.
例如，真正著名的演員或流行歌星可能需要極有禮貌地對待。
Now, let's hear the idiom used in a conversation between two friends.
現在，讓我們來聽一聽兩個朋友是如何在對話中使用這個習語的。
What are you doing this weekend?
這個周末你打算做什么？
An old friend is visiting me. We were best friends all through middle school and high school.
一位老朋友要來看我。我們在初中和高中都是最好的朋友。
That sounds fun!
聽起來很有趣！
Well, I hope it will be.
我希望是這樣的。
Why do say 'hope'?
為什么要說“希望”？
Well, she just went through a very nasty divorce from her high school sweetheart.
她剛剛和高中戀人不愉快地離婚了。
She's still very sensitive about it.
她對這件事仍然很敏感。
So I have to handle her with kid gloves and not talk about our high school days.
所以我不得不小心翼翼地對待她，不能提我們的高中時光。
Sounds like a little kid-glove treatment is just what she needs.
聽起來她確實需要被非常小心地對待。
And you can talk about the future instead.
你可以談論未來。
And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. Until next time … I'm Anna Matteo.
以上就是本期《詞匯掌故》節目的全部內容。下次見……我是安娜·馬特奧。
譯文為可可英語翻譯，未經授權請勿轉載！
