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'To Have a Monkey on Your Back' Is No Laughing Matter
“背上一只猴子”不是笑事
And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
现在,来自美国之音学习英语的单词和他们的故事。
Today we talk about an expression, or idiom, involving an animal – a monkey to be exact.
今天我们谈论一个表达,或者成语,涉及动物——确切地说是猴子。
Monkeys are intelligent animals, and they often do funny things. So, the English language has some monkey expressions that describe a fun situation.
猴子是聪明的动物,他们经常做有趣的事情。所以,英语中有一些猴子的表达方式来描述有趣的情况。
For example, to monkey around means to do things that are not useful or serious. And if something is more fun than a barrel of monkeys, it is very fun!
例如,monkey around 意味着做一些无用或不严肃的事情。如果有什么东西比一桶猴子更有趣,那就太有趣了!
But what if you had to carry a monkey around with you every minute of every day ... on your back? That may not be so fun.
但是,如果您必须每天每时每刻都背着一只猴子……背着怎么办?那可能没那么有趣。
And that brings us to today's expression – to have a monkey on your back.
这让我们想到了今天的表达方式——背上有一只猴子。
If you have a monkey on your back, you have a problem that cannot be easily solved. And you possibly have had that problem for a long time.
如果你背上有一只猴子,你就有了一个不容易解决的问题。你可能已经有这个问题很长时间了。
To have a monkey on your back can also mean to carry a great emotional weight. This weight comes from a bad decision or perhaps a feeling that you have done something wrong.
背上有一只猴子也意味着要承受很大的情感负担。这种重量来自一个错误的决定,或者可能是你做错了什么的感觉。
But the expression is used in more situations than that.
但这个表达用在更多的情况下。
It is often used to describe a serious problem, worry, or concern that makes life difficult or unpleasant. Sometimes we use this idiom to describe a situation that is not our fault. It could be a hardship or condition from which we suffer.
它通常用于描述一个严重的问题、担忧或使生活变得困难或不愉快的担忧。有时我们用这个成语来描述不是我们的错的情况。这可能是我们遭受的困难或状况。
Here are some examples.
这里有一些例子。
A man grew up in extreme poverty. For a time, it was a monkey on his back. But getting a good education was the first step to getting the monkey off his back.
一个人在极度贫困中长大。一时间,他的背上是一只猴子。但接受良好的教育是让猴子摆脱困境的第一步。
If a woman has a gambling, alcohol, or drug addiction, we could say she has a monkey on her back. It could last for many years or even a lifetime. However, if she could solve or end the problem, we could say she finally got the monkey off her back!
如果一个女人有赌博、酗酒或毒瘾,我们可以说她背上有只猴子。它可以持续很多年甚至一生。但是,如果她能解决或结束这个问题,我们可以说她终于把猴子从背上拿下来了!
There is another expression that also means having a monkey on your back.
还有另一种表达方式,也意味着背上有只猴子。
That expression is a millstone around someone's neck.
< br/>这个表达是某人脖子上的磨石。
A millstone is a very large, heavy stone used for grinding things such as grain or corn. It crushes things easily. So, we also use the word millstone to describe a serious responsibility, problem, or concern.
磨石是一种非常大、很重的石头,用于研磨谷物或玉米等东西。它很容易压碎东西。所以,我们也用磨石这个词来形容严重的责任、问题或担忧。
For example, student debt is a millstone for many young people. We could also say the debt is a millstone around their necks or a monkey on their backs.
例如,学生债务是许多年轻人的磨石。我们也可以说债务是脖子上的磨石或背上的猴子。
And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories!
这就是我们为这个词和他们的故事所拥有的所有时间!