VOA慢速英语听力训练素材：词汇典故蜡烛

所属教程:VOA慢速英语听力

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2024年09月01日

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VOA慢速英语，作为国际英语学习者的重要资源，通过清晰缓慢的发音与简洁的词汇，为初学者及中等水平学习者搭建了通往流利英语的桥梁。它不仅帮助提升听力理解能力，还丰富了词汇量，增强了语感，是学习地道英语表达不可或缺的工具，对全球英语学习者的语言提升至关重要。让我们一起进入今天的VOA慢速英语听力训练：词汇典故蜡烛。

英文原文

Often, our expressions come from everyday objects. Today, we talk about a candle. Sometimes we use candles to create a feeling of calm, or some other sort of feeling. We call that an ambiance. For example, dinner by candlelight is a lot more romantic than dinner under fluorescent lights. Often candles smell nice, too. We can buy our favorite scents or kinds of smells, which makes them even more calming. But candles are useful as well. If the electricity goes out, candles can light a dark night. In the days before electricity, candles were a main source of light for work. And that brings us to today's expression: "to burn the candle at both ends."

我们的表达方式往往源自日常生活中的事物。今天，我们来谈谈蜡烛。有时我们用蜡烛来营造一种宁静或其他某种感觉。我们称之为氛围。比如，烛光晚餐就比荧光灯下的晚餐要浪漫得多。蜡烛通常也很好闻。我们可以买我们最喜欢的香味或气味，这使得它们更加令人平静。但蜡烛也很有用。如果停电了，蜡烛可以照亮黑暗的夜晚。在电力普及之前，蜡烛是工作的主要光源。这让我们引出了今天的表达：“过度劳累”。

This expression is used several ways. Usually, it means that we are busy with work, but not always. Let's say I spent all of last year working on two very important goals at the same time. Friends could say that I burned my candle at both ends for a whole year. Finally, I got burned out, which means I was really tired. If we use up all of our energy by leading a busy life with work, friends, and seemingly endless activities, we can say we are burning the candle at both ends. We are busy from early morning until late at night.

这个表达有多种用法。通常，它意味着我们忙于工作，但并非总是如此。比如，如果我去年一整年都在同时忙于两个非常重要的目标，朋友们可能会说我一整年都在过度劳累。最后，我累垮了，这意味着我真的很累。如果我们因为工作、朋友和看似无休止的活动而耗尽所有精力，我们可以称自己是过度劳累。我们从早到晚都很忙。

Here is another example: Ever since starting a new job and getting her master's degree, my friend Annett has been burning the candle at both ends. She has been doing a lot. The expression also appears in creative forms of writing. In her poem "Figs from Thistles," First Fig poet Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote about it this way: "My candle burns at both ends; It will not last the night; But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends, It gives a lovely light."

再举一个例子：自从开始新工作和获得硕士学位以来，我的朋友安妮特一直处于过度劳累状态。她一直在做很多事情。这个表达也出现在创造性的写作形式中。在《蓟草之果》一诗中，第一位无花果诗人埃德娜·圣文森特·米莱（Edna St. Vincent Millay）曾这样写道：“蜡烛燃两头，岂能挨天亮；对敌或对友，绚烂放光芒。”

Now, let's hear how these two friends use the expression in this short exchange:

现在，我们来听听这两个朋友在简短的对话中是如何使用这个表达的：

"Where have you been? I haven't talked to you in weeks."

“你去哪了？我好几个星期都没和你说话了。”

"I know, sorry about that. I got a book deal last month, so I've been kind of busy with that."

“我知道，很抱歉。我上个月签了一份书稿出版合同，所以我一直在忙着这件事。”

"Congratulations! But I thought you were still in school."

“祝贺你！但我还以为你还在上学呢。”

"I am. That's why I've been burning the candle at both ends for the past..."

“我是在上学。那就是我那阵子一直在忙的原因……”

"What month is it?"

“现在几月份来着？”