“綠色”的故事

何苗

There are many expressions about the color “green”. So today， lets start with the color “green”.

語言中有很多表達(dá)與“綠色”有關(guān)。今天我們就從“綠色”說起吧。

Green is an important color in nature. It is the color of grass and the leaves on trees. It is also the color of most growing plants.

綠色是自然界中一種重要的顏色。它是青草和樹葉的顏色，也是大多數(shù)生長中的植物的顏色。

Sometimes， the word green means young， fresh and growing. Sometimes， it describes something that is not yet ripe （成熟） or finished.

有時(shí)，綠色意味著年輕、新鮮和成長中。有時(shí)，綠色被用于描述一些尚未成熟或完成的東西。

For example， a “greenhorn” is someone who has no experience， who is new to a situation. In the 15th century， a “greenhorn” was a young cow or ox whose horns （角） had not yet developed. A century or so later， a “greenhorn” was a soldier who had not yet had any experience in battle. By the 18th century， a “greenhorn” had the meaning it has today — a person who is new in a job.

例如，“綠色的角”是指沒有經(jīng)驗(yàn)的人或者新來的人。15世紀(jì)的時(shí)候，“綠色的角”是指小母?；蚪巧形撮L出來的公牛。一個(gè)世紀(jì)左右之后，“綠色的角”是指尚未有任何戰(zhàn)斗經(jīng)驗(yàn)的士兵。直到18世紀(jì)，“綠色的角”就有了今天這種意思，它是指工作上的新手。

About 100 years ago， “greenhorn” was a popular expression in the American West. Old-timers used it to describe a man who had just arrived from one of the big cities back east. The “greenhorn” lacked the skills he would need to live in the hard， rough country.

大約一百年前，“綠色的角”在美國西部地區(qū)是一個(gè)非常常見的表達(dá)方式。老一輩們用它來形容剛從美國東部大城市來到的一類人。這些“綠色的角”缺少在這片充滿艱辛、崎嶇坎坷的土地上生存下去所需的技能。

Someone who has the ability to grow plants well is said to have “a green thumb.” The expression comes from the early 1900s.

擁有能讓植物長勢良好的能力的人被稱為“綠拇指”。這一表達(dá)源自20世紀(jì)早期。

A person with a green thumb seems to have a magic touch that makes plants grow quickly and well. You might say that the woman next door “has a green thumb” if her garden continues to grow long after your plants have died.

擁有“綠拇指”的人的接觸似乎擁有一種魔力，能夠讓植物長得既快又好。如果在你花園中的植物死了很久之后，隔壁女人的花園中的植物還在繼續(xù)生長，你可能管她叫一個(gè)“綠拇指”。

“The Green Revolution” is the name given some years ago to the development of new kinds of rice and other grains. The new plants produced much larger crops. “The Green Revolution” was the result of hard work by agricultural scientists who had “green thumbs”.

“綠色革命”是指若干年前新型大米和其它谷物的大改良。這些新型作物產(chǎn)量更高。“綠色革命”是那些擁有“綠拇指”的擅長種植的農(nóng)業(yè)科學(xué)家們辛勤工作的結(jié)果。

Green is also the color used to describe the powerful emotion， jealousy （猜忌）. The “green-eyed monster” is not a frightening creature from outer space； it is an expression used about 400 years ago by British writer William Shakespeare in his play “Othello”.

綠色還用于描述強(qiáng)烈的情感——妒忌?！熬G眼怪”不是指來自外太空的可怕生物，而是大約400年前英國作家莎士比亞在其劇作《奧賽羅》中用到的一種表達(dá)。

It describes the unpleasant feeling a person has when someone has something he wants. A young man may suffer from the “green-eyed monster” if his girlfriend begins going out with someone else. Or， that “green-eyed monster” may affect your friend if you get a pay raise and she does not.

這個(gè)表達(dá)描述了當(dāng)一個(gè)人在別人有他想要的東西時(shí)產(chǎn)生的不愉快的感覺。一位年輕男子的女友如果跟別人一起外出，他可能就會(huì)“妒火中燒”?；蛘?，如果你加薪了，而你朋友沒有，這個(gè)“綠眼怪”就會(huì)影響到你的朋友。

In most places in the world， a “green light” is a signal to move ahead. A “green light” on a traffic signal means your car can continue on. In everyday speech， a “green light” means “approval to continue with a project”. We want you to know we have “a green light” to continue this series next time.

在世界上大多數(shù)地方，綠燈是前進(jìn)的信號(hào)。交通信號(hào)的綠燈意味著你的車可以繼續(xù)往前開。在日常用語中，綠燈是指“項(xiàng)目被批準(zhǔn)繼續(xù)進(jìn)行“。我們希望你知道，我們被“開了綠燈”，下次可以繼續(xù)這個(gè)系列的故事。

Now， its your turn to guess the meanings of the expressions about the color “green”！下面，你來猜一猜文中與“綠色”有關(guān)的表達(dá)方式的意思吧！

參 考 釋 義

1. greenhorn 新手；生手

2. a green thumb 精于園藝

3. Green Revolution綠色革命

注：“綠色革命”一詞，最初只是指一種農(nóng)業(yè)技術(shù)推廣，是20世紀(jì)60年代某些西方發(fā)達(dá)國家將高產(chǎn)谷物品種和農(nóng)業(yè)技術(shù)推廣到亞洲、非洲和南美洲的部分地區(qū)，促使其糧食增產(chǎn)的一項(xiàng)技術(shù)改革活動(dòng)。

4. green-eyed monster 妒忌

注：“green-eyed monster”這一表達(dá)出自莎士比亞戲劇《奧賽羅》。奧賽羅是威尼斯的一名大將，他手下伊亞古有心挑撥他和妻子苔絲德蒙娜的感情。有一次，苔絲德蒙娜為一名犯了過失的副將向奧賽羅求情，伊亞古就乘機(jī)造謠，暗示苔絲德蒙娜跟那副將有染，同時(shí)卻又假惺惺勸奧賽羅不要妒忌，因?yàn)槎始墒侵缓θ说摹熬G眼怪物”。奧賽羅終于中計(jì)，殺死了妻子，然后自殺了。莎士比亞之所以把妒忌叫做“green-eyed monster”，一般認(rèn)為是因?yàn)樨堁墼诤诎抵谐时叹G色，而貓喜歡折磨獵物，就像妒忌把人折磨一樣。

5. green light 綠燈；放行；準(zhǔn)許