正文
VOA慢速英语:Words and Their Stories: How the 'Rx' Sign Came to Be
现在,这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇掌故节目。
Every week at this time, the voice of America tells about popular words and expressions used in the United States. Some of these words and expressions are old. Some are new. Together, they form the living speech of the American people.
每周这个时候,“美国之音”都会讲述美国有关的流行词汇和表达。有的词汇和表达很古老,有的是新的。它们共同构成了美国人民的生活用语。
Our story today is very old. It goes back about five-thousand years. It is about a sign that is used to represent some words.
我们今天要讲一个很古老的故事。这要追溯到5千年前。这是一个关于象征某些词语的标志。
We see this sign on drug stores and whenever we visit a doctor to get an order for medicine. It also appears on bottles of pills and other medicines.
我们可以在药店和就医取药方时看到。它同时也出现在药丸瓶和其它药物上。
The sign is formed by a line across the right foot of the letter "R." It represents the word "prescription." It has come to mean "take this medicine."
该标志由字母"R."右脚加一横线组成。代表“处方”。同时也表示“使用该药”。
The sign has its beginnings five thousand years ago in Egypt. At that time, people prayed to Horus, the god of the Sun. It was said that when Horus was a child, he was attacked by Seth, the demon of evil.
该标志起源于5千年的埃及。在那时,人们崇拜太阳神Horus。据说Horus是个孩子,他被邪恶之神Seth攻击。
The evil Seth put out the eye of the young Horus. The mother of Horus called for help. Her cry was answered by Thoth, the god of learning and magic. Thoth, with his wisdom and special powers, healed the eye of Horus. And the child was able to see again.
邪恶之神Seth挖出了年轻的Horus的眼睛。Horus的母亲寻求帮助。她的哭声得到了学识和魔力之神Thoth的回应,他拥有智慧和特别的力量,治愈了Horus的眼睛。这样,Horus又重见光明了。
The ancient Egyptians used a drawing of the eye of Horus as a magic sign to protect themselves from disease, suffering and evil. They cut this sign in the stones they used for buildings. And it was painted on the papyrus rolls used for writing about medicine and doctors.
远古埃及人使用Horus眼睛的绘画最为魔法象征,来保护他们免受疾病、灾难和邪恶的折磨。他们把这个标志刻在建房子的石头上。也画到用于记述药物和医生的莎草纸卷上。
For thousands of years, the eye of Horus remained as a sign of the god's help to the suffering and sick.
几千年来,Horus的眼睛仍是灾难和疾病时寻求神灵帮助的标志。
Long after the fall of the ancient Egyptian civilization, doctors and alchemists in Europe continued the custom of showing a sign of the gods' help and protection. But over the years, the sign changed from the eye of Horus to the sign for Jupiter, the chief god of the Romans. Jupiter's sign looked much like the printed number "four."
在埃及文明没落很久以后,欧洲的医生和炼金术士仍沿用了这一代表神的帮助和保护的标志。但在多年以后,该标志从Horus的眼睛变成了罗马书主要神灵Jupiter的标志。Jupiter的标志很像印刷体的“four”。
That sign changed, also. Today, it is the easily-recognized capital "R" with a line across its foot.
这样,该标志改变了。今天它变成很容易记忆的字母"R"加右脚的一条横线。
The sign no longer offers heavenly assistance to the sick. It now means "take this medicine."
这个标志不再是为疾病提供神之佑护。如今,它代表“使用该药”。
相关文章
- Schools that Removed Police Officers Bring Them Back
- Let's Get to the 'Root of the Problem'
- 'The Fall of the House of Usher,' by Edgar Allan Poe, Part One
- What Does It Mean to 'Hit the Nail on the Head'?
- Scientists Record Largest ‘Marsquakes’ on the Red Planet
- Singers, Politicians, Doctors among 2022 College Graduation Speakers
- Venediktova: Ukraine's First Woman Prosecutor
- Are You Guilty of 'Sitting on the Fence?'
- New Zealand Court Rules Suspect Can Be Extradited to China
- Olympic Gold Medalist Wins 50th Boston Marathon to Include Women