VOA慢速英语:Words and Their Stories: Hold Your Horses!

Today, we tell about "horse" expressions.  In the past, many people depended on horses for transportation, farming and other kinds of work.  A lot of people still like to ride horses.  And, horse racing is also popular.  So it is not surprising that Americans still use expressions about the animals.
今天我们要说说有关“马”的谚语。 过去， 很多人凭借马来运输，耕作或是从事其他工作。很多人至今还很喜欢骑马。此外，赛马也已然很流行。所以美国人沿用“马”的谚语也不足为奇。

Long ago, people who were rich or important rode horses that were very tall.  Today, if a girl acts like she is better than everyone else, you might say she should get off her high horse.
很久以前，巨富显要们都骑高头大马。如今，如果一个姑娘自视甚高，你就告诉她最好“别再摆高姿态”了。

Yesterday my children wanted me to take them to the playground.  But I had to finish my work, so I told them to hold your horses. Wait until I finish what I am doing.  My two boys like to compete against each other and play in a violent way.  I always tell them to stop horsing around or someone could get hurt.
昨天我的孩子们希望我带他们去操场玩。但我必须完成工作，所以我告诉他们“等一下”——等我完成工作。我的两个儿子总是互相争斗，方式还比较激烈。我总是告诉他们“不要胡闹”，以免有人受伤。

We live in a small town.  It does not have any exciting activities to offer visitors.  My children call it a one-horse town.
我们住在一个小镇上，这个镇没有为游客提供什么刺激活动。我的孩子们就称之为“乡村小镇”。

Last night, I got a telephone call while I was watching my favorite television show.  I decided not to answer it because wild horses could not drag me away from the television.  There was nothing that could stop me from doing what I wanted to do.
昨晚，我在看我最喜欢的电视节目的时候接到一个电话。我决定不予理会，因为一匹野马都无法迫使我离开电视机。任何事情都无法阻止我做我想做的事情。

Sometimes you get information straight from the horse's mouth. It comes directly from the person who knows most about the subject and is the best source.  Let us say your teacher tells you there is going to be a test tomorrow.  You could say you got the information straight from the horse's mouth.  However, you would not want to call your teacher a horse!
有时你直接从马嘴里的得到信息（“get information straight from the horse’s mouth”）,即你获得了第一手的资料。这些信息直接来自于最了解这个主题的人，他是最好的信息来源。假设你的老师告诉你明天将有一个测试，你就可以说你“ 直接从马嘴里得到了信息”，即你的消息来源可靠。然而，你也不希望称呼自己的老师为一匹马！

You may have heard this expression: You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink.  That means you can give someone advice but you cannot force him to do something he does not want to do.
你或许曾听到过这个俗语：You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink（你可以把马领到水边，但你不能强迫它喝水，即“牵马到河易,强马饮水难”）。这个俗语的意思是你可以给别人意见，但是你不能强迫他做他不想做的事情。

Sometimes a person fights a battle that has been decided or keeps arguing a question that has been settled.  We say this is like beating a dead horse.
有些时候，有的人会试图改变既定的事情，或者一直争辩已经解决的问题，我们就说“this is like beating a dead horse”,这就像抽打一匹死马，即他（她）做的事情是徒劳无用的。

In politics, a dark-horse candidate is someone who is not well known to the public.  Sometimes, a dark horse unexpectedly wins an election.
在政治中，“a dark-horse candidate”（一个黑马候选人）是指一个并不为众人所知的，有时却出人意料地赢得了选举的人。

Another piece of advice is, do not change horses in midstream. You would not want to get off one horse and on to another in the middle of a river.  Or make major changes in an activity that has already begun.  In the past, this expression was used as an argument to re-elect a president, especially during a time when the country was at war.
另外一个建议是，“do not change horses in midstream”，不要在过河时换马，即是不要中途变卦。你不会想在河道中间下马换乘另外一匹，或者对某项已经开始的活动进行重大调整。在过去，这个俗语作为论据用于是否重新选举总统，尤其是在一个国家处于战争之时。

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