VOA慢速英语:Proverbs Tell How to Succeed in Life

Today we explain more popular proverbs.  A proverb is a short, well known saying that expresses a common truth or belief.  Proverbs are popular around the world.
今天，我们来讲解更多比较流行的谚语。谚语是短小精干的，众所周知的说法表达了共同的事实和信仰。各种谚语风靡全球。

Many listeners have sent us their favorite proverbs.  They give advice about how to live.  We begin with two popular proverbs about staying healthy by eating good food: One is an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Another is you are what you eat.
许多听众给我们发来他们最喜欢的谚语。这些谚语就如何生活给出建议。我们从两条关于健康饮食的谚语开始吧：一条是“每天一苹果，疾病远离我”。另一条是“人如其食”。

Several proverbs about birds also give advice.  You may have heard this one:  The early bird catches the worm.  This means a person who gets up early, or acts quickly, has the best chance of success.
几条关于鸟的谚语也颇为受用。你可能听过这个：早起的鸟儿有虫吃。意思是起床早的人或行动迅速的人，成功的机会最大。

Another famous proverb is a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.  This means you should not risk losing something you have by seeking something that is not guaranteed.
另一条有名的谚语是，一鸟在手胜于双鸟在林。意思是不要冒着失去你所拥有的东西的危险，去追求不一定能得到的东西。

Here is another piece of advice: Do not count your chickens before they are hatched. In other words, you should not think too much about some future event before it really happens.
还有一条建议：鸡蛋尚未孵，别忙数鸡雏。换句话说，在事情还未真正实现之前，别老打着如意算盘。

Another proverb warns do not put all your eggs in one basket. This means you should not put all of your resources together in one place because you could risk losing everything at one time.  Many Americans learned this the hard way by investing all their money in stock shares, which then lost value.  Another proverb says a fool and his money are soon parted. This means someone who acts unwisely with money will lose it.
另一个谚语警告大家不要把所有的鸡蛋都放在一个篮子里。意思是不要把你所有的资源都放在一个地方，因为你可能会一次失去所有东西。许多美国人把所有钱都投进股市，但随后股票却贬值。通过这个惨痛的教训，他们领悟了这个道理。另外一个谚语是说“一个傻瓜会很快失去他的钱财”。这意味着一个理财不慎的人会很快失去财产。

Here is more advice:  If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Also, never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.
而这是我们的意见： “如果一开始你没能成功，那就继续尝试”。并且，“今日事永远今日毕”。

You might learn that haste makes waste if you do something so fast, resulting in mistakes. Most people would agree with this proverb: honesty is the best policy.
你或许听说过“欲速则不达”一说，说的是如果你做事情太快反而会做错很多。大多数人都会同意这句谚语：“诚实是金。”

Yet another proverb advises us not to be concerned about something bad that you cannot change.  It says there is no use crying over spilled milk.
然而另外一句俗语建议我们无须关心一些我们无法改变的不如意的事情。那就是“覆水难收。”

Do you agree with the proverb that children should be seen and not heard? Maybe you have told your children that hard work never hurt anyone. But other people say that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. They believe it is not wise to spend all your time working and never having fun.
你同意“大人讲话，小孩别插嘴”这个说法吗？也许你曾跟你的孩子说过“刻苦努力百利而无一害”。但也有人说，“只学习不玩耍聪明的孩子也变傻”。他们相信把有时间用来工作而从不玩乐是不明智的。

Finally, here is one of our favorite proverbs: People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. This means you should not criticize other people unless you are perfect yourself.
最后，这是我们最喜欢的谚语：“住在玻璃房里面的人不该扔石头”。 意思是你最好不要批评其他人，除非你自己已经臻于完美。

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