VOA慢速英语:We Put Things in "Apple Pie Order"

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇掌故节目。

Today we tell about the expression, "apple pie order." It means in perfect order, very well organized.
今天我们来学习"apple pie order"这一短语的表达。这个短语代表井然有序，条理分明。

Nobody is sure where and when the expression apple pie order began.  Some say that Scottish and English writers used the expression a long time ago.  Others say it first was used in the northeastern American states known as New England.
关于这个短语的由来，至今无人知晓。有种说法是苏格兰和英格兰的作家很久以前就使用过这一短语。还有种说法是这个短语起源于美国东北部的新英格兰。

The housewives of New England cut their apples in even slices.  Then they filled pie pans with them in an organized way, row upon row.  As one writer said, the women of New England loved to have everything in its place.  This perhaps explains why it generally is believed that the expression apple-pie order began in New England.
当地的家庭主妇习惯将苹果切成小块，然后一排排的将其整整齐齐地放在烤盘上。正如一位作家曾说过：“新英格兰的女人喜欢井井有条的生活。”也许这就是为什么人们认为"apple pie order"这个短语起源于新英格兰的原因。

Another old expression describes the opposite condition – wild disorder.  That expression is apple of discord.  It comes from ancient mythology.
与“apple pie order”意思相反，表示一堆乱的短语是-“apple of disorder”，源于古代神话。

The myth says that all the gods and goddesses were sitting around the table to celebrate the marriage of Thetis and Peleus.  One of the goddesses, Discord, was a troublemaker. She threw a golden apple on the table to be given as a prize to the most beautiful goddess.
这个神话说的是众神聚在一起欢庆海神涅柔斯的女儿西蒂斯和阿耳戈英雄珀琉斯的婚礼。其中有位掌管争执的神，是个麻烦制造者。他将一只金苹果丢到桌上，声称那是给最美丽女神的礼物。

It was not an easy decision to make.  How could they choose among Juno, Minerva and Venus.  Paris was given the task of deciding.  He decided to give the golden apple to Venus.  Juno and Minerva were very angry and threatened him.  This, the myth says, began the long Trojan war.
在朱诺, 密涅瓦和维纳斯之间选一个，真的一时难以决定。帕里斯负责确定最终人选，他决定将金苹果授予维纳斯。朱诺和密涅瓦很生气，并威胁他。神话中讲到的漫长的特洛伊战争就是这样开始的。

At one time, the tomato was called a love apple.  That was a mistake.  This is how the mistake happened.
西红柿曾一度被称为“爱的苹果”，其实这是个误称。下面来说说误称因何而起。

In the sixteenth century, Spain imported the tomato from South America after Spanish explorers had landed there.  Spain then exported the tomato to Morocco.  Italian traders carried it on to Italy.  The Italian name for the tomato was pomo di Moro – apple of the Moors.
在十六世纪，西班牙人已经登陆了南美大陆，并从那里进口西红柿，然后，再将西红柿出口给摩洛哥。意大利商人将西红柿带回本国，而西红柿的意大利名字是“pomo di Moro”，意即“摩尔人的苹果”。

When French growers imported it from Italy, they thought di Moro meant d'amour, the French word for love.  And so pomo di Moro became the apple of love.
当法国种植业者从意大利引入西红柿时，他们认为“di Moro”即等同于“d’amour”，这个词在法语中是“爱”的意思。因此“pomo di Moro”便演变成了“爱的苹果”。

People believe many things about the apple.  One belief is that it has great powers of keeping people healthy.  A very common expression is "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."
人们认为苹果有很多功效。其一是苹果非常有助于保持健康。有句话常说，“一天一苹果，疾病远离我。”

Another belief is based on fact.  The expression is "One rotten apple spoils the barrel." When an apple begins to go bad, it ruins all the other apples around it in the container.  The expression has come to mean that one bad person in a group can cause everyone to act bad.
还有一种说法是源于现实的。这句俗语是“一只烂苹果，糟蹋一整箩”。当一只苹果开始腐烂的时候，会影响到周围的苹果。这个短语用来形容，团队中只要有一人表现不佳都会影响团队的整体成绩。

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