VOA慢速英语:When Is a Choice Not Really a Choice?

Making choices is necessary, but not always easy. Many of our expressions tell about this difficulty.
有的时候做出选择非常必要，但并不一定容易。很多英文短语就用来形容做选择的困难。

One of these expressions is Hobson’s choice.  It often is used to describe a difficult choice. But that is not what it really means. Its real meaning is to have no choice at all.
其中之一就是无选择余地（Hobson's choice）。人们通常用它来表示做出一个艰难的选择。但这并不是它的真正含义。它其实是指根本没有选择的余地。

The Hobson in the expression was Thomas Hobson. Mister Hobson owned a stable of horses in Cambridge, England.
这个短语中的霍布森（Hobson）是指人名托马斯•霍布森（Thomas Hobson）。霍布森在英国剑桥市拥有一间马厩并饲养了一些马。

Mister Hobson often rented horses to the students at Cambridge University. But, he did not really trust them to take good care of the horses. So, he had a rule that prevented the students from riding his best horses. They could take the horse that was nearest the stable door. Or, they could not take any horse at all.
他常常把马出租给剑桥大学的学生，但是他担心他们不能善待马儿。所以为了避免学生们选马的时候专门挑那几匹好马，他提出了一个规定：顾客只能选离门最近的那匹马，除此以外不能租用任何马匹。

Thus, a Hobson’s choice was really no choice.
所以Hobson的选择实际上就是根本没有选择。

Another expression for having no real choice is between a rock and a hard place. It is often used to describe a difficult situation with few choices, none of them good.
另外一个表示没有选择余地的短语就是between a rock and a hard place。它用于形容只能在坏的选择里做打算的窘境。

For example, your boss may ask you to work late. But you have plans to go to a movie with your friends.  If you refuse to work, your boss gets angry. But if you do not go to the movies with your friends, they may get angry. So what do you do? You are caught between a rock and a hard place.
比如，老板让你加班，但其实你已经约好和朋友一起去看电影。如果你不加班，老板会生气；但如果不去看电影，朋友会生气。那怎么办？这时你就会感到左右为难（between a rock and a hard place）。

Another expression, between the devil and the deep blue sea, also gives you a choice between two equally dangerous things.
另外一种表达也表示你要在两件同样危险的事情里作出选择，要不选择魔鬼要不选择深海（进退两难）。

Its meaning seems clear. You can choose the devil and his burning fires of hell.  Or, you can choose to drown in the sea. Some word experts say the expression comes from the days of wooden ships.
它的意思显而易见。你可以选择魔鬼和它那熊熊燃烧的地狱之火。或者，你也可以选择被大海吞噬。有些文字专家表示这种说法当我们还在使用木船的时候就出现了。

The devil is a word for a seam between two pieces of wood along the water-line of a ship. If the seam or crack between the two pieces of wood begins to leak, then a sailor must fix it. The sailor ordered to make the repairs was in a dangerous situation. He was hanging over the side of the ship, working between the devil and the deep blue sea.
恶魔这个词是用来表示顺着船的水位线的两块木板之间的夹缝。 如果两块木板的间出现了缝隙或裂痕后开始漏水，那么水手就需要进行修理。被要求去修理的的水手便处于危险的处境中。他游走在船的边缘，也可以说他在魔鬼和深海间工作。

There is still another expression that describes a situation with only bad choices, being on the horns of a dilemma.
也有一个表达专门来描述只有一种很坏的选择的情况，处在困境中。

The dictionary says a dilemma is a situation in which you must make a decision about two equally balanced choices. When your dilemma has horns, a choice becomes impossible.  When you are on the horns of a dilemma, no matter which horn you choose, something bad will happen.
据词典上的解释，dilemma指的是一种情况，你必须在两种同样的选择里作出决定。当你的困境中出现“触角”的时候做一个选择就困难了。当你陷入进退两难的境地时，不管你做何决定，坏事肯定要发生了。