VOA慢速英语:Ace in the Hole

It is surprising how many expressions that Americans use every day came from the card game of poker. For example, you hear the expression, ace in the hole, used by many people who would never think of going near a poker table. An ace in the hole is any argument, plan or thing kept hidden until needed. It is used especially when it can turn failure into success.
来自扑克游戏的美国人日常用语多得让人惊讶。举个例子，你应该听过很多从未想过走近扑克桌的人说“最后一张王牌（ace in the hole）”。最后一张王牌是指一直不被知道，知道需要的时候才拿出来的理由、计划或想法，尤其是反败为胜的时候被使用。

In poker and most card games, the ace is the highest and most valuable card. It is often a winning card. In one kind of poker game, the first card to each player is given face down. A player does not show this card to the other players. The other cards are dealt face up. The players bet money each time they receive another card.
扑克和多数牌类游戏中，黑桃是最高等最有价值的牌。这通常都是一张制胜牌。在一种扑克游戏中，发给每个玩家的第一张牌都是正面朝下的，玩家并不向其他玩家展示这张牌。其余牌则是正面朝上的。每当玩家收到一张牌，他就要下赌注。

No one knows until the end of the game whose hidden card is the winner. Often, the ace in the hole wins the game.
直到游戏结束之前，没有人知道谁的底牌会获胜。通常王牌都会得胜。

Smart card players, especially those who play for large amounts of money, closely watch the person who deals the cards. They are watching to make sure he is dealing honestly. They want to be sure that he is not dealing off the bottom of the stack of cards. A dealer who is doing that has stacked the deck. He has fixed the cards so that he will get higher cards. He will win and you will lose.
聪明的玩牌者——尤其是那些赌大钱的人——会密切注意庄家，确保他在公平诚实地发牌。他们想确定发牌人并不是在推牌堆的底牌。如果庄家这样做了，就是在洗牌作弊。他固定好了牌的位置，因而会拿到更大的牌。那么他就会赢，你就会输。

The expression, dealing off the bottom, now means cheating in business, as well as in cards. And when someone tells you that the cards are stacked against you, he is saying you do not have a chance to succeed.
短语 “dealing off the bottom（出老千、作弊）”，现在指的是在生意中的欺诈行为，也同样运用于纸牌游戏中。当有人告诉你说“the cards are stacked against you （牌对你不利）”，他其实是说你已经没有成功的机会了。

In a poker game you do not want to let your opponents know if your cards are good or bad. So having a poker face is important. A poker face never shows any emotion, never expresses either good or bad feelings. No one can learn – by looking at your face – if your cards are good or bad.
在纸牌游戏中，你不想让对手得知你手中的牌是好是坏。因此，“having a poker face（面无表情）”就很重要。Poker face ，即面无表情的人，从来不会显露任何情绪，从来不会表达或好或坏的情感。没有人能够通过观察你的脸从而获悉你手中的牌是好是坏。

People now use poker face in everyday speech to describe someone who shows no emotion.
现在，人们在日常生活中用poker face来描述那些不显露情绪的人。

Someone who has a poker face usually is good at bluffing. Bluffing is trying to trick a person into believing something about you that is not true.
面无表情的人通常善于欺骗，即让你相信那些原本不是事实的事情。

In poker, you bluff when you bet heavily on a poor hand. The idea is to make the other players believe you have strong cards and are sure to win. If they believe you, they are likely to drop out of the game. This means you win the money they have bet.
在纸牌游戏中，当你手中牌很差，你想狠狠赌一把，你就会欺骗（bluff）。这样做是为了使其他纸牌玩家相信你手中有很好的牌，而且一定会赢牌。如果他们相信了你，他们可能就会退出比赛。这便意味着你赢得了他们下的赌注。

You can do a better job of bluffing if you hold your cards close to your vest. You hold your cards close to you so no one can see what you have. In everyday speech, holding your cards close to your vest means not letting others know what you are doing or thinking. You are keeping your plans secret.
如果你小心收好你的牌（hold your cards close to your vest），那么欺骗时你可以做得更好。你小心收好牌，其他人就看不见你的牌到底是什么。在日常生活中，“holding your cards close to your vest” 的意思是不让其他人知道你在做什么或者想什么。你对你的计划保密。

We are not bluffing when we say we hope you have enjoyed today’s program.
当然，当我们说希望你喜欢今天的节目时，我们可不是在骗你。