VOA慢速英语:Common French Words in American English

Bonjour! Just kidding. We are speaking English. But today we are featuring French words that we use in English.
你好！开个玩笑，我们都讲英语。但今天我们将会呈现一些我们在英语中使用的法语单词。

For example, mayday is an emergency code word. It is used around the world in voice communications. You might see a war movie in which an airplane has been hit by rocket fire.
Mayday（救我）是一个在国际语音通讯上广泛使用的紧急信号。你也许在战争片中看过一架飞机被火箭炮击中。

The pilot gets on his radio and calls "mayday, mayday, mayday" to tell that his plane is in danger of crashing to the ground.
飞行员拿起无线电喊道“mayday,mayday,mayday”来说明他的飞机正处于坠毁的危险中。
But mayday has nothing to do with the month of May. It comes from the French expression "(venez) m'aider," or "m'aidez," which means "help me."
但是Mayday与月份中的五月并无关系。它来源于法语中的“venez m'aider”或“m'aidez”，意为“救我”。

Frederick Stanley Mockford created the mayday call signal in the 1920s. Mr. Mockford was a radio officer at Croydon Airport in London. He was asked to think of a word that could be used in an emergency. The word had to be easily understood by all pilots and airport workers. Much of the air traffic at that time was between London and Paris. So, he proposed the word mayday.
弗雷德里克•斯坦利•莫克福特于20世纪20年代创造了mayday这个紧急呼救信号。莫克福特是伦敦克罗伊登机场的无线电工作人员。他受命想出一个能用于紧急情况下的词语。这个词语必须易于被飞行员和机场人员理解。那个时候有大量的航班来往于克罗伊登机场和法国巴黎附近的布尔歇机场。所以他提出用“mayday”一词。

Today, many groups use mayday to mean a life-threatening emergency. The call is always given three times to prevent mistaking it for some similar sounding words.
今天，很多机构使用这个词汇来表达生命受到威胁时的紧急情况。通常这个呼叫会被重复三遍来避免与一些近音词语相混淆。

Many other French words are commonly used in English. One of these is even in the Learning English Word Book. It is sabotage. Sabotage means to destroy or damage as an act of subversion against an organization or nation. A person who sabotages is a saboteur. Bad crime, lovely word.
许多其它的法语词汇通常也在英语中使用。其中一个词语甚至编入了《特别英语词汇手册》。这个词就是“sabotage”(阴谋破坏)。它的意思是施加以破坏或毁灭，作为一种颠覆和反抗组织或国家的行为。这是不好的罪行，但这个单词很优美。

In economics or politics, you may have heard the term laissez-faire. It means to leave alone and not interfere. It was first used in France in the 18th century.
你可能听说过“laissez-faire”(放任政策)这个术语，用来表示一种经济或政治政策。它的意思是放任不管，不干涉。这个词最早出现在18世纪的法国。

In the business world, entrepreneur is another French word. It means a person who starts and operates a new business and has responsibility for any risks involved.
在商业领域中，“entrepreneur”(创业家)又是一个法语词。它表示开创和营运一家新公司并承担其所涉及风险的个人。

Many French words are used in the arts. For example, a film noir is a movie about murder and other crimes. These films were popular in the nineteen forties and nineteen fifties. Anything in art, music or literature which is very modern or ahead of its time is called avant-garde.
许多法语词汇也运用于艺术当中。例如，"a film noir”(黑色电影)，指的是一部关于谋杀和其它犯罪的电影。这类电影在20世纪40、50年代很受欢迎。任何在艺术、音乐或文学领域中很现代或是超越时代的东西，都被称为“avant-garde”(前卫派)。

In the arts or any industry you prepare a résumé if you are looking for a job. A résumé documents your education, skills and experience. While every professional needs a résumé, each one is unique. In other words, each is one of kind.
在艺术活工业领域，如果你在找工作你要准备一份简历。这份文件罗列了所有关于你学历、技能和经验的信息。虽然每个都需要一份简历，每份都是唯一的。换句话说，每一份都是独一无二的。

Food is not unique to France, but the French are famous for their food. So, it makes sense that many cooking terms we use in American English are French. All cooks need to know how to sauté. This is frying something quickly in a small amount of oil or butter.
法国的食物不是独一无二的，但是法国是因为其食物而闻名于世。因此美式英语中用到的许多烹饪术语是法语也就理所当然。所有厨师都必须知道如何sauté（嫩煎）。它是指用少量油或黄油快速煎一些东西。

Flambé is a technique by which alcohol is added to a dish and then lit on fire. This is both for effect and to burn off the alcohol. When you are eating at a restaurant, the server may tell you bon appétit, which means good appetite, or enjoy your meal.
Flambé是指将酒洒到菜上然后点燃。点燃既是为了菜的味道，也是把酒烧完。当你在餐馆吃饭时，服务员可能会对你说bon appétit，意思是祝你胃口好，或用餐愉快！

And if you go away, someone may wish you bon voyage or have a good trip.
如果你要离开，有人会祝你bon voyage（一路顺风）。