VOA慢速英语:'As American as Apple Pie'(翻译)

Each week we explore the roots and meaning of common American expressions.
每周我们都会对常见美式表达的来源和意义进行讲解。

Today let’s talk about apples.
今天我们要学习的是苹果。

The saying “as American as apple pie” describes things that represent the best of American culture.People use this expression when talking about things like blue jeans, baseball and rock-n-roll music.
谚语“as American as apple pie”用来描述典型的美国文化。人们谈及蓝色牛仔、棒球以及摇滚乐的时候就会使用这个表达。

But why use apple pie?Why not some other fruit, like a cherry or peach?The reason might be a man known as Johnny Appleseed.
但为什么要用苹果派（apple pie）呢？为什么不是诸如樱桃或者桃子的其他水果呢？答案可能是源于一个叫Johnny Appleseed的人。

A lot of stories and even a few poems have been written about Johnny Appleseed over the years.They made him into a larger than life folk hero.
多年来，人们根据Johnny Appleseed写了很多故事，甚至创作了几首诗歌。把他塑造成与众不同的民间英雄。

Yet Johnny Appleseed was a real person.It was the name given to a man named John Chapman.Many Americans consider him responsible for popularizing apples in the United States.
但Johnny Appleseed是个真人。John Chapman被赋予了这个名字。很多美国人都觉得是John Chapman使得苹果在美国普及开来。

John Chapman was born in Massachusetts in 1774 during the Revolutionary War against Britain.His father reportedly fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill and later served under General George Washington.While John’s mother died in childbirth, his father made it home from battle.He taught his son everything he knew about farming.
1774年美国独立战争期间，John Chapman出生于马萨诸塞州。据说，他的父亲曾参加了邦克山战役，随后便追随了George Washington将军。虽然John的母亲死于分娩，但父亲仍然在战乱中为其撑起了家庭。他向孩子传授了自己所知的有关农业的一切知识。

The young Chapman took his father’s lessons to heart.
小Chapman将父亲的教诲铭记于心。

For 40 years,Johnny Appleseed is said to have cleared land and planted apple seeds in the Midwestern states of the U.S.In a short time, the seeds grew to become trees that produced fruit.
据说，40多年来，Johnny Appleseed在美国中西部各州开辟荒地种下苹果树种子。不久之后，便长成大树，开花结果。

Apples were an important food for the early American settlers.Apples offered something different in daily meals.They were easy to grow and store for use throughout the year.
对于早期的定居者来说，苹果是非常重要的食物。苹果为日常饮食提供了别样东西。且苹果易生长易常年储存。

Perhaps the story of Johnny Appleseed has made apples and apple pie so very American.Historians can debate that.But this we do know.Apples are at the core (Get it? “Core” is the center of the apple) of many common sayings.
或许Johnny Appleseed的故事就是苹果和苹果派成为美国经典的原因。历史学家可对此展开讨论。但我们知道，很多常用说法中都会用到苹果。

Many apples fall from trees when they are fully-grown.When we say that an apple didn’t fall far from the tree,we are describing children who are very much like their mother or father.And this can be for both good and bad reasons.As we said, John Chapman’s father was a farmer.So, we could say that Johnny Appleseed’s apple really didn’t fall far from the tree.
苹果熟透之后就会从树上掉下。如果我们说“an apple didn’t fall far from the tree”，意思是跟父母长得非常像的孩子。这可以分为好坏两个方面。比如，我们说John Chapman是位农民。因此我们可以说John Chapman很像他父亲。

That takes this expression to a whole new level!
这就让这个表达到了一个全新的境界。

Naturally, apple growers need a way to transport their produce to market.This is where a vehicle called an “applecart” enters the story.
一般来说，苹果种植者需要一种将农产品运往市场的方式。因此便出现了一种叫“苹果车”的工具。

It must have been a big mistake years ago to upset or overturn someone’s applecart.In American English, you have upset the applecart if you ruin someone’s plans or go against the usual way of doing things.
多年前，如果掀翻某人的苹果车是个大错误。在美式英语中，upset the applecart意思是破坏某人的计划或者不按照常规方法做事。

In fact, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines an applecart as “a plan, system, or situation that may be disrupted or ended.”But the verb used with the applecart expression is usually “upset.”
实际上，《韦氏词典》对applecart一词的定义为：“有可能被破坏或者终止的计划、体系和情况。”但与applecart连用的动词通常是upset。

The first recorded use of applecart being used in this way appeared in 1788.
Applecart一词第一次这么用是在1788年。

This is yet another example of how apples seem very American.The only bad thing about an upset cart of potatoes, for example, is that potatoes are all over the ground.
这是苹果一词成为美国经典的另外一个例子。打翻一车土豆的唯一后果就是弄得满地都是土豆。

So, the word apple appears in many American expressions.But does that mean we should eat one every day?You would think so, if you hear the saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”That is not scientifically proven.But eating an apple a day can’t be bad for you.
因此，很多美式表达中都有apple一词。但这是否就意味着我们每天都应该吃一个苹果呢？你如果听过“一天一苹果，医生远离我”这个谚语，你可能就会这么想。这种说法并没有得到科学证明。但每天吃一个苹果对身体不会造成伤害。

Apples are about 85 percent water.They can help you feel full.Also, they travel well.In other words, they rarely get damaged when you carry them in a bag, unlike other fruits(Yes, I’m talking about you, Banana!).
苹果85%的成分都是水。有助于保持饱腹感。此外，苹果容易携带。换句话说，用袋子携带苹果，苹果一般也不会坏掉，不像有的水果那样。（是的，我说的就是香蕉。）

So, apples are good for us.And someone who does good things can be described as a good apple.
因此，对我们来说，苹果是非常好的。一些做善事的人可被称作是a good apple。

But there are also bad apples.And we all know that one bad apple spoils the bunch.Let’s say there is a classroom of very well-behaved children.All the students are respectful.They do not shout or speak out of turn while the teacher is talking.Then a new student arrives.This student talks loudly and shows disrespect to the teacher.Soon other students follow her lead and disrupt class.
当然，也有坏苹果（bad apples）。我们都知道一个坏苹果毁掉一筐苹果。假设一教室全是好学生。所有学生都非常有礼貌。他们都不大喊大叫，老师讲话时都抢着发言。随后，来了名新学生。这名学生大声谈话，并且不尊重老师。因此，其他学生都效仿他，扰乱了课堂。

In this example, you could say that one bad apple spoiled the whole bunch.
这个例子中，你可以说一个坏苹果毁了一筐苹果。

Now, students who misbehave in class are not necessarily bad people.But, if the student we just talked about also steals apples from the store and then throws them at very old women, you could say she is rotten to the core.
现在，课堂上表现不好的学生也不一定是坏人。但如果课堂上的坏学生从商店偷了苹果又将苹果扔向老奶奶，那么这个孩子就是坏透了（be rotten to the core）

Even a bad child can be loved by their parents.The father of this girl might say, “My daughter would never do such things!She is the apple of my eye!”
即使是坏孩子也享有父母的爱。这个姑娘的爸爸可能会说：“我的女儿永远不会做这样的事。她是我的掌上明珠（the apple of my eye）。”

But this student is not the apple of the teacher’s eye.The teacher punishes her and the class returns to the way it was.The other parents are very happy about this.They might even say, “How about them apples?Or “How do you like them apples?”
但作为学生，她不是老师的掌上明珠。老师体罚了她，课堂又恢复了原来的模样。对此，其他父母感到非常高兴。他们可能说：“你们觉得呢？”（How about them apples?或者 “How do you like them apples?”）

This expression is the same as saying,“Well, What do you think about that?”It can also be a way of showing you like or admire something.
这种表达的意思与“Well. What do you think about that?” （你们觉得怎么样呢？）意思一样。此外，还可以用来表达你喜欢或者羡慕某事。

I know, I know, the grammar in the expression “how about them apples” is not exactly right.But that is how we say it.Americans even shorten the word “about” to simply “’bout.”You won’t hear anyone say, “How about those apples?”
我知道，“how about them apples”中的语法不太正确。但我们确实这么说。美国人甚至直接将about省略成bout。没人会说“How about those apples?”

The grammar is the main reason this expression sounds warm,folksy and rural to the ear -- well, the grammar and the apples.
这个表达听起来很温暖、很和气、很顺耳，语法就是主要的原因，当然，语法和苹果都是主要原因。

And remember, it sounds like a country or rural expression.If a good friend tells you that their original cake recipe just won first place at a baking competition.“How ‘bout them apples” would be a great response to that news.However, if a friend from New York City tells you that they just won a high-profile writing award,you might want to say something else.
这听起来像是地方性的表达。如果你的好朋友告诉你，他们的独创的蛋糕配方在烘焙比赛中拔得头筹，“How ‘bout them apples?!”是最好的回答。但是，如果一位来自纽约的朋友告诉你他们刚刚获得高端著作奖项，你可能就要说点其他的话了。

I’m Anna Matteo.
Anna Matteo为您报道。