VOA慢速英语:Do You Believe in Ghosts?(翻译)

On this program, we talk about the origins and usage of common expressions in American English.
我们通过这个栏目来介绍美式英语中常用表达的起源和用法。

With Halloween just around the corner, today we explore the haunted world of ghosts!
万圣节即将来临，今天我们要探索的是闹鬼的世界。

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary saysthe word “ghost” goes back a thousand years to the “earliest recorded evidence of the language.”
根据梅里亚姆·韦伯斯特网络字典，“鬼”这个词可以追溯至一千年前，这是对该词最早的纪录。

The first meaning of “ghost” was “the seat of life or intelligence.”And it still has that meaning in some expressions.
“鬼”最初的意思是智慧。目前一些表达中，该词仍有这个意思。

However, today, the word “ghost” usually means the soul of a dead person.This meaning is based on the idea that a person’s spirit and body are separate.The spirit can continue existing long after the body has died.
但是在今天，“鬼”通常用来指死人的灵魂。这个意思是基于人们认为人的灵魂和肉体是分开的想法。肉体死之后，灵魂还可以存活很长时间。

An older spelling of “ghost” is “g-a-s-t.”“Ghast,” spelled with an “h,” is the root of words like aghast, meaning struck with terror or shock,and ghastly, meaning very frightening.For example, I was aghast at her ghastly appearance.
之前Ghost一词的拼法为g-a-s-t。带有字母h的ghast是诸如aghast（惊骇），以及ghastly（可怕的）等词的词根。比如，她可怕的表情让我感到惊骇。

The German word for “ghost” is “geist.”Two common words in American English that end in “-geist” are poltergeist and zeitgeist.
德语中ghost的是geist。美式英语中以-geist结尾的两个常见的单词是poltergeist （捉弄人的鬼）以及 zeitgeist（时代精神）。

Poltergeist is a ghost that makes strange noises and causes objects to move.It is also the title of a 1982 film, remade in 2015.
Poltergeist是指发出怪声并让物体移动的鬼。这也是1982年一部电影的名字，2015年又进行了翻拍。

The movie Poltergeist often makes it on the “scariest movies of all time” lists.And all you have to say is, “They’re here!” for people to know what movie you are talking about.
电影Poltergeist（《鬼驱人》）通常被列为是“有史以来最恐怖的电影”。如果人们说你在讨论什么电影，你只需要说“他们就在这”。

Zeitgeist means the spirit of the age or spirit of the time.It is the leading set of ideals or beliefs that cause people to act during a certain time.For example, you could say that the songs of singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie captured the zeitgeist of 1960s America.
Zeitgeist是指时代精神。这是某一时间段引领人们行动的领先理念或信仰。比如，你可以说创作型歌手伍迪·盖瑟瑞的歌曲就抓住了20世纪60年代美国的时代精神。

As we said at the top of the program, Halloween is just around the corner.During Halloween, kids dressed as ghosts are common sights.
就如我们正在文章开头所说的，万圣节就要来了。万圣节期间，孩子穿上衣服扮鬼是非常常见的景象。

The costume is very simple: just throw on a white cloth that covers you from head to foot.But do not expect to win any costume competitions!You would not have a ghost of a chance.
服装非常简单，用白布，从头蒙到脚即可。但不要指望能够在服装比赛中胜出。你可能毫无机会。

People use this expression to mean that something is very unlikely to happen.
人们用该表达来表示某事根本不会发生。

Another popular ghost expression is “You look like you’ve seen a ghost!”We say this when people look frightened or shocked.After all, a ghost is dead.So, it might be an unpleasant surprise to see one.
另外一个常见的表达是“你好像见了鬼一样”。当别人看起来非常害怕或者非常吃惊的时候我们就可以这么说。毕竟，鬼是死了的。因此，也可以用来表示看到某人时不快而惊讶的心情。

The sight might even make you turn pale as a ghost.This is used when people lose color in their face.Sometimes this happens when a person is scared.But a bad cold or flu can also turn you as pale as a ghost.
这也可能会让你面无血色。人们脸色苍白的时候可以用这个表达。有时候感到害怕的时候也可以用这个表达。但严重的感冒也会让人面无血色。

“Ghost” can also be a verb.
Ghost也可以用作动词。

In the 1880s the term ghost meant a person who works in secret for another person.The most common usage is in “ghostwriting.”This term means someone is paid to write material that is credited to someone else.
19世纪80年代时，ghost一词可用来表示为他人秘密工作的人。最常用的是“代笔”。该短语是指花钱雇来为他人写资料的人。

Ghostwriters produce speeches for politicians.They also produce books for authors who want to tell their life stories but are not professional writers.
代笔会为政客写演讲稿。他们还会为那些希望讲述自己人生故事但不是专业作家的人出书。

And sometimes ghostwriters are involved in a series of books—like the children’s mystery stories based around the teenage detective Nancy Drew.The series began in 1930.The author given credit was Carolyn Keene.But she was not even real!Ghostwriters did all the work.
有时代笔作家也会写一系列书籍，比如根据少年神探南茜写成的儿童神秘故事。该系列最早开始于1930年。该书署名卡洛琳·基恩。但她并不是真正的作者。代笔作家才是真正的作者。

Another expression using “ghost” as a verb is simply to ghost.This does not mean to die.It means to leave a place or event without saying “goodbye” to anyone.
Ghost一词用作动词的意思就是不予理睬。这并不是死的意思。意思是你不说再见就离开了某地或者某个活动。

You can ghost from your job.You can ghost from a party.You can even ghost from a relationship.This is when you stop communicating with someone because you are simply no longer interested in them.
你可能对工作不理不睬。你可能在聚会上不说话。甚至对一段关系也不予评论。因为你对他们根本不感兴趣，你才停止与他交谈。

But I will not ghost from Words and Their Stories.
但我不会冷落了词汇掌故栏目。

I am Anna Matteo officially saying to all of you, goodbye!
安娜·马蒂奥为您报道，下次再会。