听碎 VOA
NOW, THE VOA SPECIAL ENGLISH PROGRAM
WORDS AND THEIR STORIES

We present more expressions about food. They are from Elenir Scardueli, a listener in Brazil.
今天我们将介绍更多关于食物的表达，由巴西听众 Elenir Scardueli 提供。

My mother always told us there is no use crying over spilled milk. That means you should not get angry when something bad happens
and cannot be changed.
我妈妈常告诉我们“不要为打翻的牛奶哭泣（there is no use crying over spilled milk.）。” 它的意思是如果糟糕的事情已经发生，又无法挽回，你就没必要动怒。

People said my mother was a good egg. She would always help anyone in need. We never had to walk on eggshells around her. We
did not have to be careful about what we said or did because she never got angry at us.

人们常夸我妈妈是“好人（ a good egg）”，她经常帮助有困难的人。我们在她周围从来都不会感到“如履薄冰（walk on eggshells）”—我们不用谨言慎行，因为她从不冲我们发火。

She also told us you have to break some eggs to make an omelet. This means you have to do what is necessary to move forward.
妈妈也常教育我们“有失才有得（you have to break some eggs to make an omelet）”意思是说，有些事情你必须得做，才能往前走。

My mother believed you are what you eat. A good diet is important for good health. She would always give us nutritious food. She liked
serving us meat and potatoes for dinner. Meat and potatoes can also mean the most important part of something. It describes
someone who likes simple things.
妈妈相信“食如其人（you are what you eat）”饮食对身体很重要。她常给我们做营养丰富的食物，她喜欢晚餐做肉和土豆。“Meat and
potatoes”也可以代表事物的核心；还可以用来形容喜欢简单的人。

Here is another expression about meat: one man’s meat is another man’s poison. In other words, one person might like something very
much while another person might hate the same thing.
另一个关于肉的表达是：“甲之蜜糖，乙之砒霜（one man’s meat is another man’s poison.）。“换而言之，某人非常喜欢的事物，反而
是另一个人所厌恶的东西。

My father was also a good and honest person. People said he was the salt of the earth. He would never pour salt on a wound, or make
someone feel worse about something that was already a painful experience.
我爸爸也是个诚实善良的人。人们都说他是“实在人（the salt of the earth ） ” 。他从不会 “ 在别人伤口上撒盐（ pour salt on a
wound）”，即加剧别人的痛苦。

However, sometimes he told us a story that seemed bigger than life, so we had to take it with a grain of salt. That is, we could not believe everything he told us.
但是，有时候他会说大话。我们不得不“半信半疑（take it with a grain of salt）”— 不能对他一味相信。