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And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
欢迎收听VOA慢速英语《词汇掌故》节目。
On today's program, we talk about expressions related to books.
在今天的节目中，我们来谈谈与书籍有关的短语。
Books are simple. They are made up of two main parts.
书的构造很简单。它们主要由两部分组成。
The cover is on the outside, and the pages are on the inside.
外面的封面和里面的书页。
You may have heard this saying: "You can't judge a book by its cover."
你可能听过这句谚语：“You can't judge a book by its cover.”。
That means you cannot judge a person by the way they look.
这句话的意思是你不能以貌取人。
While that idea may be good, people in the book industry may not agree.
虽然这个想法可能是好的，但图书行业的人可能不会同意。
These days, much time, thought, creative energy and money are spent on some book covers.
如今，设计一些书的封面需要投入很多时间、想法、创造力和金钱。
And book cover reveals are big events for the writer, the artist or designer and the publisher.
对于作家、美术家或设计师和出版商来说，书封揭晓是大事。
But today, we are not talking about the cover of the book.
但今天，我们不谈论书的封面。
We are going to talk about its content--the pages.
我们要谈谈书的内容——内页。
Our expression today is: "to take a page from someone else's book."
我们今天的短语是：“to take a page from someone else's book”。
This means to do the same thing that someone else has done. You do what they did.
意思是做别人做过的事情，即仿效别人。
For example, let's say there is a young man who really wants to play on a college basketball team.
例如，假设有一个年轻人非常想加入大学篮球队。
But his skills are not as good as many of the others trying out.
但他的技术不如其他许多参加选拔的人。
So, he works hard day and night to get better.
所以，为了让技术得到提高，他夜以继日地努力练习。
Even when he misses basket after basket, even when he is so tired he could barely walk--he never gives up.
即使他一次又一次地投篮失败，即使他累得几乎走不动了——他也从不放弃。
Finally, all his work pays off and he makes the team!
最后，他所有的努力都得到了回报，他成为了篮球队中的一员！
We could all take a page from his book and not give up either.
我们都可以向他学习，也从不放弃。
Here is a great word that means almost the same thing--emulate.
有一个单词的意思和这个短语的意思几乎一样——emulate。
If you emulate someone, you copy them.
emulate的意思是模仿。
You imitate their good behavior or methods.
你模仿他们的良好行为或方法。
Now, sometimes we use the expression "take a page from someone's book" as advice.
现在，有时我们会把短语“take a page from someone's book”用作建议。
We advise others to copy someone because they are good at something.
我们建议别人去仿效那些擅长某件事的人。
For example, let's say you are taking a class with Tessa.
例如，假设你正在和特莎一起上课。
She is a very good student.
她是一个非常好的学生。
She studies hard, is organized and prepares for every class well ahead of time.
她学习努力，有条理，每节课都提前做好准备。
If you want to do well in the class, you might want to take a page from her book.
如果你想在班上取得好成绩，你可能要向她学习。
You can also say borrow a page from someone's book.
你也可以说“borrow a page from someone's book”。
And sometimes we say tear a page from someone's book.
有时我们会说“tear a page from someone's book”。
The verb may change--take, borrow, tear.
动词可以改变，take，borrow，tear都行。
But the meaning stays the same.
但意思是一样的。
In my circle of friends, I am known for bringing my famous chocolate cake to parties.
在我的朋友圈里，我因带着我有名的巧克力蛋糕去参加聚会而出名。
Now, Rebecca, a new friend in the group, secretly copies my recipe.
现在，我朋友圈里的一个新朋友——丽贝卡偷偷抄了我的食谱。
Then she starts bringing chocolate cake--my chocolate cake--to parties too.
然后她开始带巧克力蛋糕——我的巧克力蛋糕——去参加聚会。
I can say she tore a page right from my book. Not cool, Rebecca. Not cool.
我可以说她模仿我。一点也不酷，丽贝卡。一点也不酷。
Sometimes we use the expression as a warning.
有时我们会把这个短语用作警告。
By simply adding "not," you can warn someone not to behave like someone else.
只需加上“not”，你就可以警告某人不要学其他人行事。
Listen to this example.
听听这个例子。
Do you have a minute? I need to talk about something.
你有空吗？我有点事要和你谈谈。
Sure. What's up?
当然。出什么事啦？
Well, I'm new but I really want to do well at this job. Do you have any advice for me?
我是新来的，但我真的想把这份工作做好。你对我有什么建议吗？
Sure. Show up on time, do good work, and be pleasant to work with.
当然。准时上班，做好工作，与人愉快共事。
I know all that stuff. I mean, anything else specific to this company?
这些我都知道。我的意思是，针对这家公司有什么特别需要注意的吗？
Well, whatever you do, don't take a page from Julian's book.
嗯，不管你做什么，都不要学朱利安。
Who's Julian?
朱利安是谁？
Julian was vice president of the company.
朱利安曾是公司的副总裁。
Vice president? He seems like a good person to copy.
副总裁？他似乎是一个好的效仿对象。
Well, last year he got caught stealing money from the company and is currently in jail.
嗯，去年他因偷公司的钱被抓了，现在正在监狱里。
Oh. Right. In that case, I won't be taking a page from Julian's book or anything else from him for that matter.
哦，你说得对。如果是这样，我不会学朱利安的。
Sometimes people say, take a page from someone's playbook.
有时人们会说：“take a page from someone's playbook”。
This version of the expression comes from sports.
这个版本的短语来自体育运动。
A playbook contains the plays, or specialized instructions, for certain team sports.
战术册包含某些团体运动的打法或专门的说明。
But, if you are not a sports-minded person, you can simply say "book."
但是，如果你不是一个体育爱好者，你可以只说“book”。
And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. Until next time…I'm Anna Matteo.
以上就是本期《词汇掌故》节目的全部内容。下次见……我是安娜·马特奥。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
