VOA慢速英语2013 含有“Hit”的三个词的词义掌故

（单词翻译）

Hit the Spot, Hit Bottom, Hit the Books 含有“Hit”的三个词的词义掌故

Now, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES - a VOA Special English program about American expressions. I’m Rich Kleinfeldt with some expressions containing the word hit.

现在是美国之音慢速英语词汇掌故，这是一个关于美语词汇的节目。我是Rich Kleinfeldt，今天讲述包含hit这个单词的一些词汇。

Hit is a small word but it has a lot of power. Baseball players hit the ball. Missiles¹ hit an airplane. A car hits a tree.

Hit这个单词很短小却拥有很大“能量”。棒球选手击球，导弹击中一架飞机，汽车撞上一棵树。

Hit also joins with other words to create many colorful expressions. One is hit the road. It means to travel or to leave a place, as suggested in this song, "Hit the Road."

Hit还和很多其他单词组合起来，形成各式各样的词汇。Hit the road就是其中之一，它的意思是出发、离开。正如这首歌“Hit the Road”中建议的。

Music（音乐）

Another common expression is hit the spot. At first it meant hitting a spot at the center of a target with an arrow. Someone who did so was satisfied with his shooting. Now, hitting the spot usually means that a food or drink is especially satisfying.

另一个常见词汇是hit the spot。它起初的意思是射中靶心，射中者对自己的射击技术非常满意。现在，hitting the spot通常是指食物或饮品尤其令人满意。

Many years ago, Pepsi Cola sold its drink with a song that began, "Pepsi Cola hits the spot, twelve full ounces², that’s a lot..."

很多年前，百事可乐的广告歌这么开始唱到，“百事可乐令人满意，12盎司，好多哦。。。”

Another expression involving hit is hit bottom. Something that has hit bottom can go no lower. If the price of shares of a stock³ hits bottom that might be the time to buy it. Its value can only go up.

另一个包含hit的词汇是hit bottom，意思是到了最低点。如果股票价格见底，就是时候买进了。这时候股票价格只会往上涨了。

A student who tells you his grades have hit bottom is saying he has not done well in school.

一个学生说他成绩垫底，意思是说他在学校表现不好。

When a student’s grades hit bottom it is time to hit the books. Hit the books is another way to saying it is time to study. A student might have to tell her friends she can not go with them to the movies because she has to hit the books.

当学生成绩垫底时，就是时候看书了。Hit the books是是时候学习的另一种说法。一个学生可能告诉她的朋友，她不能和她们去看电影因为她要学习。

Not hitting the books could lead to an unpleasant situation for a student. The father or mother may hit the ceiling when they see the low grades. Someone who hits the ceiling, the top of the room, is violently angry. A wife may hit the ceiling because her husband forgot their wedding anniversary⁴.

不学习可能会导致学生成绩状况不佳。父母亲看到这么差的成绩可能会hit the ceiling。ceiling是天花板，hit the ceiling是指勃然大怒。妻子可能会因为丈夫忘了他们的结婚纪念日而勃然大怒。

To build something of wood, you usually need a hammer. That is what you use to hit nails into the pieces of wood to hold them together. When you hit the nail on the head, exactly on its top, it goes into the wood perfectly⁵. And when someone says your words or actions hit the nail on the head, he means what you said or did was exactly right.

做木质的东西通常需要一把锤子。锤子用来把钉子钉进木头里使其连接到一块。当你把锤子恰好敲在钉子头上时就钉得最好。而当有人说你的话或行动hitthe nail on the head，意思是说你的所言所行非常正确。

If you are tired after hitting all those nails on the head, then it is time to hit the hay⁶. That expression comes from the days when people slept on beds filled with dried grass or hay. Some people slept on hay in barns⁷ where they kept their farm animals.

如果你在钉完钉子后感觉累了，就是时候hit the hay，这个词汇来自于当年人们睡在铺满干草的床上的那个年代。还有人睡在饲养牲畜的马房（或牛棚之类的）的干草上。

Hitting the hay simply means going to bed. That is a good idea. I think I will hit the hay now.

Hitting the hay就是指去睡觉。这是个好主意，我觉得我现在要睡觉了。