第一ImSusanClarkwiththeSpecialEnglishprogramWORDS.docVIP

第一 Im Susan Clark with the Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.这里是美国之音慢速英语词汇掌故节目，我是苏珊·克拉克（Susan Clark）。 Young Mister Smith had an idea for his employer. It was an idea for saving money for the company by increasing prices. At the same time, Smith suggested that the company sell goods of less value.年轻的史密斯先生为老板出了个主意，就是通过提高价格为公司多赚钱。同时，史密斯建议公司应该销售一些低价值的产品。 If his employer liked the idea, Smith might be given more pay. Perhaps he might even get a better job with the company.如果老板主喜欢这个主意，史密斯可能得到加薪，甚至他可能在公司得到一个更好的职位。 Business had been very slow. So Mister Smiths employer thought a few minutes about the idea. But then she shook her head. I am sorry, Smith, his employer said. It just will not wash.公司业务一直不瘟不火。因此，老板考虑了一下史密斯的这个主意。但随后她摇了摇头。“很抱歉，史密斯，”老板说，“It just will not wash.” Now, the meaning of these English words should be, It will not get clean. Yet Smiths idea did not have anything to do with making something clean. So why did his employer say, It will not wash?这个短语现在的意思应该是，“这不会有什么帮助。”史密斯的主意对生意没什么帮助。因此，老板说：“It will not wash?” Most word experts agree that it will not wash means it will not work. Eric Partridge wrote that the saying probably developed in Britain in the eighteen hundreds. Charlotte Bronte used it in a story published in eighteen forty-nine. She wrote, That wilnt wash, miss. Mizz Bronte seems to have meant that the dyes used to color a piece of clothing were not good. The colors could not be depended on to stay in the material.大多数词汇专家一致认为，“it will not wash”意思是这行不通。埃里克·帕特里奇（Eric Partridge）写道，这种说法可能起源于19世纪的英国。夏洛蒂·勃朗特（Charlotte Bronte）1849年发表的故事中用到了这种说法。她写道，“That wilnt wash，小姐。” 勃朗特貌似是说，用于染这块布的染料不太好，颜色无法附着于布料。 In nineteenth century England, the expression came to mean an undependable statement. It was used mainly to describe an idea. But sometimes it was used about a person.在19世纪的英国，这个短语意味着一种不可靠的状态。它主要用于形容一种想法，但有时也用于形容一个人。 A critic once said of the poet Robert Browning, He wont wash. The critic did not mean that the poet was not a clean person.