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Now, the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories. 现在是美国之音慢速英语词汇掌故节目。 Each week, we tell about American expressions and where they come from. 每周我们都会讲述美国短语及其来源。 Today we talk about railroads. Railroads were important to the development of the United States. The first U.S. railroads were built in eastern states. Trains later connected the East Coast with the West Coast. 今天我们讲述的是铁路。铁路对美国的发展曾经非常重要。美国第一条铁路修建在东部各州。随后列车连接了美国东、西海岸。 Train and railway expressions worked their way into American English over a century ago. Many of those terms are still being used today. 一个多世纪前，列车和铁路短语进入了美式英语，其中许多术语沿用至今。 Railroads changed the look of the United States. They cut through mountains, crossed through wide open prairies and joined together in cities. The railroads made transporting goods easier. They also gave many Americans the chance to move around the country. 铁路改变了美国的面貌。它们穿过群山，越过开阔的草原，把城市连接在一起。铁路使得货物运输更为容易，也给了很多美国人在全国各地迁徙的机会。 Sometimes railroad tracks would not join up in a town but divide it in two. One side of the tracks might be good, while the other side was ‘not-so-good. If you say someone is from the wrong side of the tracks, it means they are from the bad side of town. 有时候铁轨会把一个城镇一分为二。铁轨的一边发展得很好，而另一边发展得“没那么好”。如果你说一个人from the wrong side of the tracks，意思就是说他来自于城镇不好的那一边。 For the train running down the track there is no right or wrong side. The track is simply the metal structure on which the train runs. 对铁轨上运行的列车来说，铁轨两边没有好坏之分。铁轨就是列车运行运行其上的金属结构。 To go off track means to move away from ones intended purpose or goal. To go off track（脱轨）意思是脱离某人的预期目标。 For example, you could say your career went way off track if you wanted to be a lawyer but became an actor instead. But if you go to law school and complete your studies, your career is back on track. Lets say you finished law school very quickly because you took double the course load. You then could say you fast-tracked your way to becoming a lawyer. In the world of business, it is common to say a project has been fast-t