VOA慢速英語: 來和普通的喬與簡喝一杯咖啡吧！

A Cup of Joe With Average Joes and Plain Janes

來和普通的喬與簡喝杯咖啡

Now, the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.

這里是美國之音慢速英語詞匯掌故節(jié)目。

A person’s name is very important. Some names also have special meanings in popular American expressions. To better understand what I mean, sit back and listen. You might even want to get a cup of Joe -- I mean, a cup of coffee.

一個人的名字是非常重要的，在流行的常用美語表達(dá)中，一些名字也有其特殊意義。為了你能更好的理解我的意思，請坐下來，聽一聽，你可能還想“a cup of Joe”，我是指“來一杯咖啡”。

One day, an Average Joe was walking down the street. An Average Joe is a common person -- either male or female. This Average Joe was lost. He did not know Jack about where he was going. By this, I mean he did not know anything about where to find things in the city.

有一天，有一個人(an Average Joe)正走在大街上。這里的“An Average Joe”是指一個普通人，男女都適用。這個人迷路了，他不知道(did not know Jack)該怎么走了。這里“did not know Jack”是指他對于怎樣在這個城市里找一些地方一無所知。

So Average Joe asked John Q. Public for directions to the nearest bank. John Q. Public is also a common person -- male or female.

所以，這個人向另一個人(John Q. Public)詢問怎樣去最近的銀行，John Q. Public也是指一個普通人，也是男女都通用。

“Jeez Louise,” said John Q. Public -- this is an expression of surprise -- “Jeez Louise, don’t you know that all banks are closed today? It is Saturday.”

那一個人(John Q. Public)說“Jeez Louise(啊?)”。這個短語是用來表達(dá)驚訝的。“啊?你不知道今天所有的銀行都關(guān)門了嗎?今天是周六啊!”

“For Pete’s sake,” said Average Joe -- this is also an expression used to show a feeling like surprise or disappointment.

這個人(average Joe)說：“For Pete's sake,(什么?!)”，這也是一個用來表達(dá)驚訝或失望的短語。

“For Pete’s sake. I do not believe you,” said Average Joe. He was being a doubting Thomas -- someone who does not believe anything he is told.

這個人(average Joe)說：“啊?!我不相信。”這個人(average Joe)是一個懷疑心很重的人(doubting Thomas)，即他不相信別人告訴他的任何話。

At that moment, Joe Blow was walking down the street with a woman. "Joe Blow" is also an expression for a common man. Now this Joe Blow was not walking next to a plain Jane. A plain Jane is a woman who is neither ugly nor pretty -- she is simply plain. No, the woman with Joe Blow was a real Sheila -- a beautiful woman.

就在那時，一位男士(Joe Blow)和一個女人一起從街上走過。“Joe Blow” 是用來指普通男性的。此時的這位男士(Joe Blow)并不是和一位相貌平平的普通女士(plain Jane)一起走過。“A plain Jane”是指一位不丑也不漂亮的的長相普通的女性。而和這位男士(Joe Blow)一起走過的女性，是一位真正的美女(Sheila)，這里的Sheila是指美女的意思。

Average Joe asked the woman if all banks were closed on Saturday. “No way, Jose,” she answered -- this is a way of saying “no” -- “No way, Jose. Many banks are open on Saturdays.”

這個人(Average Joe)問這位美女，是不是周六所有的銀行都關(guān)門了。她回答說：“不是(No way, Jose)。”No way, Jose是一種表達(dá)“不是的”意思的說法。“不是的，很多銀行在周六都是會開門的。”

Average Joe did not know either of these two people from Adam -- that is, he did not know them at all. But he followed their directions to the nearest bank.

這個人(Average Joe)完全不認(rèn)識這兩個人(did not know either of these two people from Adam)。但是他按照他們所指的方向來到了最近的銀行。

When he arrived, he walked to the desk of the chief bank employee. Now this man was a true Jack of all trades -- he knew how to do everything.

當(dāng)他到了銀行后，他就走到大堂經(jīng)理的辦公桌前。面前的這個人是一個真正的萬事通(Jack of all trades)，他知道所有的事情。

“I am here to withdraw some money so I can pay my taxes to Uncle Sam,” said average Joe. "Uncle Sam" represents the United States government. The banker produced some papers and told Average Joe to sign his John Hancock at the bottom. A "John Hancock" is a person’s signed name -- a signature. Historically, John Hancock was one of the signers of the United States Declaration of Independence. Hancock had a beautiful signature and signed his name larger than all the others.

“我想取一些現(xiàn)金，這樣我才能夠給美國政府(Uncle Sam)交稅。”這里的“Uncle Sam”就是美國政府的意思。銀行職員打印了一些文件，讓這個人(Average Joe)在文件底部簽上他的名字(John Hancock)。這里的“John Hancock”是指一個人的簽名。歷史上的John Hancock是美國獨立宣言的簽署人之一。Hancock的簽名非常漂亮，而且其簽名比其他人簽的都大。

As Average Joe left the bank he began to sing. But sadly, Average Joe was not a good singer. He was a Johnny One Note -- he could only sing one note.

當(dāng)這個人(Average Joe)離開銀行時，就開始唱歌，他唱的并不好，他是五音不全的人(Johnny One Note)。這里“Johnny One Note”是指五音不全的人。