“绿色”的故事

何苗

There are many expressions about the color “green”. So today， lets start with the color “green”.

语言中有很多表达与“绿色”有关。今天我们就从“绿色”说起吧。

Green is an important color in nature. It is the color of grass and the leaves on trees. It is also the color of most growing plants.

绿色是自然界中一种重要的颜色。它是青草和树叶的颜色，也是大多数生长中的植物的颜色。

Sometimes， the word green means young， fresh and growing. Sometimes， it describes something that is not yet ripe （成熟） or finished.

有时，绿色意味着年轻、新鲜和成长中。有时，绿色被用于描述一些尚未成熟或完成的东西。

For example， a “greenhorn” is someone who has no experience， who is new to a situation. In the 15th century， a “greenhorn” was a young cow or ox whose horns （角） had not yet developed. A century or so later， a “greenhorn” was a soldier who had not yet had any experience in battle. By the 18th century， a “greenhorn” had the meaning it has today — a person who is new in a job.

例如，“绿色的角”是指没有经验的人或者新来的人。15世纪的时候，“绿色的角”是指小母牛或角尚未长出来的公牛。一个世纪左右之后，“绿色的角”是指尚未有任何战斗经验的士兵。直到18世纪，“绿色的角”就有了今天这种意思，它是指工作上的新手。

About 100 years ago， “greenhorn” was a popular expression in the American West. Old-timers used it to describe a man who had just arrived from one of the big cities back east. The “greenhorn” lacked the skills he would need to live in the hard， rough country.

大约一百年前，“绿色的角”在美国西部地区是一个非常常见的表达方式。老一辈们用它来形容刚从美国东部大城市来到的一类人。这些“绿色的角”缺少在这片充满艰辛、崎岖坎坷的土地上生存下去所需的技能。

Someone who has the ability to grow plants well is said to have “a green thumb.” The expression comes from the early 1900s.

拥有能让植物长势良好的能力的人被称为“绿拇指”。这一表达源自20世纪早期。

A person with a green thumb seems to have a magic touch that makes plants grow quickly and well. You might say that the woman next door “has a green thumb” if her garden continues to grow long after your plants have died.

拥有“绿拇指”的人的接触似乎拥有一种魔力，能够让植物长得既快又好。如果在你花园中的植物死了很久之后，隔壁女人的花园中的植物还在继续生长，你可能管她叫一个“绿拇指”。

“The Green Revolution” is the name given some years ago to the development of new kinds of rice and other grains. The new plants produced much larger crops. “The Green Revolution” was the result of hard work by agricultural scientists who had “green thumbs”.

“绿色革命”是指若干年前新型大米和其它谷物的大改良。这些新型作物产量更高。“绿色革命”是那些拥有“绿拇指”的擅长种植的农业科学家们辛勤工作的结果。

Green is also the color used to describe the powerful emotion， jealousy （猜忌）. The “green-eyed monster” is not a frightening creature from outer space； it is an expression used about 400 years ago by British writer William Shakespeare in his play “Othello”.

绿色还用于描述强烈的情感——妒忌。“绿眼怪”不是指来自外太空的可怕生物，而是大约400年前英国作家莎士比亚在其剧作《奥赛罗》中用到的一种表达。

It describes the unpleasant feeling a person has when someone has something he wants. A young man may suffer from the “green-eyed monster” if his girlfriend begins going out with someone else. Or， that “green-eyed monster” may affect your friend if you get a pay raise and she does not.

这个表达描述了当一个人在别人有他想要的东西时产生的不愉快的感觉。一位年轻男子的女友如果跟别人一起外出，他可能就会“妒火中烧”。或者，如果你加薪了，而你朋友没有，这个“绿眼怪”就会影响到你的朋友。

In most places in the world， a “green light” is a signal to move ahead. A “green light” on a traffic signal means your car can continue on. In everyday speech， a “green light” means “approval to continue with a project”. We want you to know we have “a green light” to continue this series next time.

在世界上大多数地方，绿灯是前进的信号。交通信号的绿灯意味着你的车可以继续往前开。在日常用语中，绿灯是指“项目被批准继续进行“。我们希望你知道，我们被“开了绿灯”，下次可以继续这个系列的故事。

Now， its your turn to guess the meanings of the expressions about the color “green”！下面，你来猜一猜文中与“绿色”有关的表达方式的意思吧！

参 考 释 义

1. greenhorn 新手；生手

2. a green thumb 精于园艺

3. Green Revolution绿色革命

注：“绿色革命”一词，最初只是指一种农业技术推广，是20世纪60年代某些西方发达国家将高产谷物品种和农业技术推广到亚洲、非洲和南美洲的部分地区，促使其粮食增产的一项技术改革活动。

4. green-eyed monster 妒忌

注：“green-eyed monster”这一表达出自莎士比亚戏剧《奥赛罗》。奥赛罗是威尼斯的一名大将，他手下伊亚古有心挑拨他和妻子苔丝德蒙娜的感情。有一次，苔丝德蒙娜为一名犯了过失的副将向奥赛罗求情，伊亚古就乘机造谣，暗示苔丝德蒙娜跟那副将有染，同时却又假惺惺劝奥赛罗不要妒忌，因为妒忌是只害人的“绿眼怪物”。奥赛罗终于中计，杀死了妻子，然后自杀了。莎士比亚之所以把妒忌叫做“green-eyed monster”，一般认为是因为猫眼在黑暗中呈碧绿色，而猫喜欢折磨猎物，就像妒忌把人折磨一样。

5. green light 绿灯；放行；准许