Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.
現(xiàn)在是美國(guó)之音慢速英語(yǔ)詞匯掌故節(jié)目。
A listener from Venezuela sent us a question about the meaning of the expression mayday. He wrote that he often hears this expression in movies.
一位來自委內(nèi)瑞拉的聽眾向我們?cè)儐栮P(guān)于mayday這個(gè)詞的釋義。他說他在電影中經(jīng)常聽到這個(gè)詞。

Mayday is an emergency code word. It is used around the world in voice communications. You might see a war movie in which an airplane has been hit by rocket fire. The pilot gets on his radio and calls "mayday, mayday, mayday" to tell that his plane is in danger of crashing to the ground.
Mayday是緊急狀況信號(hào)詞。它通常應(yīng)用于世界范圍內(nèi)的語(yǔ)音交流。您可能會(huì)看到一部戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)片，其中一架飛機(jī)被導(dǎo)彈擊中。飛行員在電臺(tái)中呼叫"mayday, mayday, mayday"以表示他的飛機(jī)存在墜毀地面的危險(xiǎn)。

Mayday has nothing to do with the month of May. It comes from the French expressions "venez m'aider," or "m'aidez," which means "help me."
Mayday與5月份沒有任何聯(lián)系。它出自法語(yǔ)“venez m'aider”或“m'aidez，”意思是“救救我?！?/p>

Frederick Stanley Mockford created the mayday call signal in the nineteen twenties. Mockford was a radio officer at Croydon Airport in London. He was asked to think of a word that could be used in an emergency. The word had to be easily understood by all pilots and airport workers. Much of the air traffic at that time was between Croydon Airport and Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France. So he proposed the word mayday.
20世紀(jì)20年代，F(xiàn)rederick Stanley Mockford創(chuàng)造這個(gè)求救呼叫信號(hào)。 Mockford是倫敦Croydon機(jī)場(chǎng)的無線電報(bào)務(wù)員。他被要求想出一個(gè)可以在緊急情況下使用的詞，這個(gè)詞也必須很容易被所有飛行員和機(jī)場(chǎng)工作人員理解。那時(shí)候的航空運(yùn)輸大部分是在Croydon機(jī)場(chǎng)和法國(guó)巴黎附近的Le Bourget機(jī)場(chǎng)之間進(jìn)行。于是，他提出了mayday這個(gè)詞。

Today, many groups use the word to mean a life-threatening emergency. The call is always given three times to prevent mistaking it for some similar sounding words.
今天，許多組織都使用這個(gè)詞來表示一種危及生命的緊急情況。這種呼叫總是重復(fù)3次，以防止與一些類似發(fā)音的詞混淆。

Many other French words are commonly used in English. One of these words is even in the Special English Word Book. It is sabotage. It means to damage or destroy as an act of subversion against an organization or nation.
許多其他的法語(yǔ)詞匯也常用于英語(yǔ)中。這些詞匯中的一個(gè)甚至出現(xiàn)在慢速英語(yǔ)的詞匯手冊(cè)上。這個(gè)詞就是sabotage，意思是顛覆一個(gè)組織或國(guó)家的破壞行為。

You may have heard the term laissez-faire to describe a kind of economic or political policy. It means to leave alone and not interfere. It was first used in France in the eighteenth century.
你可能聽說過laissez-faire（自由主義）這個(gè)描述了一種經(jīng)濟(jì)或政治政策的術(shù)語(yǔ)，意思是放任不加干預(yù)。它首次被出現(xiàn)于18世紀(jì)的法國(guó)。

In the business world, entrepreneur is another French word. It means a person who starts and operates a new business and has responsibility for any risks involved.
在商業(yè)領(lǐng)域中，entrepreneur（企業(yè)家）是另一個(gè)法語(yǔ)詞匯。意思是啟動(dòng)和運(yùn)營(yíng)一項(xiàng)新生意，并承擔(dān)所有風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的人。

Many French words are used in the arts. For example, a film noir is a movie about murder and other crimes. These films were popular in the nineteen forties and nineteen fifties. Anything in art, music or literature which is very modern or ahead of its time is called avant-garde.
還有許多法語(yǔ)詞匯用于藝術(shù)。例如，a film noir（黑色電影）是指關(guān)于謀殺和其他犯罪的影片。這種影片風(fēng)靡于十九世紀(jì)四五十年代。任何藝術(shù)，音樂或文學(xué)的現(xiàn)代或超前被稱為avant-garde（前衛(wèi)）。

If you are looking for a job, you must prepare your résumé. This document lists all of your education, skills and experience. Something that is one of a kind and like no other thing is called unique.
如果你在找工作，你必須準(zhǔn)備你的résumé（簡(jiǎn)歷）。這份文件列出了你的教育程度，技能和經(jīng)驗(yàn)。不同于其他的，獨(dú)具一格的東西被稱為unique（獨(dú)一無二的）。

The French are famous for their food. All cooks need to know how to sauté. This is frying something quickly in a small amount of oil or butter. When you are eating at a restaurant, the server may tell you bon appétit, which means good appetite, or enjoy your meal. And if you go away, someone may wish you bon voyage or have a good trip.
法國(guó)的食物非常有名。所有的廚師必須知道如何sauté（炒）。這是指用少量油或黃油快速煎一些食物。當(dāng)你在餐廳吃飯時(shí)，服務(wù)員可能會(huì)祝你bon appétit（胃口好），意思是好胃口，或享受用餐。如果你要離開，有人會(huì)希望你bon voyage（一路順風(fēng)），或旅途愉快。

 

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