How to Be a Good Egg and the Salt of the Earth
做个好人

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. We present more expressions about food. They are from Elenir Scardueli, a listener in Brazil.
现在是美国之音慢速英语词汇掌故节目。今天我们介绍更多由巴西听众Elenir Scardueli提供的和食品相关的表达。

My mother always told us there is no use crying over spilled milk. That means you should not get angry when something bad happens and cannot be changed. People said my mother was a good egg. She would always help anyone in need. We never had to walk on eggshells around her. We did not have to be careful about what we said or did because she never got angry at us. She also told us you have to break some eggs to make an omelet. This means you have to do what is necessary to move forward.
妈妈总是告诉我们there is no use crying over spilled milk（不要为打翻的牛奶哭泣），意思是不要为已经发生，并无法挽回的不好的事情而生气。人们说我妈妈是a good egg（好人），她总是在别人需要时给予帮助。我们从不需要在她周围walk on eggshells（如履薄冰、小心翼翼地），意思是我们在说话和做事时不用异常谨慎，因为她从来不生我们的气。她还告诉我们you have to break some eggs to make an omelet（有所得必有所失），意思是做人要向前看。

My mother believed you are what you eat. A good diet is important for good health. She would always give us nutritious food. She liked serving us meat and potatoes for dinner. Meat and potatoes can also mean the most important part of something. It describes someone who likes simple things. Here is another expression about meat: one man’s meat is another man’s poison. In other words, one person might like something very much while another person might hate the same thing.
我妈认为you are what you eat（食如其人），良好的饮食习惯对健康很重要。她总是给我们营养丰富的食物。她喜欢晚餐时给我们吃肉和土豆。Meat and potatoes同时还代表事物最重要的部分。或形容一个喜欢简单事物的人。还有另一个和肉有关的短语：one man’s meat is another man’s poison（甲之蜜糖，乙之砒霜）。换句话说，一个人可能非常喜欢某样东西，而另一个人却非常讨厌这种东西。

My father was also a good and honest person. People said he was the salt of the earth. He would never pour salt on a wound, or make someone feel worse about something that was already a painful experience. However, sometimes he told us a story that seemed bigger than life. So we had to take it with a grain of salt. That is, we could not believe everything he told us.
我的父亲也是一个诚实善良的人。人们说他是the salt of the earth（好人，或社会中坚、栋梁）。他绝不会pour salt on a wound（在别人的伤口上撒盐）。然而，有时他会给我们讲一些脱离生活的故事。我们必须take it with a grain of salt（加以分析，对某事持怀疑态度），也就是说，我们不能对他一味相信。

My husband has a good job. He makes enough money to support our family. So we say he brings home the bacon. He can cut the mustard, or do what is expected of him at work. It is easy to find my husband in a crowd. He stands almost two meters tall. He is a tall drink of water.
我的丈夫有份好工作。他赚了足够的钱来养家。所以我们说他brings home the bacon（挣钱养家）。他可以cut the mustard，意思是他在工作上能达到期望。在人群中很容易找到我丈夫，他身高近2米。他是a tall drink of water（大个子，大块头）。

I take the train to work. It is not a pleasant ride because the train can be full of people. It is so crowded that we are packed like sardines – just like small fish in a can.
我坐火车去上班。这不是一个愉快的车程，因为火车里挤满了人。它是如此的拥挤，我们都packed like sardines（挤得像沙丁鱼） - 就像罐头里的小鱼。

My supervisor at work is sometimes out to lunch. She is out of touch and does not always know what is going on in our office. Yet she is right about one thing: there is no such thing as a free lunch. Something may appear to be free of charge, but there may be a hidden cost.
我上司有时会out to lunch（魂不守舍）。意思是她脱节了不知道我们办公室里发生了什么。然而有件事她是对的：there is no such thing as a free lunch（天下没有免费的午餐）。有些东西看上去不用掏钱，但总有些隐含费用。

When we fail to see problems at work, my supervisor tells us to wake up and smell the coffee. We need to pay more attention and fix the problem.
当我们看不到工作中的问题，我上司告诉我们wake up and smell the coffee（清醒点）。我们需要更加集中精力来解决这个问题。

I once made a big mistake at the office and felt foolish. I had egg on my face.
有一次我在办公室犯了一件大错，感到自己好笨。我 had egg on my face（好尴尬、狼狈不堪）。

Over the weekend, my friend invited me to watch a football game on television. But I do not like football. It is not my cup of tea.
上周末，我朋友邀请我看电视上的足球比赛直播。但我不喜欢足球。It is not my cup of tea.（非我所爱，不是我的咖）

We hope this program has given you food for thought, that is, something to think about.
我们希望这个节目给您提供 food for thought（精神食粮，让人思考的事物），也就是说，一些让人思考的东西。