现在是美国之音慢速英语词汇掌故节目时间。
On this program we talk about words and expressions that we use in everyday conversation.
在这个节目中，我们会谈到日常对话中用到的单词和短语。
Today, we will talk about the word "smart." Like many words, "smart" has lots of different meanings, depending on how and when you use it.
今天，我们将会谈到smart这个单词。跟很多单词一样，smart有多种不同含义，具体取决于怎么使用以及在什么时候使用。
For example, "smart" can describe someone who is very neat-looking. A person wearing an official uniform with shiny shoes and buttons can look very smart.
例如，smart可以用于描述某人的穿着非常光鲜。穿着正式服装，皮鞋和扣子锃亮的人看上去就非常光鲜。
We can also use "smart" as a verb. Used this way, it means "to feel pain." That pain could be physical or emotional.
我们还能把smart用作动词。这时候smart就指的是“感到疼痛。”这种痛可以是身体上的，也可以是情感上的。
So, if you hit your thumb with a hammer by accident, you might yell out, "Ow, that smarts!" This would be a very polite thing to yell when you experience extreme physical pain. Many of us probably wouldn't be that polite. We would probably yell something quite different.
所以，如果你意外地用锤子砸到了自己的大拇指，你可能就会大喊：“哦，好痛啊！”当你经历极度的身体痛楚时大声喊出来并不为失礼。我们很多人可能不会那么礼貌，我们可能会对其它完全不同的事情大喊大叫。
Okay, so that's the physical part. But a hurtful comment or remark can also smart. Those hurt in an emotional way.
好了，那就是身体部分的痛楚。但是一句伤人的话也会让人很痛苦，这些就是情感上的伤害。
In another use of the word, we add "smart" to the names of devices and tools. This means that they are enabled by computers -- like a smartphone.
在这个单词的另一种用法中，我们将smart和工具设备一类的名称连到一块，意思就是它们是由电脑造就的，例如智能手机。
But, by far, the most common definition of "smart" is to be very good at learning and understanding things. So, when students do well at school and get good grades, we can call them "smart."
但是截至目前，smart最常见的定义就是善于学习和理解事物。所以，当学生在学校表现很好，成绩优异的时候，我们就可以称他们“smart(聪明)。”
Being smart, however, goes beyond the classroom. People can be smart in different ways.
然而，聪明不仅是在教室。人们可以表现出不同方式的聪明。
If you have attended school for many years and have many degrees, people might call you book-smart. Book-smart people are well-read. They often know the names of great thinkers, scientists and other famous people in history. They have read classical literature. They know facts and information that many other people don't. Usually people with book-smarts are good at things like trivia games and crossword puzzles.
如果你上学多年，拿到了多个学位，人们可能会称你读书聪明。读书聪明的人都很好读。他们通常知道历史上最伟大的思想家、科学家以及其他名人的名字，读过古典文学，知道很多人不知道的事实和信息。通常，读书聪明的人擅长益智游戏和填字游戏之类的。
However, being book-smart is not everything. Sometimes people who are very educated are not so smart when it comes to life skills and people skills.
然而，读书聪明不是全部。有时候受过良好教育的人在生活技能和社交技能上并不出色。
On the other hand, people who are good at dealing with practical life problems have lots of street-smarts.
另一方面，擅长处理实际生活问题的人拥有很多街头智慧（会处世）。
People who have street-smarts may not have read as many books or earned college degrees. But they have something just as valuable – the ability to use their experiences in many different situations. They are very aware of their surroundings.
会处世的人可能可能没读过那么多书，也没拿到大学学位。但是他们拥有一些同样珍贵的东西，那就是在不同情况下利用自己的经验的能力。他们非常了解周围事物。
Okay, so whether you are book-smart, street-smart or both, being smart is a good thing.
所以无论你是读书聪明还是会处世，还是两者皆备，学聪明点总是件好事。
Usually.
通常都是如此。
It may surprise you, but getting smart is not good.
这可能会让你感到惊讶，但是getting smart就不是好事。
In conversation, "getting smart" does not mean gathering knowledge. It means you are being rude or impolite. It is very common to hear parents say to their children, "Do NOT get smart with me!"
在对话中，“getting smart”意思并不是积累知识。它是指表现得粗鲁或是无礼。我们经常会听到父母对孩子说：“不要对我没礼貌（别没大没小）！”
And that's not the only "smart" expression that can get you into trouble.
这并不是唯一一个会让你陷入麻烦的包含smart的表达。
We often pair "smart" with "off" to make a very useful phrasal verb -- to smart off. Smarting off to someone means you are saying rude comments and showing a lack of respect.
我们经常将smart和off组合成一个非常有用的动词短语--to smart off。smarting off to someone意思是你（对某人）说话粗鲁或是缺乏尊重。
In this context, the adjective "smart" is not good. If a child has a smart mouth, they often say disrespectful, rude things. In the classroom, students who give smart answers are trying to be funny by saying rude or inappropriate things.
在以下这种情况下，smart这个形容词就不是什么好的意思。如果一个孩子油嘴滑舌（smart mouth），指的是他们常常说一些缺乏尊重、粗鲁的事情。在课堂上给出smart answers的学生总是试图说一些粗鲁或不恰当的东西来搞笑。
Let's say there is a student who has a really smart mouth. She gives the teacher a smart answer in class one too many times. The teacher may say to her, "Do not get smart with me, young lady!" Or "Do NOT smart off in class!" Both mean, "Do not be rude!"
假设有一个学生油嘴滑舌，她在一班回答老师问题时多次故作搞笑。老师可能就会对她说：“不要对我无礼！小姑娘！”或者是“别在班上说话这么无礼！”两句话的意思都是“不要粗鲁无礼！”
There is another type of "smart" that is bad.
还有一种类型的smart也不是什么好事。
Okay, we have all met someone who thinks they know everything about everything! Well, you can call that person a smarty-pants. These know-it-all types can be really annoying.
我们都见过自以为无所不知的人。你可以称这种人是smarty-pants（自作聪明、自以为是的人）。这种无所不知类型的人可能真的很烦人。
But please note that this insult can sound a bit childish.
但是请注意，这种侮辱可能听上去有点幼稚。
So, being smart -- whether book-smart or street-smart -- is a great thing to be ... except when it's not!
所以，学聪明点，无论是读书聪明还是会处世都很好，除了自以为是的时候。
And that's it for this Words and Their Stories.
以上就是本期词汇掌故的全部内容。
I'm Anna Matteo.
我是安娜·马特奥。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)