Words and Their Stories：Chip on Your Shoulder

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

　　Every week at this time we tell the story of words and expressions used in American English. Some of them are old. Some are new. Together, they form the living speech of the American people.

　　Some popular expressions are a mystery -- no one is sure how they developed.

　　One of these is the expression "carry a chip on your shoulder." A person with a chip on his shoulder is a problem for anybody who must deal with him. He seems to be expecting trouble. Sometimes he seems to be saying "I'm not happy about anything, but what are you going to do about it?"

　　A chip is a small piece of something, like a chip of wood. How did this chip get on a person's shoulder? Well, experts say the expression appears to have been first used in the United States more than 100 years ago.

　　One writer believes that the expression might have come from an old saying. The saying warns against striking too high, or a chip might fall into your eye. That could be good advice. If you strike high up on a tree with an axe, the chip of wood that is cut off will fall into your eye. The saying becomes a warning about the dangers of attacking people who are in more important positions than you are.

　　Later, in the United States, some people would put a real chip on their shoulder as a test. They wanted to start a fight. They would wait for someone to be brave enough to try to hit it off.

　　The word "chip" appears in a number of special American expressions. Another is "chip off the old block." This means that a child is exactly like a parent. This expression goes back at least to the early 1600s. The British writer of plays, George Colman, wrote these lines in 1762:

　　"You'll find him his father's own son, I believe. A chip off the old block, I promise you!"

　　The word "chip" can also be used in a threatening way to someone who is suspected of wrongdoing. An investigator may say, "We're going to let the chips fall where they may." This means the investigation is going to be complete and honest. It is also a warning that no one will be protected from being found guilty.

　　Chips are often used in card games. They represent money. A poker player may, at any time, decide to leave the game. He will turn in his chips in exchange for money or cash. This lead to another meaning: A person who finished or died was said to have "cashed in his chips," which is a way of saying it is time for me to finish this program.

　　You have been listening to the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.

　　I'm Warren Scheer.

　　LRC同步字幕

　　[ti:A Chip on Your Shoulder]

　　[ar:Warren Scheer]

　　[al:Words and Their Stories]

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　　[00:00.10]（MUSIC）

　　[00:09.72]Now, the VOA

　　[00:12.32]Special English program,

　　[00:14.31]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

　　[00:17.30]Every week at this time

　　[00:21.67]we tell the story of words

　　[00:24.42]and expressions used

　　[00:26.51]in American English.

　　[00:28.68]Some of them are old.

　　[00:30.72]Some are new.

　　[00:33.58]Together, they form

　　[00:35.82]the living speech

　　[00:36.91]of the American people.

　　[00:38.55]Some popular expressions

　　[00:41.76]are a mystery.

　　[00:43.16]No one is sure

　　[00:44.77]how they developed.

　　[00:46.71]One of these

　　[00:48.35]is the expression,

　　[00:49.66]carry a chip

　　[00:51.46]on your shoulder.

　　[00:52.66]A person with a chip

　　[00:55.25]on his shoulder

　　[00:56.15]is a problem for anybody

　　[00:57.95]who must deal with him.

　　[00:59.55]He seems to be

　　[01:02.05]expecting trouble.

　　[01:03.25]Sometimes he seems

　　[01:05.79]to be saying,

　　[01:06.78]"I'm not happy

　　[01:08.48]about anything,

　　[01:09.52]but what are you going

　　[01:11.53]to do about it?"

　　[01:13.08]A chip is a small piece

　　[01:16.62]of something,

　　[01:17.53]like a chip of wood.

　　[01:18.98]How did this chip

　　[01:21.76]get on a person's shoulder?

　　[01:23.91]Well, experts say

　　[01:26.41]the expression appears

　　[01:28.50]to have been first used

　　[01:30.34]in the United States

　　[01:31.36]more than one hundred years ago.

　　[01:33.71]One writer believes that

　　[01:37.65]the expression might have

　　[01:39.37]come from an old saying.

　　[01:41.51]The saying warns against

　　[01:43.75]striking too high,

　　[01:45.65]or a chip might fall

　　[01:48.42]into your eye.

　　[01:49.72]That could be good advice.

　　[01:52.18]If you strike high

　　[01:54.92]up on a tree with an axe,

　　[01:56.69]the chip of wood that

　　[01:58.58]is cut off will fall

　　[01:59.96]into your eye.

　　[02:01.06]The saying becomes a warning

　　[02:04.16]about the dangers of

　　[02:06.05]attacking people

　　[02:07.13]who are in more

　　[02:08.77]important positions than you are.

　　[02:11.31]Later, in the United States,

　　[02:15.59]some people would

　　[02:17.59]put a real chip

　　[02:18.58]on their shoulder as a test.

　　[02:20.25]They wanted to start a fight.

　　[02:22.88]They would wait for someone

　　[02:25.46]to be brave enough

　　[02:26.79]to try to hit it off.

　　[02:28.84]The word chip appears

　　[02:32.18]in a number of special

　　[02:33.74]American expressions.

　　[02:35.39]Another is chip

　　[02:37.74]off the old block.

　　[02:39.24]This means that

　　[02:41.73]a child is exactly

　　[02:42.88]like a parent.

　　[02:44.34]This expression goes back

　　[02:46.85]at least to the early

　　[02:48.32]sixteen hundreds.

　　[02:49.78]The British writer of plays,

　　[02:52.86]George Colman,

　　[02:54.42]wrote these lines

　　[02:55.91]in seventeen sixty-two.

　　[02:58.21]"You'll find him

　　[03:00.55]his father's own son,

　　[03:01.80]I believe.

　　[03:02.67]A chip off the old block,

　　[03:04.59]I promise you!"

　　[03:05.63]The word chip can also

　　[03:09.02]be used in a threatening way

　　[03:10.81]to someone who

　　[03:11.95]is suspected of wrongdoing.

　　[03:13.32]An investigator may say,

　　[03:16.25]"We're going to

　　[03:17.90]let the chips fall

　　[03:19.09]where they may."

　　[03:20.25]This means the investigation

　　[03:23.61]is going to be

　　[03:24.61]complete and honest.

　　[03:26.36]It is also a warning that

　　[03:29.59]no one will be protected

　　[03:31.28]from being found guilty.

　　[03:33.68]Chips are often used

　　[03:37.31]in card games.

　　[03:38.68]They represent money.

　　[03:40.72]A poker player may,

　　[03:43.46]at any time, decide

　　[03:45.30]to leave the game.

　　[03:46.93]He will turn in his chips

　　[03:49.48]in exchange for money or cash.

　　[03:51.78]This lead to another meaning.

　　[03:55.42]A person who finished

　　[03:58.15]or died was said

　　[04:00.44]to have cashed in his chips.

　　[04:02.95]Which is a way of saying

　　[04:05.20]it is time for me

　　[04:06.49]to finish this program.

　　[04:08.79]（MUSIC）

　　[04:26.15]You have been listening to

　　[04:30.28]the VOA Special English program,

　　[04:33.12]Words and Their Stories.

　　[04:35.56]I'm Warren Scheer.

　　词汇解析

　　strike

　　难度：5星基本词汇，属常用1000词

　　英汉解释

　　n.罢工；打击；殴打

　　v.打；撞；罢工；划燃

　　参考例句

　　用作名词 (n.)

　　The coalminers have been out on strike for several weeks now.

　　煤矿工人已罢工了几个星期。

　　Next, the local press carried an order by the city's garrison commander forbidding soldiers to strike students.

　　接着报纸上又刊出了城防司令部严禁军人殴打学生的布告。

　　用作动词 (v.)

　　Be careful not to strike your head against the mantel.

　　小心不要使你的头撞到壁炉架。

　　The girl struck a match to light a cigarette.

　　那女孩划火柴点燃一根烟。

　　************************

　　found

　　难度：5星基本词汇，属常用1000词

　　英汉解释

　　v.建立；创立；创办；熔铸；找到，发现（动词find的过去式和过去分词）

　　参考例句

　　用作动词 (v.)

　　This business company was founded in 1724.

　　这家商业公司建立于1724年。

　　************************

　　exchange

　　难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

　　英汉解释

　　v.交换；兑换

　　n.交换；交易所；兑换；交战

　　参考例句

　　用作动词 (v.)

　　We exchanged our opinions about the event at the meeting.

　　在会上，我们就此事交换了意见。

　　用作名词 (n.)

　　Gold shares jumped at the Stock Exchange yesterday.

　　证券交易所黄金股票昨天又大幅度上涨了。

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

　　你正在收听的是美国之音特别英语节目“词汇典故”

　　Every week at this time we tell the story of words and expressions used in American English. Some of them are old. Some are new. Together, they form the living speech of the American people.

　　每周的这个时间，我们就会讲述美国英语中词语和一些表达的故事。一些故事是很古老的，一些是新的。它们共同构成了美国人们现在使用的语言

　　Some popular expressions are a mystery -- no one is sure how they developed.

　　一些流行的表达是个谜—没有人能确定这些表达是怎样形成的

　　One of these is the expression "carry a chip on your shoulder." A person with a chip on his shoulder is a problem for anybody who must deal with him. He seems to be expecting trouble. Sometimes he seems to be saying "I'm not happy about anything, but what are you going to do about it?"

　　其中一个表达就是“肩上扛着碎屑。”“一个肩上扛着碎屑的人”，是任何人必须要应对的麻烦。这样一个人好像是要惹事。有时他好像会这么说：“我就是看什么事都不爽，你有意见吗？”

　　A chip is a small piece of something, like a chip of wood. How did this chip get on a person's shoulder? Well, experts say the expression appears to have been first used in the United States more than 100 years ago.

　　碎屑就是一小点东西，就像木屑。这样的碎屑怎么会落到一个人肩膀上呢。专家说100多年前美国首次使用这个表达。

　　One writer believes that the expression might have come from an old saying. The saying warns against striking too high, or a chip might fall into your eye. That could be good advice. If you strike high up on a tree with an axe, the chip of wood that is cut off will fall into your eye. The saying becomes a warning about the dangers of attacking people who are in more important positions than you are.

　　一位作家认为这个表达可能是来自一则古老的俗语。这则俗语是警示人们不要太过火，否则碎屑可能会落入你的眼睛里。这是个好建议。如果你挥着斧头高高举起砍向一棵树，产生的碎屑可能会落进你的眼里。这则俗语是用来警告攻击那些比你地位高的人的危险性。

　　Later, in the United States, some people would put a real chip on their shoulder as a test. They wanted to start a fight. They would wait for someone to be brave enough to try to hit it off.

　　之后，在美国一些人把真的碎屑放在他们的肩上。他们想要开始打架，他们想要等那些足够勇敢的人试图把这片碎屑打落。

　　The word "chip" appears in a number of special American expressions. Another is "chip off the old block." This means that a child is exactly like a parent. This expression goes back at least to the early 1600s. The British writer of plays, George Colman, wrote these lines in 1762:

　　很多特别的美国表达中都出现过“碎屑”这个词。另一个是“酷似双亲”。意思是说小孩非常像父母。这个表达至少要追溯到1600年初。英国戏剧作家，乔治·科尔曼在1762年写下了这样的句子

　　"You'll find him his father's own son, I believe. A chip off the old block, I promise you!"

　　“你会发现他是他父亲亲生的儿子。一个模子刻出来，我向你保证。”

　　The word "chip" can also be used in a threatening way to someone who is suspected of wrongdoing. An investigator may say, "We're going to let the chips fall where they may." This means the investigation is going to be complete and honest. It is also a warning that no one will be protected from being found guilty.

　　“碎屑”这个词可以用来威胁那些被怀疑做了坏事的人。一位调查官可能会说，“我们会让正义得到伸张的。”这是说这项调查会是完整和诚实的。这也是一种犯法者必会得到惩罚。

　　Chips are often used in card games. They represent money. A poker player may, at any time, decide to leave the game. He will turn in his chips in exchange for money or cash. This lead to another meaning: A person who finished or died was said to have "cashed in his chips," which is a way of saying it is time for me to finish this program.

　　“chip”一词也会用在扑克牌游戏中。这代表钱。一位扑克玩家，任何时候决定不玩了。他都可以上交他的“筹码”换取钱或是现金。这又产生了另一种含义：一个去世的人可以说成是“用筹码换现金了”，这是一种说法，我是候结束这个项目了。

　　You have been listening to the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.

　　您收听的是美国之音特别英语节目“词汇典故”。

　　I'm Warren Scheer.

　　我是沃伦·谢尔

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