What can go all around the world but still stays in one corner?

Hello and welcome to the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories. I'm Anna Matteo and today we are going to talk about the brain!

歡迎收聽本期美國之音慢速英語詞彙掌故節目。我是安娜·馬特奧，今天我們要談的是brain(大腦)這個單詞。

We all know what a brain is. A doctor will tell you that the brain is the organ of the body in the head. It controls our body's functions, movements, sensations, emotions and thoughts.

我們都知道大腦是什麼。醫生會告訴你，大腦是人體頭部裡面的器官。它控制著我們的身體機能、運動、感覺、情感以及思想。

But a brain can mean so much more.

但是大腦還具有更多重意義。

A brain can also simply be a smart person. If a person is called

brainy

, she is smart and intelligent. If a family has many children but one of them is super smart, you could say, "She's the

brains

in the family."

Brain（聰明人）可以指一個聰明人。如果一個人被稱之為brainy，就是說她非常聰明。如果一個家庭裡有很多個孩子，但其中一個非常聰明，你就能說，「她是這個家庭的brain（聰明人）。」

And if you are the

brains behind something

you are responsible for developing or organizing something. For example, Bill Gates is the brains behind Microsoft.

如果你是幕後主導者（brains behind something），意思就是說你負責開發或組織它。例如，比爾·蓋茨（Bill Gates）是微軟的幕後主導者。A brain trust

is a group of experts who give advice. Word experts say the phrase "brain trust" became popular when Franklin D. Roosevelt first ran for president in 1932. Several professors gave him advice on social and political issues facing the U.S. These professors were called his "brain trust."

智囊團（brain trust）是指提供建議的專家團隊。詞彙專家表示，1932年羅斯福首次競選總統時，智囊團這個詞開始流行。幾位教授就美國面臨的社會和政治問題給他提供了建議。這些教授被稱之為他的智囊團。

These ways we use the word "brain" all make sense. But other ways we use the word are not so easy to understand.

我們這樣使用brain這個單詞很好理解。但是還有些方式就沒那麼容易理解了。

For example, to tease is to make fun of someone. But a

brainteaser

is not one who makes fun of someone else's brain. A brainteaser is a riddle or puzzle that makes you think. Here is a fun brainteaser:

What can go all around the world but still stays in one corner?

The answer – a stamp! You can share that brainteaser with your friends.

例如，to tease是指取笑別人。但是brainteaser不是指取笑別人的大腦。Brainteaser是指讓你思考的謎題或難題。以下就是一個有趣的謎題：什麼東西能走遍世界卻仍然停留在一個角落？答案就是郵票。你可以和朋友分享這個謎題。

To understand the next brain expression you first need to know the word "drain." As a verb,

to drain

means to remove something by letting it flow away. So, a brain drain may sound like a disease where the brain flows out the ears. But, brain drain is when a country's most educated people leave their countries to live in another. The brains are, sort of, draining out of the country.

要了解下一個和brain相關的詞彙，你首先必須認識drain這個單詞。作為一個動詞，to drain的意思是流走。因此，brain drain（人才流失）可能聽起來像是大腦從耳朵流出去的一種疾病。但是brain drain的意思是指一個國家教育程度最高的人離開祖國到別的國家去生活。這些聰明人都從這個國家流失了。

Next, we have a

brainchild

. A brainchild sounds like a really smart kid. But it isn't. A brainchild is an idea that one has without any help from others. If you have a really great idea, it is your brainchild – no one else's.

接下來我們來說brainchild，這個單詞的意思聽上去像是指一個非常聰明的孩子。但是事實並非如此。Brainchild是指某人在未獲得他人任何幫助下的一個想法。如果你有一個非常好的想法，它就是你的獨門創意（brainchild），和任何其他人無關。

However, if many people are responsible for a great idea, you could say they brainstormed it. Here,

brainstorm

is not an act of weather. It is a process of thinking creatively about a complex topic. For example, business leaders may use brainstorming to create new products, and government leaders may brainstorm to solve problems.

但是如果有很多人對這個傑出創意負責，你可以說他們群策群力想出了它。Brainstorm在這裡並非是指一種天氣行為，它是指創造性地考慮一個複雜問題的過程。例如，企業領導人可以利用群策群力來創造新產品，而政府領導人可以群策群力來解決問題。

But if you can't find a solution to a problem, or if you can't even remember what the problem is, you may have to

rack your brains

. This expression means to think very hard about something.

但是如果你找不出問題的解決方案，或者你甚至不記得問題是什麼，你可能需要絞盡腦汁（ rack your brains）。這個詞彙的意思是努力地去想某個問題。
To pick someone's brain

is quite different. For example, if you meet someone who knows a lot about a subject you like, you may want to pick his brain to learn more.

To pick someone's brain（向某人請教）的意思完全不同。例如，如果你遇到一個對你喜歡的學科懂得很多的人，你可能要向他請教以學會更多東西。

But do not mix these expressions up! You cannot rack someone else's brain or pick your own.

但是不要把這些詞彙搞混了。你不能說絞盡別人的腦汁或向自己請教。

Now, if people are

brainwashed

it does not mean their brains are nice and clean. To brainwash means to make someone accept new beliefs by using repeated pressure in a forceful or tricky way. Keep in mind that brainwash is never used in a positive way.

現在如果說人們被洗腦（brainwashed）了，這並不意味著他們的大腦非常乾淨。洗腦是指以強力或取巧的辦法重複施加壓力讓某人接受新的信仰。記住，洗腦不是一個褒義詞。

And that's all for this week's Words and Their Stories. If you have Words and Their Stories on the brain that means you cannot stop thinking about it. Don't worry. There are more shows on our website.

以上就是本周詞彙掌故節目的全部內容。如果你have Words and Their Stories on the brain是指你對詞彙掌故節目念念不忘。別擔心，我們網站上還有更多節目。