And now, Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English.
During autumn in many parts of the United States, you can watch squirrels gathering nuts for the winter.
現在是美國之音慢速英語單詞故事節目。在美國許多地方的秋天，你可以看到松鼠為過冬採集堅果。
The squirrel puts the nut in its mouth, runs to a place it considers safe, digs a hole, and then drops the food in the ground.
Hopefully, the animal will remember where it hid the nut weeks later.
松鼠把堅果放進嘴裡，跑到它認為安全的地方，挖一個洞，然後把食物扔到裡面。但願， 幾周後松鼠仍會記得它把堅果藏在了哪裡。
And all the while they do this, they look really funny. But it seems like a wise thing to do.
在這過程中，它們看起來真的很有趣。但這似乎是明智的做法。
Nuts are a healthy food source. They provide healthy fats and nutrients.
堅果是健康的食物來源。它們提供健康的脂肪和營養。
That is, if you can break off the shell around the nut. The part of the nut we eat is protected by the shell -- or nutshell.
也就是說，如果你能剝掉堅果周圍的殼的話。我們吃的那部分果實是由堅果殼保護的。
And that word is the basis for a common saying: in a nutshell. The expression "in a nutshell" means to provide important details in a short statement.
這個詞是一個常用短語的基礎：in a nutshell(簡而言之，總而言之)。"in a nutshell"這個表達的意思是在一個簡短的陳述中提供重要的細節。
If I give you information in a nutshell, I am describing the important parts of something in only a few words. We call this a summary.
如果我給你的信息很簡潔，我就是用幾句話描述某件事的重要部分。我們稱之為總結。
And that is the definition of "in a nutshell" . . . in a nutshell. Now, let's talk a little more about those shells.
總之，這就是"in a nutshell"的定義…。現在，我們再討論一下這些果殼。
They are usually hard to break open. Unless you are a squirrel, you need some sort of tool or device for cracking open the shells.
它們通常很難打開。除非你是一隻松鼠，否則你需要某種工具或設備來撬開這些殼。
And sometime this is not very easy. In American English, the saying a hard nut to crack means something hard to understand.
有時這並不容易。在美式英語中，a hard nut to crack意思是很難理解的事情。
It can also describe an individual whose actions are perplexing. Why did she do that? What is he doing? How are they going to fix that?
它也可以描述一個人的行為是令人費解的。她為什麼這麼做？他在做什麼？他們將如何解決這個問題？
The expression a hard nut to crack can also describe someone who is simply difficult to deal with. Maybe her actions are confusing or perhaps his behavior is unpredictable.
a hard nut to crack這個表達也可以形容某人很難相處，應付。也許是她的行為令人困惑，也許是他的行為難以預測。
Or we simply do not know how to deal with them. So, we can say he or she is a hard nut to crack. You can use this expression for people, problems, or situations that are difficult to understand, solve, or deal with.
或者我們只是不知道如何去處理，相處。所以，我們可以說he or she is a hard nut to crack。你可以用這個表達來形容難以理解、解決或處理的人、問題或情況。
When we use the expression, we can say "tough" instead of "hard". Here the two words mean the same thing: difficult.
當我們使用這個表達方式時，我們可以用"tough"來代替"hard"。在這裡這兩個詞的意思是一樣的：都表示困難的意思。
The English language has some great words that mean the same thing. Mysteries, riddles, and enigmas are all hard nuts to crack.
英語中有一些絕妙的單詞，它們的意思是相同的。Mysteries， riddles和enigmas都是令人費解的單詞。
In 1939, then British Prime Minister Winston Churchill used these words to describe Russian intentions in World War II.
On October 1st, 1939 Winston Churchill gave his first broadcast during the war to the British people.
1939年，當時的英國首相溫斯頓·邱吉爾用這些詞來形容俄羅斯在第二次世界大戰中的意圖。1939年10月1日，溫斯頓·邱吉爾在戰爭期間向英國人民進行了第一次廣播。
It was during this broadcast that he shared his now famous comments about Russia, which was then part of the Soviet Union.
He likened it to "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma". In other words, very difficult to figure out.
正是在這個節目中，他分享了他對當時屬於蘇聯的俄羅斯的著名評論。他把它比作"一個神秘的謎中謎。"換句話說，很難弄清楚。
"I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma? but perhaps there is a key.
That key is Russian national interest". (BBC Broadcast, London, October 1, 1939)
"我難猜蘇聯所為，此乃謎隱秘玄，但應解為蘇聯國家利益。"
These days we also use his expression to describe something very secretive and nearly impossible to know or predict. And that is our show for this week.
現在，我們也用他的表達來描述一些非常神秘的、幾乎不可能知道或預測的事情。以上就是我們本期節目的全部內容。
In a nutshell, our intention here at VOA Learning English is to help you learn English.
As you know, some English expressions can be tough nuts to crack.
總而言之，我們美國之音慢速英語的目的是幫助你學習英語。正如你所知道的，一些英語表達是很令人費解的。
Make sure and join us again next week for another Words and Their Stories!
Until next time . . . I'm Anna Matteo.
下周請繼續收聽我們的單詞故事節目！下次見…安娜·馬特奧為您播報。