cats and secrets
猫与秘密
in english, there is a common idiom "let the cat out of the bag." it means to tell a secret. but where did this idiom start?
在英语中有一个成语叫做“把袋子里的猫放出来”，这个成语的意思是说出某个秘密。那么这个成语又是怎么来的呢？
it came from a section of england. long ago, people there went from town to town to sell things like vegetables, clothes, and pigs. they had strong beliefs about honesty. they didnt like lying. one day, a man went to the sections center to sell things.
这个成语来源于英格兰的一个地区。很久以前，人们互相去到彼此的城市售卖诸如蔬菜，衣服和猪肉等商品。大家都很诚实，不喜欢撒谎。有一天，这个地区的中部来了一个卖东西的商贩。
“我有一只小猪仔要卖！我要价不高，”他说。他把猪仔举过头顶。他和这些诚实的人做法不同，他善于骗人和撒谎。
a woman named beth scanned his pig. he offered her the pig for one gold coin. that was a very small amount. beth gave him the coin. he put it in his pocket. he walked ahead of beth to get the pig.
一个叫贝斯的女人端详了一下他手里的猪仔。他把猪卖给了贝斯，只收了一个金币，这个价算很便宜很便宜了。他接过贝斯给的金币放进口袋，走在贝斯前面去抓猪仔。
he gave her a closed bag and said, "heres your pig." he then left very quickly.
他把一个系好的袋子给了贝斯并说道：“这就是你买的猪仔。”说完很快就离开了。
beth looked at the bags surface. it was moving. she opened it to let the pig out. a cat was inside! "he tricked me! that isnt proper," she said.
贝斯看着袋子，发现里面的东西在动。她解开袋子把猪仔放出来。结果却出来一只猫！”他骗我！骗人是不对的。“她说。
later, the man returned to trick more people. beth saw him and the memory of the cat came back. she told her friends. they stopped him. but no one knew what to do next.
后来，那个男人再次回到这个地区骗了更多的人。贝斯看到了他就想起上次那只猫的事情。她把这件事告诉了朋友。大家把这个男人拦下了。但谁也不知道接下来该怎么办。
someone said, "we need an independent and fair person to decide that." they went to the judge. beth told him about the cat in the bag.
有人说：“我们要找一个不相干而又公正的人来决定怎么处置他。”他们去了法庭，贝斯把袋子里装猫的事说了一遍。
the judge asked, "is there evidence? can you demonstrate how he did it?"
法官问道：“有证据吗？你们能演示一下他是怎么骗人的吗？”
look in his bag, said beth. she opened it and let a cat out of the bag. they learned the mans secret, and he went to jail.
“检查他的袋子，”贝斯说道。她打开袋子，里面跑出来一只猫。大家识破了这个男人的诡计，他也因此锒铛入狱。
thats how the idiom "let the cat out of the bag" came to mean to tell a secret.
这就是“let the cat out of the bag”这个成语含义的由来。
above prep.在...上面
ahead adv.向前地
amount n.总额
belief n.信仰
center n.中心
common adj.普通的
cost v.花费
demonstrate v.展示
different adj.不同的
evidence n.证据
honesty n.诚实
idiom n.成语
independent adj.独立的
inside n.里面，内部
master n.大师
memory n.记忆
proper adj.适当的
scan v.浏览
section n.部分
surface n.表面
