每日英語 #019: 墨菲定律 Murphy’s Law

ESLPOD

Murphy’s Law

Murphy’s law is not really a law or a scientific theory. It is an old “adage” (saying) that says: “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” It’s not clear who “came up with” (started using) the term Murphy’s law. Some people claim that it was an “engineer” (a person whose job is to design and build machines and other things), while others say it was a scientist.

墨菲定律其實不是一條法律或科學理論。這是一句古老的“格言”（諺語），意思是：“凡是可能出錯的事必然會出錯。”不清楚是誰“創造了”（開始使用）“墨菲定律”這個詞。有些人說是一位“工程師”（設計和建造機器等的專業人員），而其他人則說是一位科學家。

Regardless of who came up with Murphy’s law, Americans mention it all the time. Here’s a typical “exchange” (conversation):

A: “I can’t believe it! This is the third time this month the tire on my bicycle has gone “flat” (with no air in it).”

B: “Murphy’s law. I’d walk from now on, if I were you.”

不管是誰創造了墨菲定律，美國人經常提到它。這是一個典型的“對話”（交流）：

A：“真不敢相信！這是我這個月第三次自行車輪胎“漏氣”（沒有氣了）了。”

B：“墨菲定律。如果我是你，我現在就改走路了。”

People don’t usually say, “It’s Murphy’s law” or “Murphy’s law is at work here.” They often simply say “Murphy’s law” and the other person knows what they mean: if something hasn’t gone wrong yet, then at some time in the future it will. It’s “inevitable” (it will happen and it cannot be changed).

人們通常不會說，“這是墨菲定律”或“墨菲定律在這裡起作用”。他們經常只是簡單地說“墨菲定律”，而對方就知道他們的意思：如果某事還沒有出錯，那麼在未來的某個時刻它會出錯。這是“不可避免的”（它會發生且無法改變）。

Although the original Murphy’s law is simple — “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong” — people have come up with “variations” (different forms) of this saying, often to be funny. Here are a few:

• If anything “simply” (absolutely) cannot go wrong, it will anyway.
• The buddy system is essential to your survival; it gives the enemy somebody else to shoot at.
  (“buddy system” – often used at school, in which a person chooses or is “assigned” (given) a partner, and the two people do school tasks together and take care of each other)
• Technology is dominated by those who manage what they do not understand.
  (“dominated” – with the most control or influence over something)
• Tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe and he’ll believe you. Tell him a bench has wet paint on it and he’ll have to touch it to be sure.

儘管原始的墨菲定律很簡單——“凡是可能出錯的事必然會出錯”——人們已經想出了這句話的“變體”（不同形式），通常是為了搞笑。這裡有幾個例子：

• 如果任何事情“絕對”（完全）不可能出錯，它還是會出錯。
• 夥伴系統對你的生存至關重要；它讓敵人有別的目標可以攻擊。
  （“夥伴系統”——通常在學校使用，一個人選擇或被“分配”（給予）一個夥伴，兩人一起完成學校任務並互相照顧）
• 技術被那些管理他們不理解的東西的人所“主宰”（擁有最多控制或影響）。
• 告訴一個人宇宙中有3000億顆星星，他會相信你。告訴他長椅上有濕漆，他會必須觸摸它以確認。

重要單字

• Adage (格言) - /ˈædɪdʒ/
• Came up with (創造) - /keɪm ʌp wɪð/
• Engineer (工程師) - /ˌɛnʤɪˈnɪr/
• Exchange (對話) - /ɪksˈʧeɪndʒ/
• Flat (漏氣的) - /flæt/
• Inevitable (不可避免的) - /ɪnˈɛvɪtəbl/
• Variations (變體) - /ˌvɛriˈeɪʃənz/
• Simply (絕對) - /ˈsɪmpli/
• Assigned (分配) - /əˈsaɪnd/
• Dominated (主宰) - /ˈdɒmɪneɪtɪd/
• Buddy system (夥伴系統) - /ˈbʌdi ˌsɪstəm/
• Technology (技術) - /tɛkˈnɒlədʒi/
• Conspicuous (顯著的) - /kənˈspɪkjʊəs/
• Miserably (非常糟糕地) - /ˈmɪzərəbli/
• Moron (笨蛋) - /ˈmɔrˌɑn/
• Assigned (分配) - /əˈsaɪnd/
• Immoral (不道德的) - /ɪˈmɔrəl/
• Obsequious (諂媚的) - /əbˈsikwiəs/
• Slimy bastard (卑鄙的傢伙) - /ˈslaɪmi ˈbæstərd/