A listener from Brazil, Elenir Scardueli, sent us a list of popular expressions about food.  
有位来自巴西的听众艾伦尼尔·斯科德威利给我们发来一些关于食物的流行词语。

So today we will talk about expressions that use vegetables and fruits.
因此，我们今天将谈谈跟蔬菜和水果相关的俗语。

For example, a cucumber is a long, green vegetable that people often eat in salads.  
比如，黄瓜是人们经常在色拉中食用的长形绿色蔬菜。

You might say a person is as cool as a cucumber if he never seems to worry about anything and stays calm in a stressful situation.  
如果有人看似从不担心任何事情，能在紧张的压力下保持镇定，你就可以说他泰然自若（as cool as a cucumber）。

If you put a cucumber in a solution of vinegar and spices for a long time, it becomes a pickle.  
如果你将黄瓜长期浸泡在醋和辣椒液中，它就会成为一种腌菜（pickle）。

But if you are in a pickle you are in trouble or a difficult situation.
但如果you are in pickle，那么你就身陷麻烦或困境。

If two people are very similar, you might say they are like two peas in a pod. 
如果两个人长得非常像，你可以说他们就像一个豆荚里的两粒豆子，即长得一模一样（two peas in a pod）。

There are several expressions about beans.  
还有几个和豆荚相关的词语。

If someone is very energetic, you might say she is full of beans. 
如果有人精力非常旺盛，你可以说她精力充沛（full of beans）。

If you say something does not amount to a hill of beans, you mean it is of little importance.  
如果你说某样东西一钱不值（does not amount to a hill of beans），实际是说它没什么价值。

I might say you don't know beans about a subject if you do not know anything at all about it.  
如果你对某事一无所知，我就可以说你对这事一窍不通。

But if you spill the beans, you tell something that was supposed to be a secret.
如果你走漏风声（spill the beans），你就透露了本该保密的事。

Potatoes are a popular food in many areas.  
土豆在许多地区都很受欢迎。

But something is considered small potatoes if it is not important.  
但如果某件事情并不重要，就会被认为微不足道（small potatoes）。

You probably would not want to hold a hot potato in your bare hands.  
你或许不想赤手去拿滚烫的土豆。

This also means a problem or issue that no one wants to deal with.  
这也意味着没人愿意处理的某个棘手问题。

Someone might call you a couch potato if you sit and watch television all day and get little or no physical exercise.
如果你成天坐在沙发上看电视，很少或者从不锻炼身体，那么别人就可能会叫你电视迷（couch potato，沙发土豆）。

Like potatoes, turnips are root vegetables that grow in the ground.  
跟土豆一样，芜菁（俗称大头菜）也是长在地上的食根蔬菜。

Here is an old saying: you cannot squeeze blood out of a turnip.  
有条古谚语说：石头里榨不出油（you cannot squeeze blood out of a turnip）。

That means you cannot get something from a person that he or she is not willing or able to give.
它意思是说，如果人们不愿或者无力给予某物，你就无法从他们身上得到它。

Farmers have to separate the valuable parts of their crops from the waste.  
农夫须将作物中价值高的部分和没用的部分开。

So separating the wheat from the chaff means keeping what is valuable and rejecting what is worthless.
所以，去粗取精（separating the wheat from the chaff）意味着取其精华、弃其糟粕。

Students often have to take a difficult test to gain entrance to a special school.  
学生经常必须参加高难度考试才能获得进入某所特别学校的机会。

So you could say the ones who are chosen are the best ones, or the cream of the crop.
因此，你可以说这些被录取的人是最优秀的学生，或精英（the cream of the crop）。

There is an old saying that forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest.
有条古谚语说：禁果最甜（forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest）。

That means some people get pleasure from doing something that they are not supposed to do.
这个意思是说，有些人以做不该做的事情为乐。

Bananas are a popular fruit to eat.  
香蕉是一种广受欢迎的水果。

But if you go bananas, you are wild with excitement or worry.
但如果你情绪失控（go bananas），那么你就因为激动或焦虑而失控。

Finally, let us talk about lemons.  
最后，我们来说说柠檬。

Lemons have a sour taste if you eat them plain.  
如果你直接生吃柠檬，味道会很酸。

But lemons make a nice drink when you mix their juice with sugar and water.  
但当你将柠檬汁和糖水混在一起时，就做成了一杯可口的饮品。

So here is an expression about lemons that we like: If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. 
所以，这里有一条我们所钟爱的关于柠檬的俗语：如果生活给了你柠檬，你就榨柠檬汁。

This means you should always try to make the best of a bad situation.
它意思是，即便生活不尽如人意，也不要抱怨，应尽力做到最好。