当你做错事时：这是我的错
📖 逐句对照翻译
And now, Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English.
现在是VOA学英语的《词汇掌故》节目。
We all make mistakes.
我们都会犯错。
So, we have the expression to err is human.
所以，我们有这样一句话：犯错是人之常情。
People who accept responsibility or blame will often say “I’m sorry,” or “I was wrong.”
愿意承担责任或接受指责的人常常会说“对不起”或“我错了”。
Others might say, "It’s my fault” or “I apologize."
其他人可能会说：“这是我的错”或者“我道歉。”
Often friends use expressions like “That was on me” or “My bad.”
朋友们常用“那是我的错”或“我的错”这样的表达。
But there is another way to say that you accept responsibility or admit that you made a mistake.
但还有另一种说法，可以表示你承担责任或承认自己犯了错误。
Some English speakers may say mea culpa.
一些说英语的人可能会说“这是我的错”。
If that does not sound like English, that’s because it isn’t.
如果这听起来不像英语，那是因为它本来就不是。
American dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster says that mea culpa means "through my fault" in Latin.
美国词典出版商韦氏词典表示，mea culpa在拉丁语中的意思是“由于我的过错”。
The phrase comes from a prayer of confession in the Catholic Church.
这个短语出自天主教会的一段忏悔祈祷文。
By itself, the expression is used to mean "It was my fault" or "I apologize."
单独来看，这个表达的意思是“这是我的错”或“我道歉”。
Mea culpa is also a noun.
“Mea culpa”也是一个名词。
People caught doing something wrong often give, or issue, a mea culpa.
做错事的人往往会承认错误，或者发表道歉声明。
For example, when an official is caught doing something wrong, she might issue a statement that includes a mea culpa.
例如，当一名官员被发现做了错事时，她可能会发表一份包含认错道歉的声明。
Let’s hear an example:
让我们听一个例子：
The mayor's mea culpa did not change the minds of voters, and she lost the election.
市长的道歉并未改变选民的想法，她最终落选了。
Mea culpa is one of many English terms that come from the Latin word culpa which means guilt.
“我的过错”是众多源自拉丁语词汇“culpa”的英语术语之一，该词意为罪过。
Other examples include culpable, culprit, and exculpate.
其他例子包括 culpable、culprit 和 exculpate。
When someone deserves blame for something, especially something harmful, we say he is culpable for the outcomes.
当某人应为某事承担责任，尤其是有害之事时，我们说他对结果负有罪责。
For example:
例如：
Investigators said that the carmaker was culpable for thousands of accidents because of faulty brakes.
调查人员表示，这家汽车制造商因刹车故障应对数千起事故负责。
A culprit is a person guilty of a crime or a fault.
罪犯是指犯有罪行或过错的人。
That is why police officers often call a person guilty of crime a culprit.
这就是为什么警察常常把有罪的人称为罪犯。
And the word exculpate means to clear someone from suspected fault or guilt.
而exculpate一词的意思是洗清某人的嫌疑或罪责。
Here’s an example:
这里有一个例子：
The husband was exculpated of his wife’s death when she was found alive living in Paris under a fake name.
当妻子被发现以假名生活在巴黎且安然无恙时，丈夫洗清了与妻子死亡相关的嫌疑。
And that’s all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories.
以上就是我们这一期《词汇与故事》的全部时间。
Until next time ...
下次见……
I’m Anna Matteo.
我是安娜·马特奥。
Anna Matteo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.
安娜·马特奥为VOA英语学习频道编写了这节课程。
