The last Friday in April is National Arbor Day in the United States.
上个月也就是4月的最后一个星期五正值美国的植树节。
Arbor Day celebrates the role of trees in the world around us.
植树节用于颂扬树木在人类周围所扮演的角色。
Each year, organizers call on Americans to plant trees and care for them.
每一年都会有相关组织者号召美国人参与栽护树木。
In 1872, a Nebraska man named J. Sterling Morton proposed the first Arbor Day.
在1872年，内布拉斯加州一位名叫j.斯特林莫顿的人提议设立首个植树节。
It became a legal holiday in the state 13 years later.
在提出这个倡议十三年之后，植树节成为合法节日。
Today many states observe Arbor Day on differentdates throughout the year based on best planting times in their area.
如今，各个州依照当地一年中最适宜植树的时期设立了植树节。
In North Dakota and Vermont, for example, Arbor Day is celebrated on the first Friday in May.
例如，在北达科他州和佛蒙特州，人们在五月的第一个星期五庆祝植树节。
A non-profit group called the Arbor Day Foundation operates the Arbor Day.org website.
一个名为"植树节基金会"的非盈利组织运营着一个植树网站。
It notes that "tree planting festivals are as old as civilization. The tree has appeared throughout history and literature as the symbol of life.'
它指出，"植树节和人类文明一样古老。树作为生命的象征出现在历史和文学中。
Trees do a lot for the environment.
树对环境做出了巨大贡献。
They clean the air around us.
它们净化空气
Some trees, such as apple and pear, give us fruit.
还有的，例如苹果树和梨树，给与我们果实的馈赠。
Trees also provide shade for us and other creatures.
树木还为各种生物提供阴凉。
Some animals build their homes inside trees or on strong tree branches.
有的动物在树洞里或树枝上筑巢而居。
People and animals can use the wood from trees for building materials.
对于人类和动物来说，木材都是良好的建筑材料。
You might find this strange, but trees can be fun to watch.
听着可能有些奇怪哈，可看树本身就挺有趣。
You can just sit back and watch birds high up in the trees.
你可以坐下来看着藏在树尖上的小鸟解闷儿。
If you live in an area with squirrels, watching them run up and around trees, jumping from one to the next can be a lot of fun.
要是住的地方附近有松鼠，看它们在树上跳来蹦去何尝不是一件乐事。
And that brings us to our expression for today: to bark up the wrong tree.
于是也就引出了我们今天要介绍的这个短语了:找错对象。
In fact, this expression is more like an idiom.
事实上，这个表达更像是一个习语。
Now, you might think that "bark" in "to bark up the wrong tree" means the strong, outer covering of a tree.
你可能认为这里面的"bark (剥) "指向的是是指树木坚硬的外壳。
But that is not the right "bark."
但这个单词在这里其实不是这个意思。
In our expression today, "bark" means the sound a dog makes.
在我们今天的表达习惯里，"bark"意指狗吠的声音。
Dogs bark a lot.
狗总是叫个不停。
They bark when they want to go outside for a walk.
想出去遛弯儿的时候叫;
They bark with they see other dogs.
见到其他狗的时候叫;
They bark when they chase other animals, such as cats and squirrels.
追赶像猫咪、松鼠这些动物的时候也叫。
Now, imagine that a dog chases a squirrel up a tree.
想象有只狗在追树上的松鼠。
That is a lot of work--for the dog, that is.
对狗来说，这可难了。
Dogs cannot climb trees.
狗爬不了树。
Squirrels, on the other hand, are expert climbers--of trees and just about anything else.
而另一方面，松鼠是攀爬领域的一流高手。
A squirrel may go up one tree but then jump to another.
本来松鼠是在这棵树上的，眨眼就到另一棵树上去了。
The dog simply can't follow the squirrel.
狗狗想赶上松鼠，那是门儿也没有。
So, it stays on the ground barking and barking up the wrong tree.
所以它就只能带在地面.上对着一棵空空的树白白地叫啊叫。
And that is where we get our idiom.
这就是所谓的习语的来源。
When a dog barks up a wrong tree, they are barking up a tree that no longer has their prey--the squirrel.
当狗对着错误的树狂叫时，那棵树上早已没有了它们的猎物。
For people, barking up the wrong tree means following a mistaken plan of action.
对人来说，"找错对 象"就意味着采取了错误的行动计划，也就是南辕北辙。
If I bark up the wrong tree, I am doing something that will not get the result I want.
我在南辕北辙，也就是说我在做一件永远也不会有结果的事。
I am wrong about the reason for something or possibly the way to get something.
原因是我找错了事情的根因，亦或是找错了做事的方法。
For example, at a party I notice that my co-worker Jonas is interested in a good friend of mine named Ursula.
例如，在一次聚会上，我注意到我的同事乔纳斯对我一个叫厄休拉的好朋友感兴趣。
But Ursula is happily married, which is bad news for Jonas.
不过很遗憾，厄休拉婚姻幸福。
So, I say to him, "Jonas, I know you want to ask Ursula out on a date.
于是，我对乔纳斯说: "乔纳斯，我知道你想约厄休拉出去。
But you are barking up the wrong tree! She is very happily married."
可你找错对象了!人家可是婚姻美满。"
Now, let me tell you about another person who used the wrong way to get something.
现在，我再告诉你一个有人找错做事方法的例子。
A friend of mine, Sharon, needed money for her new business idea.
我的一个朋友莎伦需要钱来做一笔新生意。
So, she went to an event to meet possible investors.
她为此参加了一个活动，好会见可能的投资者。
However, the only people she met were other people looking for money.
然而，她遇到全是像她一样找钱而不是投钱的人。
She spent the whole time barking up the wrong tree!
她在错的对象.上浪费了大把的时间。
Now, keep this in mind when using this expression.
现在注意了，在使用这个表达式时要记住下面这一点。
While Americans do say "bark up the wrong tree,'we would not say "bark up the right tree.'
并不是美国人有"bark up the wrong tree(找错对象)"的说法，那么他们也就有"bark up the right tree"的说法。
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