Americans often try to say things as quickly as possible. So, for some expressions, we use the first letters of the words instead of saying each word. Many common expressions or long names are shortened this way.
美国人经常试图说得尽量简短。所以，对于某些语句，我们只说出单词的首字母，而不是完整说出每个单词。很多常用语句或者冗长的名称都用这种办法来缩短。
B-Y-O-B is a short way of saying, "Bring Your Own Bottle."
BYOB是请自带酒水的缩写。
The letters BYOB are often found at the bottom of a written invitation to a simple social event or gathering of friends. For example, let's say I had a New Year's Eve party. I might include on the invitation, "Please come to my party and BYOB." The bottle each person brings is what the person wants to drink at the party or wants to share.
在某些普通社交活动或朋友聚会的书面请柬的底部经常可以发现BYOB这四个字母。例如，假设我举办一场除夕聚会，我可能会在请柬上写上：“恭候莅临并请自带酒水。”每个人带来的都是自己想在聚会上畅饮或是共饮的酒水。
However, an invitation to a special event – such as a wedding --would never say BYOB.
然而，某些特殊活动的请柬函永远不会写上BYOB，例如婚礼。
An invitation to an official or very special event often has other letters written at the bottom. The letters are R-S-V-P.
正式或者非常特殊的活动的请柬通常会在底部写上其它字母。这些字母就是RSVP。
These letters represent the French expression, "Repondez S'il Vous Plait." In English the words mean, "Respond If It Pleases You." Americans use the letters as a short way to say, "Please answer this invitation."
这些字母代表的是法语中的Repondez S'il Vous Plait。用英语来说意思就是敬请回复。美国人用这些字母简短地表示出“请回复这个请柬”。
Another expression usually used for business and not parties is A-S-A-P. So, a colleague might say she needs something done ASAP. It means as soon as possible. She might also need something done by C-O-B. That means she wants to finish it by "Close Of Business" or the end of the work day.
另一种通常用于商务活动而不是聚会的表达是ASAP。那么，同事可能会说她需要尽快（ASAP）完成某件事。它的意思就是就是尽可能地快（as soon as possible）。她可能需要在下班（COB）前完成某些工作。COB是Close Of Business的缩写，意思是停止营业或下班。
Beginning letters are often used to represent the names of universities.
首字母通常被用于代表大学的名称。
A famous one is MIT. That is short for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Another major university is UCLA. Almost no one ever says its real name, the University of California at Los Angeles. That takes way too long!
最著名的就是MIT，它是麻省理工学院的简称。另一所重要大学是UCLA。几乎没人会提到它的全名加州大学洛杉矶分校。这太费口舌了。
Many American government agencies are also known by their beginning letters. For example, the F-B-I is the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI investigates criminal activity in the United States. Then there is the I-R-S, the Internal Revenue Service. It is not a very popular agency because it collects federal taxes.
很多美国政府机构也以首字母而闻名。例如，FBI是指联邦调查局。联邦调查局负责调查美国国内的犯罪活动。然后是IRS，也就是国税局。该机构不太受欢迎，因为它负责收取联邦税。
And that's all for Voice of America's Words and Their Stories. Or maybe I should just say VOA's WATS.
以上就是本次美国之音慢速英语词汇掌故节目的全部内容。也许我可以把该节目简称为WATS。