歌曲 | Colors |
歌手 | 英语听力 |
专辑 | VOA慢速英语:词汇典故 |
[00:10.00] | Now, the VOA Special English program |
[00:15.50] | WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. |
[00:18.34] | Every people has its own way of saying things, |
[00:23.39] | its own special expressions. |
[00:26.53] | Many everyday American expressions |
[00:30.26] | are based on colors. |
[00:32.75] | Red is a hot color. |
[00:36.14] | Americans often use it to express heat. |
[00:40.57] | They may say they are red hot |
[00:44.30] | about something unfair. |
[00:46.24] | When they are red hot |
[00:48.44] | they are very angry about something. |
[00:51.37] | The small hot tasting peppers |
[00:55.27] | found in many Mexican foods are called red hots |
[00:59.20] | for their color and their fiery taste. |
[01:02.48] | Fast loud music is popular with many people. |
[01:07.71] | They may say the music is red hot, |
[01:11.64] | especially the kind called Dixieland jazz. |
[01:15.78] | Pink is a lighter kind of red. |
[01:20.11] | People sometimes say they are in the pink |
[01:24.40] | when they are in good health. |
[01:26.34] | The expression was first used in America |
[01:30.32] | at the beginning of the twentieth century. |
[01:33.06] | It probably comes from the fact |
[01:36.34] | that many babies are born with a nice pink color |
[01:40.33] | that shows that they are in good health. |
[01:43.22] | Blue is a cool color. |
[01:46.65] | The traditional blues music in the United States |
[01:51.48] | is the opposite of red hot music. |
[01:54.22] | Blues is slow, sad and soulful. |
[01:59.06] | Duke Ellington and his orchestra |
[02:02.34] | recorded a famous song – Mood Indigo |
[02:05.03] | – about the deep blue color, indigo. |
[02:08.77] | In the words of the song: |
[02:10.86] | "You ain't been blue |
[02:13.75] | till you've had that Mood Indigo." |
[02:16.29] | Someone who is blue is very sad. |
[02:20.37] | The color green is natural for trees and grass. |
[02:26.34] | But it is an unnatural color for humans. |
[02:30.23] | A person who has a sick feeling stomach |
[02:33.97] | may say she feels a little green. |
[02:36.96] | A passenger on a boat |
[02:40.88] | who is feeling very sick from high waves |
[02:43.37] | may look very green. |
[02:45.05] | Sometimes a person may be upset |
[02:49.96] | because he does not have something |
[02:52.40] | as nice as a friend has, like a fast new car. |
[02:56.19] | That person may say he is green with envy. |
[03:01.01] | Some people are green with envy |
[03:04.60] | because a friend has more dollars or greenbacks. |
[03:08.49] | Dollars are called greenbacks because that is |
[03:12.82] | the color of the back side of the paper money. |
[03:15.64] | The color black is used often in expressions. |
[03:20.66] | People describe a day in which everything |
[03:24.05] | goes wrong as a black day. |
[03:26.63] | The date of a major tragedy |
[03:29.87] | is remembered as a black day. |
[03:32.75] | A blacklist is illegal now. |
[03:36.64] | But at one time, some businesses refused |
[03:40.42] | to employ people who were on a blacklist |
[03:43.65] | for belonging to unpopular organizations. |
[03:46.59] | In some cases, colors describe a situation. |
[03:51.37] | A brown out is an expression |
[03:54.80] | for a reduction in electric power. |
[03:57.09] | Brown outs happen when there is |
[04:00.33] | too much demand for electricity. |
[04:02.43] | The electric system is unable to offer |
[04:05.56] | all the power needed in an area. |
[04:07.05] | Black outs were common during World War Two. |
[04:11.59] | Officials would order all lights in a city |
[04:15.32] | turned off to make it difficult for enemy planes |
[04:18.46] | to find a target in the dark of night. |
[04:21.45] | (MUSIC) |
[04:28.91] | I'm Warren Scheer. Listen again next week |
[04:32.35] | for another WORDS AND THEIR STORIES program |
[04:35.69] | in Special English on the Voice of America. |
[00:10.00] | Now, the VOA Special English program |
[00:15.50] | WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. |
[00:18.34] | Every people has its own way of saying things, |
[00:23.39] | its own special expressions. |
[00:26.53] | Many everyday American expressions |
[00:30.26] | are based on colors. |
[00:32.75] | Red is a hot color. |
[00:36.14] | Americans often use it to express heat. |
[00:40.57] | They may say they are red hot |
[00:44.30] | about something unfair. |
[00:46.24] | When they are red hot |
[00:48.44] | they are very angry about something. |
[00:51.37] | The small hot tasting peppers |
[00:55.27] | found in many Mexican foods are called red hots |
[00:59.20] | for their color and their fiery taste. |
[01:02.48] | Fast loud music is popular with many people. |
[01:07.71] | They may say the music is red hot, |
[01:11.64] | especially the kind called Dixieland jazz. |
[01:15.78] | Pink is a lighter kind of red. |
[01:20.11] | People sometimes say they are in the pink |
[01:24.40] | when they are in good health. |
[01:26.34] | The expression was first used in America |
[01:30.32] | at the beginning of the twentieth century. |
[01:33.06] | It probably comes from the fact |
[01:36.34] | that many babies are born with a nice pink color |
[01:40.33] | that shows that they are in good health. |
[01:43.22] | Blue is a cool color. |
[01:46.65] | The traditional blues music in the United States |
[01:51.48] | is the opposite of red hot music. |
[01:54.22] | Blues is slow, sad and soulful. |
[01:59.06] | Duke Ellington and his orchestra |
[02:02.34] | recorded a famous song Mood Indigo |
[02:05.03] | about the deep blue color, indigo. |
[02:08.77] | In the words of the song: |
[02:10.86] | " You ain' t been blue |
[02:13.75] | till you' ve had that Mood Indigo." |
[02:16.29] | Someone who is blue is very sad. |
[02:20.37] | The color green is natural for trees and grass. |
[02:26.34] | But it is an unnatural color for humans. |
[02:30.23] | A person who has a sick feeling stomach |
[02:33.97] | may say she feels a little green. |
[02:36.96] | A passenger on a boat |
[02:40.88] | who is feeling very sick from high waves |
[02:43.37] | may look very green. |
[02:45.05] | Sometimes a person may be upset |
[02:49.96] | because he does not have something |
[02:52.40] | as nice as a friend has, like a fast new car. |
[02:56.19] | That person may say he is green with envy. |
[03:01.01] | Some people are green with envy |
[03:04.60] | because a friend has more dollars or greenbacks. |
[03:08.49] | Dollars are called greenbacks because that is |
[03:12.82] | the color of the back side of the paper money. |
[03:15.64] | The color black is used often in expressions. |
[03:20.66] | People describe a day in which everything |
[03:24.05] | goes wrong as a black day. |
[03:26.63] | The date of a major tragedy |
[03:29.87] | is remembered as a black day. |
[03:32.75] | A blacklist is illegal now. |
[03:36.64] | But at one time, some businesses refused |
[03:40.42] | to employ people who were on a blacklist |
[03:43.65] | for belonging to unpopular organizations. |
[03:46.59] | In some cases, colors describe a situation. |
[03:51.37] | A brown out is an expression |
[03:54.80] | for a reduction in electric power. |
[03:57.09] | Brown outs happen when there is |
[04:00.33] | too much demand for electricity. |
[04:02.43] | The electric system is unable to offer |
[04:05.56] | all the power needed in an area. |
[04:07.05] | Black outs were common during World War Two. |
[04:11.59] | Officials would order all lights in a city |
[04:15.32] | turned off to make it difficult for enemy planes |
[04:18.46] | to find a target in the dark of night. |
[04:21.45] | MUSIC |
[04:28.91] | I' m Warren Scheer. Listen again next week |
[04:32.35] | for another WORDS AND THEIR STORIES program |
[04:35.69] | in Special English on the Voice of America. |